Burden of Dreams
Synopsis
For nearly five years, acclaimed German filmmaker Werner Herzog desperately tried to complete one of the most ambitious and difficult films of his career, Fitzcarraldo, the story of one man’s attempt to build an opera house deep in the Amazon jungle. Documentary filmmaker Les Blank captured the unfolding of this production, made more perilous by Herzog’s determination to shoot the most daunting scenes without models or special effects, including a sequence requiring hundreds of native Indians to pull a full-size, 320-ton steamship over a small mountain. The result is an extraordinary document of the filmmaking process and a unique look into the single-minded mission of one of cinema’s most fearless directors.
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After watching Fitzcarraldo and adoring it i was recommended the documentary on the production of the film, reading the trivia and production problems online, and reading about Herzog's insanity, this became a must-watch. Herzog is an infinitely interesting man, his mannerisms and queerness are a joy to watch, anything he does has the potential to make you smile. I have particular difficulty hearing him speak of horrifying stories in his documentaries. Watching this only enhances that Klaus Kinski was born to play Fitzcarraldo, I had trouble differentiating between when he was just walking around set or when he was actually being filmed. Burden of Dreams definitely shines a light on how what seems to be a magnificent serene location can,…
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I like Fitzcarraldo, but I'd say I like Burden of Dreams even more. Fitzcarraldo was never one of my favorite Herzog films, and I think I like it to the extent that I do in part due to the chaotic filming. The spontaneity, uncertainty, and danger really comes across in the film.
This rating will definitely go up once I rewatch Burden of Dreams with English subtitles instead of Spanish ones. -
Re-watch just to reaffirm my faith that stories like this actually exist.
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A fantastic look at the ultimate "Filmmaker's filmmakers film" and the trials and tribulations involved.
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River Rapids, River Wild…
There aren’t too many films in the over 100 year history of the medium where the director’s vision nearly exhausts the film and the final product. However, the 1970s was a big turning point in movie making. Not only so in the art and exploration of film, but also for eccentric rights to film production and directors as a whole exercising their angels and demons.
Names like Francis Ford Coppola and Michael Cimino always come to mind with stories surrounding their wonderful visions that nearly collapsed themselves and others with “Apocalypse Now” and “Heaven’s Gate”, respectively. These are films that carry as much talk about the behind the scenes as the actual final product. The stories…
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Such an amazing look at one of the greatest filmmakers of this era, "Burden of Dreams" shows how Herzog's obsession with creating the film he wants to make collides with his cast and crew's safety and sanity. I find it fascinating to see how artistic geniuses work and what their processes are like and this film did exactly that. I also suggest checking out the short film on the disc where Herzog loses a bet and has to eat his show. It is a nice contrast to see that he can be both serious and silly.
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Now I need to watch Fitzcarraldo.
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Only of interest to those who've seen FITZCARRALDO or are fans of Herzog. The legendarily troubled production is only glossed over by Les Blank, a tourist on the Amazon set for five weeks out of the nearly year-long shoot, not counting the months wasted on the aborted Jason Robards/Mick Jagger version. We see footage from that first shoot, with Robards playing the insane rubber baron as a lovable old carmudgeon, and it just doesn't work. It seems fate planted Kinski into the role; Herzog was hesistant to cast him after his experiences shooting AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD (another hellish production that makes this one look like a cakewalk). Over the months spent cooped up in the jungle with native…
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poorly made
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An interesting making-of doc which turns into more of a reportage look at the lives of those affected, good and bad, by a film crew encroaching on unfamiliar territory. Herzog as always is a charismatic figure and the efforts he takes to mount his film are insane. Not quite the punch in the mouth that Hearts of Darkness was but a fine chronicle nonetheless.
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Re-watch just to reaffirm my faith that stories like this actually exist.
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Not the most compelling documentary. Always comforting to see movies being made with quasi-slave labor.
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After watching Fitzcarraldo and adoring it i was recommended the documentary on the production of the film, reading the trivia and production problems online, and reading about Herzog's insanity, this became a must-watch. Herzog is an infinitely interesting man, his mannerisms and queerness are a joy to watch, anything he does has the potential to make you smile. I have particular difficulty hearing him speak of horrifying stories in his documentaries. Watching this only enhances that Klaus Kinski was born to play Fitzcarraldo, I had trouble differentiating between when he was just walking around set or when he was actually being filmed. Burden of Dreams definitely shines a light on how what seems to be a magnificent serene location can,…
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Véase junto con Indie Game de chaser.
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River Rapids, River Wild…
There aren’t too many films in the over 100 year history of the medium where the director’s vision nearly exhausts the film and the final product. However, the 1970s was a big turning point in movie making. Not only so in the art and exploration of film, but also for eccentric rights to film production and directors as a whole exercising their angels and demons.
Names like Francis Ford Coppola and Michael Cimino always come to mind with stories surrounding their wonderful visions that nearly collapsed themselves and others with “Apocalypse Now” and “Heaven’s Gate”, respectively. These are films that carry as much talk about the behind the scenes as the actual final product. The stories…