Fitzcarraldo

by Werner Herzog

In het jaar 1894, ten tijde van de rubber-boom, werden de oerwouden van het Amazonegebied door desperado's, op zoek naar rijkdom, macht en avontuur, onveilig gemaakt. Eén van hen, een roekeloze figuur van Ierse afstamming, Carlos Firmin Fitzcarraldo, slaagde erin een haast onmogelijk huzarenstuk uit te voeren: hij liet een schip door Indianen negen kilometer over land slepen om op deze manier een rubberplantage, die vanwege stroomversnellingen onbereikbaar was, in bezit te nemen. Werner Herzog neemt in zijn verhaal de historische feiten als uitgangspunt voor zijn visie op de elementaire gevaren waaraan een individu zich kan blootstellen.

Genres: Film, Art

159 pages, Paperback

Published January 28, 1983

About the author

Werner Herzog (born Werner Stipetić) is a German film director, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.

He is often associated with the German New Wave movement (also called New German Cinema), along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Wim Wenders and others. His films often feature heroes with impossible dreams, or people with unique talents in obscure fields.

Reviews

[Emi Yoshida · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is like nothing I've ever read before, just as Werner Herzog films are like nothing I've ever seen elsewhere. I like that there's a still photo included from each of the four filmed scenarios. Herzog's descriptions are so vivid they are manic, and I just have to say these stories are all weird. I don't know what Herzog's motivation is besides his obvious love of words, music and describing misery and violence, but I'd love to know where his head is at when he has a male character ask what women were made for, "they really don't seem to be useful for anything more than sitting around". I'm glad Land of Silence and Darkness has female main characters to balance out the overwhelming macho-manliness of all the other leads presented here. At one point I wondered if it was a typo when Herzog himself had a word of dialog in Land of Silence and Darkness, but after searching online I see that breaking the 4th wall is a technique he used fairly often.

[Eric Cartier · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's remarkable how closely this text mirrors the film. It's rich with detail, full of fantastic scenarios and enveloping moods. Fitzcarraldo, the man of opera, shoulders the burden of his dreams and brings them into existence. Highly recommended for all who admire Herzog's work.

[Bettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not so much as a read as more along the lines that I will watch the film, which seeing as Herzog did both, should be interchangeable.

trailer

From wiki - Fitzcarraldo is a 1982 film written and directed by Werner Herzog and starring Klaus Kinski as the title character. It portrays would-be rubber baron Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an Irishman known as Fitzcarraldo in Peru, who has to pull a steamship over a steep hill in order to access a rich rubber territory. The film is derived from the real-life story of Peruvian rubber baron Carlos Fitzcarrald.

Some handsome trees were felled during the making of this film.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars only because not only is the film brilliant but the book about the backstory is completely enthralling.

I admire Herzog and I have always been a big fan of Kinski, although, I cannot give you any hard fast reasons except he is a fascinating madman on screen and this film plunged him over the edge...but that's enough of a teaser for you.