Fitzcarraldo
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Movie Reviews of Fitzcarraldo
Movie Review: The conquistador of the useless
Summary: 5 Stars
Along with "Aguirre, The Wrath of God," "Fitzcarraldo" ranks as the best collaboration between Herzog and Kinski. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it comes close to being the best thing that either of them did, Herzog as director and Kinski as actor.
In both "Aguirre" and "Fitzcarraldo," the theme is humanity against an unforgiving, primitive nature, symbolized by clotted, almost impenetrable jungle and indigeneous tribes whose customs and beliefs are baffling and unpredictable to "civilized" minds. Both Aguirre and Fitzcarraldo are defeated by nature, but whereas Aquirre is destroyed by his defeat, Fitzcarraldo triumphs in defeat. I suspect that one of the points Herzog wants to make is that the unbridled lust for power, manifested by Aguirre, is a different kind of human ambition than the sheer love of beauty that animates Fitzcarraldo. The former is easy to defeat. The latter may fall, but it will inevitably rise again. Even nature--tribal children and animals in the film--responds to beauty.
The great irony here is that beauty, unlike power, is "useless." It has no obvious utility in the "real world." That's why at one point a skeptical entrepreneur mocks Fitzcarraldo and his dreams to bring opera to the jungle by calling him a "conquistador of the useless." This line reminds me of an observation once made by Henry David Thoreau. After remarking that there were plenty of schools and clubs for the "diffusion of useful knowledge," he said "methinks we need a school for the diffusion of useless knowledge." It's the "useless" things in life that reveal life's depth.
The acting in "Fitzcarraldo" is superb. Kinski shows a tender, lovable side in his portrayal of the title character that's both remarkable and in wonderful contrast to the crazy Kinski who too often explodes on the screen (although apparently Kinski the man was so emotionally volatile on the set that one of the tribal extras, offended by his craziness, offered to kill him if only Herzog would give the word). Claudia Cardinale as Molly is exquisite, and the chemistry (as they say) between her and Kinski works well.
Finally, the cinematography is indescribable. Of course the temptation is to focus on the long shots of the ship "Molly" being hauled up the Peruvian mountainside. But every scene in the film, from the opening shots of the well-lighted opera house facade standing starkly against a jet-black sky, to the final scene of "The Puritans," is breathtaking.
Movie Review: Caruso shall be heard in the jungle
Summary: 5 Stars
If any film made by sheer force of willpower is brought to mind then Herzog's "FitzCarraldo" must surely come first. Set in large part quiet deep in the Amazonian jungle it proved to be both a physical and mental trying time for most involved. The story revolves around a man, one Brian Sweeny Fitzgerald ("Fitzcarraldo" to the locals), who is determined to build an opera house in heart of the jungle and have the great Enrico Caruso perform in it. To finance this project he comes up with an absurd plan to drag a steamship over a mountain to reach a river on the far side which will provide access to a plentiful supply of rubber trees, the only source of finance in the region is rubber since no synthetic alternative was available at the time. The storyline thus requires Herzog to bring a steamship over a mountain and so proceeds to do this for real. There is no trickery involved and the mammoth task is performed before ours eyes with the help of native Indians from the region. Herzog recieved severe critisism from the both German and International press for his apparent expliotation of the indigenous culture.
This DVD however provides a "Directors commentary" feature with Herzog and producer Stipetic which tells their side of the story about the whole filming. Besides the film the DVD commentary is a real insight into the thoughts and inspiration which made Herzog pursue this very technically challenging film. Credit must also go to Stipetic who managed to keep the logistics together in a unfriendly environment and Thomas Mauch for his excellent photography.
Originally the fim was to star Jason Robarts and Mike Jagger believe it or not, however sickness on Robarts part and limited shooting time by Jagger meant their bowing out of the project. Herzog was prepared to play Fitzcarraldo if nobody to his satisfaction could be sought. He turned to his former lead role Klaus Kinski (Aguire Wrath Of God), though difficult and extremely tempermental Kinski gave an excellent performence.
Wth regard to this DVD watch and enjoy, it is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic and has a remastered 5.1(+Dolby Surround)soundtrack. The audio commemtary is the big bonus which features mostly Herzog who is a fluent english speaker and delivers it in a calm and coherent manner which is beguiling considering the actual scenes you are watching during it. A highly recommended purchase.
Movie Review: Werner Herzog's Quixotic quest in making Fitzcarraldo.
Summary: 5 Stars
Fitzcarraldo is more than a spectacular, awe-inspiring film. It is the end result of Werner Herzog's own Quixotic quest to bring the real-life story of Peruvian rubber baron Carlos Fermín Fitzcarrald's dream of pulling a steamship over a steep hill in order to access a rich rubber territory to the screen. Herzog's film revises the 1890s incident to tell the slightly different story of Brian "Fitzcarraldo" Fitzgerald's dream of building an opera house in the city of Iquitos, Peru. To make his dream a reality, Fitcarraldo decides to raise money in the rubber business by leasing an inaccessible parcel of rainforest from the Peruvian government. He then buys a steamer (which he christens the "Molly Aida"), hires a crew, and then departs up the dangerous Pachitea River, which flows through an area in the Amazon inhabited by hostile tribes. Upon reaching the river's junction with the Ucayali River, using native Peruvian manpower together with cables and pulleys, Fitzcarraldo intends to pull his three-story, 320-ton steamer over the muddy hillside to the other river. Production of the infamous film was plagued by problems (which is the subject of Les Blank's compelling documentary Burden of Dreams - Criterion Collection). Jason Robards was originally cast in the role of Fitzcarraldo, but after forty-percent of the film was shot, he became ill and left the set. The film was then reshot after Klaus Kinski assumed the role. Meanwhile, Mick Jagger (cast as Fitzcarraldo's assistant) left the set to tour with the Rolling Stones, forcing Herzog to omit Jagger's character from the script. Then, during filming, a nasty rift developed between Kinski and Herzog. (In his documentary My Best Friend-Klaus Kinski], Herzog says that one of the native chiefs on the set even offered to murder Kinski to resolve the dispute between the two men.) Fitcarraldo is not only a great film about one man's dream of building an opera house in the Peruvian jungle. It is also the fascinating story of Herzog's own obsession in making a seemingly impossible film a reality. Fitzcarraldo is a highly-recommended, one-of-a-kind experience in film.
G. Merritt
Movie Review: One of the Greatest Films Ever...I Was Stunned
Summary: 5 Stars
It shocks me that I had never even HEARD of "Fitzcarraldo" a week ago (nor did I know who Werner Herzog was), and now that I've seen it I consider it to be one of the 10 best films I've ever seen in my life, right up there with "Vertigo," "Once Upon A Time In The West," and "Rashomon." The pacing of this film is slow, languid, and dreamlike, and allows the viewer to really immerse him/herself in the brooding jungle atmosphere. I never realized how contrived most American movies felt, until I experienced the stark reality of Werner Herzog's documentary-like style. "Fitzcarraldo" blurs the line between reality and drama, utilizing actual natives in conjunction with his character-actors (including the brilliant and intense Klaus Kinski), who subject themselves to real hardships in order to lend the film legitimacy. The result feels like a cross between a surreal daydream and something out of National Geographic.
The transfer to DVD is virtually perfect. I was awestruck at the quality of the video and audio on this disc. The picture is gorgeous, in sweeping, flawless widescreen, and the sound is bright and alive. There are few extras on this disc, but the film itself was so satisfying that I didn't care.
I highly recommend the boxed set entitled "The Herzog/Kinski Collection," as it contains excellent DVD versions of all 5 of their collaborations, as well as Herzog's tribute to Kinski entitled "My Best Fiend," a fascinating portrait of their bizarre, yet intensely creative, working relationship. It will add to your appreciation of "Fitzcarraldo" and all of their films.
Movie Review: Moving mountains
Summary: 5 Stars
A quarter of a century on, Fitzcarraldo has lost none of its impact. One thing which makes it still stand out so much today is its reality - not the plot, which takes a small incident from forgotten history and exaggerates it into a grandiose epic on the reality of dreams, but the fact that, with the exception of what appears to be one superior model shot in the rapids sequence, everything you see is done for real. A real ship dragged over a real mountain by real extras in a real location. In the CGi era, it's almost like watching a documentary, with Herzog literally BECOMING Fitzcarraldo as he acts out his dreams for real.
For all the fireworks between Kinski and Herzog, they bring the best out of each other: Kinski is every inch the obsessed dreamer and you really believe he HAS to bring opera to the jungle in a way that you simply can't imagine Jason Robards pulling off (Robards left the film after falling ill: from the brief extracts of his scenes with Mick Jagger to appear in the documentary Burden of Dreams - notincluded here - it was a blessing in disguise for the film). What's more, by the end of the movie, you really feel that Fitzcarraldo has earned his small triumph, and the wondrous smiles on the faces of Kinski and Claudia Cardinale prove that cinema's greatest weapon is the human face.
It's just a shame that Anchor Bay's DVD misses several key lines in the subtitles from the superior German version, which meant skipping back the DVD to play it with the inferior English dub to catch the missing lines before switching back to German again, a sad blemish on an otherwise excellent disc.