Fitzcarraldo (1982)
It's incredibly difficult for me to write about this film, cause I got such a love-hate reaction to it.
First of all, if you're making a film about a man who loves Caruso and opera with a soundtrack filled with gems of the classical repertoire, that's already enough for me to give it a positive review. And if you include Klaus Kinski going insane, it doesn't hurt either.
However, I really didn't like the style of Herzog's filmmaking. It was the first film I ever watched by him and I was intending to eventually watch it, but it's way too rough for me.
Ultimately, this is a film about ambition and what someone is willing to do to achieve his dream, and the fact that Herzog's actually pulled a real steamboat up a hill makes the film as ambitious as the feats being narrated, and that deserves some respect.
But I enjoyed it less for lack to connection with Fitz, especially. Firstly because these kind of characters, who dream way too high for their own competence usually turn me off, and secondly because this was film in a way that highlights Fitz' insanity more than his love for opera. In that regard, Kinski is the perfect choice for what I think Herzog enviosioned, as he delivers an haunting perfomance. Even in his eyes you can see that crazy ambition who won't stop at nothing.
I'm glad I finally watched this, as I had it in my computer for a long time just waiting for an excuse.
Thanks @cricket?
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It's incredibly difficult for me to write about this film, cause I got such a love-hate reaction to it.
First of all, if you're making a film about a man who loves Caruso and opera with a soundtrack filled with gems of the classical repertoire, that's already enough for me to give it a positive review. And if you include Klaus Kinski going insane, it doesn't hurt either.
However, I really didn't like the style of Herzog's filmmaking. It was the first film I ever watched by him and I was intending to eventually watch it, but it's way too rough for me.
Ultimately, this is a film about ambition and what someone is willing to do to achieve his dream, and the fact that Herzog's actually pulled a real steamboat up a hill makes the film as ambitious as the feats being narrated, and that deserves some respect.
But I enjoyed it less for lack to connection with Fitz, especially. Firstly because these kind of characters, who dream way too high for their own competence usually turn me off, and secondly because this was film in a way that highlights Fitz' insanity more than his love for opera. In that regard, Kinski is the perfect choice for what I think Herzog enviosioned, as he delivers an haunting perfomance. Even in his eyes you can see that crazy ambition who won't stop at nothing.
I'm glad I finally watched this, as I had it in my computer for a long time just waiting for an excuse.
Thanks @cricket?
-
I'm very surprised that this was your introduction to Herzog. He's a top-ten director for me, and that's just on the strength of his feature films as I've barely made a dent in his documentaries. Interestingly, Aguirre was my first encounter with him, and I think I only rated it two stars at the time. The movie was so far removed from what I expected that I didn't connect with it at all. The "roughness" you spoke of might've had something to do with it. Yet I couldn't stop thinking about the movie for months on end. I gave it another chance and rated it a rare five stars. There's a get-your-hands dirty level of naturalism to his approach to cinema that is unrivaled, but in addition to the realism there's a strange poetic mysticism to his films as well. He's one of a kind. Fitzcarraldo, Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Nosferatu the Vampyre and Stroszek are essential cinema.
Happy to see that you thought so highly of Rio Bravo. That's another all-time favorite for me.
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Last edited by Captain Spaulding; 07-07-20 at 12:42 AM.