Fitzcarraldo (1982)

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

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writer:

Werner Herzog

Stars:

Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, José Lewgoy

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited 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	...	Black Man At Opera House
Ruy Polanah	...	Rubber Baron
Salvador Godínez	...	Old Missionary
Dieter Milz	...	Young Missionary
William Rose	...	Notary (as Bill Rose)
Leoncio Bueno

Storyline

Fitzcarraldo is an obsessed opera lover who wants to build an opera in the jungle. To accomplish this he first has to make a fortune in the rubber business, and his cunning plan involves hauling an enormous river boat across a small mountain with aid from the local Indians.

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Plot Keywords:

based on true story | opera | jungle | river boat | new german cinema | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

West Germany Peru

Language:

German Spanish Italian

Release Date:

10 October 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fickaraldo

Filming Locations:

Brazil

Company Credits

Production Co:

Werner Herzog Filmproduktion,Pro-ject Filmproduktion,Filmverlag der Autoren

Technical Specs

Runtime:

158 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Werner Herzog has been accused of exploiting indigenous people in the making of the film, with some drawing similarities between Herzog and Fitzcarraldo. Michael F. Brown, a professor of anthropology at Williams College, notes that initially Herzog was on good terms with the Aguaruna people, some of whom were hired as extras for the film and for construction. Relations deteriorated, however, when Herzog began to build a village on Aguaruna land, failed to consult the tribal council, and tried to obtain protection from a local militia. In December 1979, Aguaruna men burned down the film set. It took Herzog 13 months to find a new location for the jungle camp. Filming finally began January 1981 and lasted until November that year.

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Goofs

Right after Molly christens the boat, they hug, and as they are hugging, actor Krause Kinski glances up at the camera, not once, but twice.

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Quotes

Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald - 'Fitzcarraldo': How can anyone learn patriotism from a school book?
Young Missionary: The Government requires it.
Old Missionary: The natives get used to it. Like vaccination.
Young Missionary: The children already feel like little Peruvians. The other day I asked them, "Are you Indians?" "No," they said, "not we, the ones up the river, they are Indians." And then I asked. "What are Indians?" "They said to me "Indians are people who can't read and who don't know how to wash their clothes."
Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald - 'Fitzcarraldo': And what about the older people?
Old Missionary: Well, we can't seem to cure them of the...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004)

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Soundtracks

Tod und Verklaerung
: excerpt
by Richard Strauss

User Reviews

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…