Fitzcarraldo
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Movie Reviews of Fitzcarraldo
Movie Review: It is only dreamers who ever move mountains!
Summary: 5 Stars
This beautiful sentence, spoken by beautiful Claudia Cardinale, is the key to the entire movie. This is the story of a sweet, and yet intense madness. Fitzcarraldo (a splendid Klaus Kinski) wants to bring the Grand Opera to the Amazon river, and wants Caruso to open the new theater. The task is impossible, and yet as the movie develops we discover a kinship with this great, mad character. He is not the only dreamer in the movie. His girlfriend Molly shares the dream, and even his old employee, still tending to an abandoned railway station in the midst of the forest, is a dreamer. The movie is about the strength of desire, and as such we all feel connected to Fitzcarraldo, as he actually tries to move a mountain to build his opera house. At the end, he won't be able to build the theater, but he will come home with a victory of sort. The final, moving, scene sees Fitzcarraldo and Molly coming home on a boat which has been transformed into a floating theater. As Herzog writes in the script to the movie "[Fitzcarraldo] is entering Iquitos, a royal entrance, and he brings with him the Grand Opera. AND THIS MAKES HIM HAPPY." The happiness is clear on the face of Kinski, and concludes one of the most touching, and impressive movies ever filmed. The music (mostly by Popol Vuh) is a great companion to the majestic scenes in the Amazon river. The dialogue is tight, and no sentence is superfluous. The intensity of the characters will captivate any viewer. Definitely, a movie to see over and over again.Movie Review: An inspiring film!
Summary: 5 Stars
Werner Herzog has created an inspiring film about the human spirit. The film's central message seems to be that we can overcome immense obstacles based on our desire to succeed (like hauling a river boat over a hill or bringing Grand Opera to the middle of the Amazon jungle). What is remarkable is that the making of the film reflected this in that Herzog and company faced unbelievable challenges that could only be met by a tenacious will to succeed. Fortunately, in this excellent quality DVD, there is a second audio track where you can hear Herzog describe how they overcame these incredible difficulties to complete this film in the depths of the Amazon jungle.There are so many aspects to this movie worth mentioning...breath taking scenery, beautiful musical score, and, of course, the superb acting by Klaus Kinski and others. The casting of the film was a stoke of genius with a bit of luck thrown in.
This film also depicts one of my favorite subjects...the collision of cultures, or in this case the naive indians of the Amazan on a collision course with the rapacious Europeans. If you liked "Walkabout", "Dead Heart", "Black Robe", "Heat and Dust", "The Chess Players", etc, you will love "Fitzcarraldo"!
Movie Review: A true classic of world cinema
Summary: 5 Stars
Herzog returns to the beautiful yet merciless Amazonian jungles and creates a film of epic proportions. In this turn of the century tale the Amazon beckons and Brian Sweeney Fitzacarraldo answers it's call. Fitzcarraldo has a dream to build a great opera house and his eccentric nature will not allow that dream to go unfulfilled. After failed attempts to build a Peruvian railroad line, he then directs his efforts to the production of ice. Scoffed by the local rubber barons who tag Fitzcarraldo as the conquistador of the useless, his beautiful girlfriend Molly convinces him the only way he can gain the capital needed to bring his dream to fruition is to harvest rubber himself. Despite the scarcity of available land, the lack of reliable labor, and the threat of native indians, Fitzcarraldo accepts the daunting challenge and our story begins.
Herzog painfully spared no expense to create authenticity and his results are among the greatest of engineering feats ever achieved on filmed. The viewer can't help but marvel at his efforts and the suspense created. This monumental epic boasts wonderful performances, amazing locations, and a gripping storyline that stays with the audience long after viewing. A true classic of world cinema.
Movie Review: The greatest and most significant cinematic masterpiece ever filmed.
Summary: 5 Stars
It is unfashionable to be unequivocal.
How can one say that this or that is the best or better?
Nowadays one must always preface unequivocal statements
with phrases like "In my opinion..." or "Well, to me..."
or risk some form of social ostracization.
Everyone has their favorites certainly,
but how can one say something like "Beethoven is better than Bach"
or "Leonardo is better than Michelangelo"?
To make a statement like that would sound foolish and be absurd.
There is plenty of genius to go around in the arts,
and "in matters of taste there can be no argument".
But sometimes the passions of the artist are so great and deep,
the vision of the artist is so meaningful and profound,
and the techniques of the artist are so original and beautiful,
that the efforts of others working in the same medium
become dwarfed in significance by comparison.
It is then that one who is touched by that art
can be driven to disproportionate responses akin to ravings and manias.
Fitzcarraldo is the greatest and most significant cinematic masterpiece ever filmed.
Movie Review: A Dreamer or A Man With A Dream?
Summary: 5 Stars
I shan't go into a repeat of the rave reviews already printed here, concerning this magnificent film. I think the other reviewers have created excellent descriptions of the visuals, as well as accurate representations of the characters and the storyline. I agree with every note of praise lavished upon this masterpiece.
For me, the transition of the main character from a "Dreamer" to "A Man with a Dream" is as subtle as, well let's say, a ship being dragged up and over a mountain. I found myself cheering for him and wishing he was in my life because of his attitude and devotion (to his dream). I was overwhelmed with the lushness of the visuals and the elaborate fullness of the character development in everyone associated with the story.
I k'velled (a Yiddish word meaning to take such pleasure in something that you actually shiver with excitement) with every step forward towards his goal and went limp with grief with every negative development.
I have watched "Fitzcarraldo" several times since it arrived at my door and expect to lose myself in it's mist the next time I need to be inside a Dream...