Fitzcarraldo (1982)
Genre: Adventure / Drama
Duration: 158 minuten
Country:
West Germany / Peru
Directed by: Werner Herzog
Stars: Klaus Kinski, José Lewgoy and Claudia Cardinale
IMDb score:
7,9 (42.549)
Releasedate: 2 March 1982
Fitzcarraldo plot
Fitzcarraldo is a obsessed opera lover who wants to build an opera house in the jungle. To achieve this, he must first amass a fortune in the rubber trade, his cunning plan is to move a huge boat over a mountain with the help of local Indians.
Actors and actresses
Fitzcarraldo
Molly
Don Aquilino
Cholo
Orinoco Paul
Huerequeque
Station Master
Opera Manager
Campa Chief
Opera House Blackman
Reviews & comments
james_cameron
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- 7060 messages
- 9825 votes
Heart Of Darkness-esque jungle drama from director Werner Herzog, visually worthwhile but plot wise on the meager side. The pace could have been a little faster. The terrible German dubbing doesn't help either, of course. And that while the film was originally shot in English! The highlight of the film is the long segment in which an attempt is made to pull a huge riverboat over a hill, but everything before and after is atmospheric, but not exactly fascinating.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Filmkriebel
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- 10012 messages
- 4678 votes
The conquistador of the useless...
My first encounter with Fitzcarraldo goes back to a movie quiz I once took part in, with a thematic round around "boats in movies". The simple question was what was the name of the boat in Fitzcarraldo. I had to answer the question but in the meantime I will never forget that it is the Molly Aida.
Personally think this is Herzogs best. You couldn't believe it to be true: hoisting a boat over a mountain, and yet this is inspired by a true story. A film where reality and surrealism meet, and where two different civilizations work on the same dream. That Herzog could put together such a technically complicated film speaks volumes about his cinematographic ambition. To me, it's like rebuilding the Titanic and sinking it again in real life with actors on it.
Fitzcarraldo is a (grand)mad film full of visually stunning spectacle!
Translated from Dutch · View original
Shadowed
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- 11421 messages
- 6719 votes
Beautiful.
Fitzcarraldo is probably the film Herzog kept running, and if you read a bit about the film you can immediately understand why. Kinski has made it pretty hard to make the film work, but when you take such a wacky appearance to the jungle, you can't count on it going well either.
Still, a very handsome film has been released that can bring about some pretty adventurous images. Especially the iconic scene in which the colossal boat is towed over a mountain makes you hold your breath. Herzog has nicely decorated and used the boat, and that produces enough images that you will probably never see again in today's movies.
Acting isn't too good. Kinski is very variable. His appearance is certainly there. The expression on his face cannot be wiped off his head, but the dialogues are not always convincing. Funny how such an intimidating presence can play such a subdued role. The side characters stand by and watch. Herzog really focuses on Kinski and neglects the rest a bit, which is a shame.
The images of the jungle are also mixed. Once the larger images shine through, the film can take some action, but the more regular images are still a bit boring. Herzog takes too little to build up the tension better, so that the really adventurous part of the film can only be seen deep in the second half.
It has become a special film that has a great last hour. The first hour and a half had gotten a 2.5* from me because it didn't do much for me except to captivate, but the last hour has quite a few strong images. Fitzcarraldo turned out to be a special adventure and my hats off to the circumstances of the film. Nice, sometimes overwhelming film.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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