Fitzcarraldo (1982)

Werner Herzog is one of my favorite directors, but this is not my fav Herzog film. This is a fantastic film, and an amazing endeavor, but not my fav.

Herzog wrote this epic, a story about Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald (called Fitzcarraldo by the South American natives), who wants to build an opera house in the jungle. He's broke, however, so he borrows money from his girlfriend, Molly, in order to buy a steamboat. And here the story really gets interesting. He and a team take the boat up the Amazon, then attempt to portage it over a mountain. Herzog actually did this in the film, as that's how he rolls. There is a reason for this plan - by carrying the boat over the mountain, the group can avoid a dangerous rapids.

The scenery, the cinematography, the story - all top-notch. Fitzcarraldo is played by Klaus Kinski, and Molly is played by Claudia Cardinale. Both are fantastic. But I will confess I fast-forwarded over a lot of the long scenery shots.