Fitzcarraldo (1982)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writer:

Werner Herzog (writer)

Release Date:

10 October 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Music

Plot:

The story of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an extremely determined man who intends to build an opera house in the middle of the Peruvian jungle.

Plot Keywords:

Opera | Jungle | Mountain | River | Amazon

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Klaus Kinski	...	Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald - 'Fitzcarraldo'
Claudia Cardinale	...	Molly
José Lewgoy	...	Don Aquilino
Miguel Ángel Fuentes	...	Cholo
Paul Hittscher	...	Captain (Orinoco Paul)
Huerequeque Enrique Bohorquez	...	Huerequeque (The Cook) (as Huerequeque Enrique Bohórquez)
Grande Otelo	...	Station master (as Grande Othelo)
Peter Berling	...	Opera Manager
David Pérez Espinosa	...	Chief of Campa Indians
Milton Nascimento	...	Blackman At Opera House
Ruy Polanah	...	Rubber Baron
Salvador Godínez	...	Old Missionary
Dieter Milz	...	Young Missionary
William Rose	...	Notary (as Bill Rose)
Leoncio Bueno

Runtime:

158 min

Country:

Peru | West Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-12 | Norway:12 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG (re-rating) (1986) | USA:PG | West Germany:12 (bw) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Amazon Basin, Brazil

Company:

Filmverlag der Autoren

Trivia:

A real 340 ton steam ship was moved over the mountain with a bulldozer without the use of special effects.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During one of the boat drifting scenes, crew members can be seen at the top of the boat, including a man wearing jeans who tries to avoid being spotted by the camera.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Incident at Loch Ness (2004)

Soundtrack:

La Bohème

Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad...

This is a work of fiction, although the idea for the story and the name came from a real person who actually lived at Iquitos, Peru, and who was a rubber (not robber) baron in the eighteen-nineties.

Arguably, Klaus Kinski (as Fitzcarraldo) was born to play the main role – although Werner Herzog considered taking up the role himself. But, no one can play an eccentric the way Kinski did in this film. It's not Nosferatu (1979), but the wide, staring eyes are looking at you, all the time, in the same spooky way.

And, only an eccentric of the most magnificent kind would dare to take a 340-ton ship up the Amazon and carry it over a mountain down to another river! Isn't that just one of the craziest things you've ever heard of? Well, the truth is Herzog actually did do that and simply used Kinski as his surrogate to prance around the mud and clay, with the local Indians, and generally taking the praise for a job well done. There were no special effects – the production team actually pushed and pulled that hulk up a slope of hundreds of meters and then down to another river.

So, who was really crazy: Herzog or Fitzcarraldo?

Never mind that: just see this movie for the lush, primeval jungles of South America; for the rich tones of various opera singers, including Caruso (on a phonograph); for the stunning photography aboard the ill-fated Molly; for the antics of Kinski, as he thrashes around, pushing himself and others to the limits; for the army of local Indians, pulling the ship over the mountain; for the haunting sound-track provided by Popul Vuh, Herzog's perennial musical team of choice; and, of course, for the lovely Claudia Cardinale – past her prime but still remarkable...

I love this movie and I hope you do also. And, when you have seen it, then see Burden of Dreams (1982), the film that tells the story of the making of Fitzcarraldo. It's maybe better than the fiction...