Overlong but worth seeing | Fitzcarraldo | Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale

A true classic of world cinema | Fitzcarraldo | Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale

DVDs:


	• Fitzcarraldo Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale Starz / Anchor Bay, 1999 average customer review:based on 62 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A Dreamer or A Man With A Dream?

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...

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Overlong but worth seeing

The Bottom Line:

Fitzcarraldo is overlong and the first half an hour drags quite a bit, but in this day of transparently fake special effects dominating the screen, the spectacle of a man pulling an actual steamship over a mountain is worth the price of admission; in terms of filmmaking this film falls behind Aguirre the Wrath of God, but if you like films then it's something you should watch before you die.

3.5/4

A true classic of world cinema

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.

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Herzog's films are deeply personal, visually exciting and uncompromising...

His films are perfect examples of the European tradition of the 'auteur' film, in which the director is seen as the originating and creative force behind the work... But there is also a sense that Herzog's visionary monomaniacs function as the director's alter ego, embodying the heroic status of the auteur, always struggling against recalcitrant reality to fulfill his dream...

This seems especially true of "Fitzcarraldo," which, sets a hundred years ago, begins with an Irish colonist who had a passion for opera rowing 1,200 miles down a South American river, accompanied by the madam of a brothel, in order to hear the great Caruso perform...

Inspired by this experience, Fitzcarraldo embarks on a grandiose plan to open up the Amazonian jungle to river transport, providing access to new rubber plantations and thereby making enough money to build an opera house...

Herzog's favorite actor, Klaus Kinski, is as appropriately manic as Fitzcarraldo, eyes glittering madly as he pursues his vision... In the central sequence he organizes a tribe of Indians to help him pull a steamboat across a mountain in order to by-pass dangerous rapids...

"Fitcarraldo" seems by turns admiring of its hero's megalomania and mocking of his hubris, with no illusions about the cynical exploitation of the region's riches by the rubber barons whom Fitzcarraldo tries to defeat by cleverness... Ultimately though, it is the sheer spectacle which we remember...

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The Conquistador of the Useless

"Fitzcarraldo" is, in my opinion, one of the greatest films of all time. A tribute to hope, dreams, and the human spirit. As does Fitzcarraldo pull a steamship over a mountain to secure a remote property of rubber trees, so did director Werner Herzog to film it (using no special effects). As a filmmaker, Herzog ascends into the realm of the supernatural. "Fitzcarraldo" is Werner Herzog's magnum opus and stands as a testament to how close filmmakers have made films as they should be.

The DVD picture and sound is superb, making the jungle setting lush and engrossing. Kinski, as always, delivers an outstanding performance. This is a beautiful film and a must watch for film lovers.

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Peru. Iquitos is a town isolated in the middle of the jungle at the turn of the century. On the outskirts a few shacks are rotting int he mud. In the cetner are the splendid houses of the nouveaux-riches rubber barons. It is in this setting rich in grotesque controast that brian sweeney fitzgerald has his dream. Studio: Starz/sphe Release Date: 11/16/1999 Starring: Klaus Kinski Claudia Cardinale Run time: 157 minutes Rating: Pg Director: Werner Herzog