Fitzcarraldo: Written and Directed by Werner Herzog, 1982, Starring Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, Jose Lewgoy
Opera-loving European Brian Fitzgerald (Klaus Kinski) lives in a small Peruvian city. Better known as Fitzcarraldo, this foreigner is obsessed with building an opera house in his town and decides that to make his dream a reality he needs to make a killing in the rubber business. In order to become a successful rubber baron, Fitzcarraldo hatches an elaborate plan that calls for a particularly impressive feat – bringing a massive boat over a mountain with the help of the local native population.
The film is derived from the historic events of Peruvian rubber baron Carlos Fitzcarraldo and his real-life feat of transporting a disassembled steanbiat over the Isthmus of Fitzcarrald. The film had a troubled production; Herzog forced his crew to manually haul the 320-ton steamship up a steep hill, leading to three injuries. The film’s original star jason Robards got sick halfway through filming. So Herzog hired Klaus Kinski, with whom he had previously clashed violently during production of ” Aquirre, the Wrath of God”, Their second partnership fared no better and an extra even offered to kill Kinski. Herzog reluctantly declined.
A great classic film with Klaus Kinski. The scenes of moving the huge ship over the mountain by hand are amazing. The movie idea was based on a true event.