Fitzcarraldo

1982 Director Werner Herzog

This film is made more remarkable by the fact that the deed was actually accomplished rather than staged. It was a herculean undertaking.

This is the story of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an extremely determined man and his obsession to build an opera house in the middle of the Peruvian jungle. The highlight of the story is Fizcarraldo's mind numbing effort to haul a 300 ton steamship over the mountains.

Never known to do anything by halves Herzog tackled Fitzcarraldo by boldly embarking on the same journey.  No trickery was used in filming this grueling sequence, and stories still persist of disgruntled South American film technicians awaiting the opportunity to strangle Herzog if he ever sets foot on their land again. In the end, Herzog proved to be as driven and single minded as his protagonist, and it is the audience's knowledge of this that adds to the excitement of Fitzcarraldo. His relationship with the his leading man, Kinski, became strained beyond breaking point and Kinski's savage outbursts so shocked the reserved and mild mannered natives that it is rumoured they offered to kill him for Herzog.