Fitzcarraldo (1982)
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An Irish man attempts to transport a steamship over a mountain in the Amazon to bring opera to a remote city.
The story
In the early 20th century, the Amazonian city of Iquitos experiences a rubber boom. Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an Irish man and opera lover, seeks to bring opera to the city but lacks the necessary capital. After learning that a remote, valuable piece of land is cut off from the Amazon by rapids, he secures a lease and purchases an old steamship. To reach the land, he plans a daring feat: hauling the 320-ton vessel over a mountain to bypass the rapids. He recruits a crew and ventures into the territory of the local tribes, beginning a perilous journey to fulfill his dream of bringing high culture to the remote region.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In the early 20th century, an Irish man named Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald (Fitzcarraldo) seeks to bring opera to the growing city of Iquitos in the Amazon. To do so, he must secure a remote land parcel. He purchases an old steamship, the SS Molly Aida, and plans to transport it over a mountain to bypass a dangerous stretch of rapids. After his main crew abandons him in tribal territory, he works with local natives to haul the 320-ton ship over the hill. They succeed, but a celebration leads to the ship being released into the rapids. Though the ship survives, Fitzcarraldo is forced to abandon his original plan. However, he manages to bring an opera company to Iquitos by performing on the deck of the ship as it is floated down the river, finally fulfilling his dream.
- First release year
- 1982
- Runtime (minutes)
- 157
- Production countries
- West Germany
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Werner Herzog
- Writers
- Werner Herzog · writer
- Cast and characters
- Klaus Kinski · Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald; Claudia Cardinale; José Lewgoy; Miguel Ángel Fuentes; Paul Hittscher; Huerequeque Enrique Bohórquez; Grande Otelo; Peter Berling
- Genres
- adventure; drama
- Themes
- obsession; physical effort; cultural ambition
- Tone and mood
- epic; stunning spectacle
- Premise and plot tags
- historical fiction; adventure; jungle
- Source material / true-story basis
- Fitzcarraldo: The Original Story (1982)
- Reception
- The film received widespread positive reviews, with critics praising its spectacle and unique atmosphere, though some noted its length.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 7.9 · scale: 10 · review count: 32
- Awards and nominations
- German Film Prize · Best Feature Film · 1982 · win; Best Director · Cannes Film Festival · 1982 · win; Palme d'Or · Cannes Film Festival · 1982 · nomination; BAFTA Award · Best Foreign Film · 1982 · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film's production was considered one of the most difficult in cinema history.; The 320-ton steamship was moved without the use of special effects.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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