Fitzcarraldo

(West Germany, 1982, 157 minutes)

A bankrupt Irishman literally moves a boat over a mountain so he can make enough money to build an opera house in the Peruvian jungle. What starts as a period epic mutates uncomfortably throughout its extensive length into a voyage into human folly or a quasi-ethnographic documentary, giving the impression its ambitious director has for once bitten more than he could chew; but there is much to be admired among the longueurs and the clumsy dubbing. Production extended for nearly three years due to a never-ending series of trials, among which the departure of original lead Jason Robards, taken ill with dysentery.

Werner Herzog Filmproduktion presents a co-production of Werner Herzog Filmproduktion, Pro-Ject Filmproduktion/Filmverlag der Autoren and ZDF. Starring Klaus Kinski; José Lewgoy, Miguel Ángel Fuentes, Paul Hittscher, Huerequeque Enrique Bohórquez, Grande Othelo, Peter Berling; and with Claudia Cardinale. Directed and written by Werner Herzog; produced by Werner Herzog and Lucki Stipetic; music by Popol Vuh; director of photography (colour), Thomas Mauch; art directors, Henning von Gierke, Ulrich Bergfelder; costume designer, Gisela Storch; film editor, Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus.