Burden of Dreams
United States • 1982
Director
#287Criterion Collection →Synopsis
For nearly five years, acclaimed German filmmaker Werner Herzog desperately tried to complete one of the most ambitious and difficult films of his career, FITZCARRALDO, the story of one man’s attempt to build an opera house deep in the Amazon jungle. Documentary filmmaker Les Blank captured the unfolding of this production, made more perilous by Herzog’s determination to shoot the most daunting scenes without models or special effects, including a sequence requiring hundreds of native Indians to pull a full-size, 320-ton steamship over a small mountain. The result is an extraordinary document of the filmmaking process and a unique look into the single-minded mission of one of cinema’s most fearless directors.
Synopsis
For nearly five years, acclaimed German filmmaker Werner Herzog desperately tried to complete one of the most ambitious and difficult films of his career, FITZCARRALDO, the story of one man’s attempt to build an opera house deep in the Amazon jungle. Documentary filmmaker Les Blank captured the unfolding of this production, made more perilous by Herzog’s determination to shoot the most daunting scenes without models or special effects, including a sequence requiring hundreds of native Indians to pull a full-size, 320-ton steamship over a small mountain. The result is an extraordinary document of the filmmaking process and a unique look into the single-minded mission of one of cinema’s most fearless directors.
Criterion Closet Picks
(5)
Credits
Crew
DirectorLes Blank
WriterMichael Goodwin
CinematographerLes Blank
EditorMaureen Gosling
ProducerLes Blank
Cast
Candace Laughlinas Self - Narrator (voice)
Werner Herzogas Self - Filmmaker
Klaus Kinskias Self - Actor
Claudia Cardinaleas Self - Actress
Alfredo de Río Tamboas Self
