Sandra (1965 film)

 

Based on the Greek tragedies of Electra by Sophocles and Euripides, Vaghe stele dell’Orsa (Glimmering stars of the Great Bear) or Sandra is the story of a woman who returns to her ancestral home town to celebrate the eve of her father’s death where she renews her incestuous relationship with her brother to the shock of her husband. Directed by Luchino Visconti and screenplay by Visconti, Suso Cecchi d’Amico, and Enrico Medioli, the film is a modern take of the Greek tragedies of Electra in which a woman copes with loss but also secrets that would ruin her family as the titular character of Sandra is portrayed by Claudia Cardinale. Also starring Jean Sorel, Michael Craig, and Renzo Ricci. Vaghe stele dell’Orsa is a ravishing yet eerie film from Luchino Visconti.

The film follows a woman who returns to a small town, with her American husband, in Tuscany to commemorate her father’s passing as she also hopes to deal with some unfinished business with her funny including her brother whom she had an incestuous relationship with. It is a film that puts the Greek tragedies relating to the character of Electra and set in 1960s Italy as this woman returns home as she copes with various issues within her family as well as the need to commemorate her father who had died in a concentration camp at World War II. The film’s screenplay, that also features additional yet un-credited contributions from Giampiero Bona, is largely straightforward as its titular character is a woman who has created a new life away from her small town yet knows she has to return to that town with her husband Andrew Dawdson (Michael Craig) for her late father as well as to maintain a secret relationship with her brother that she doesn’t want Andrew to know.

Yet, the arrival of Gianni (Jean Sorel) at the family home does create confusion within Sandra as she also knows that he would arrive as he had been staying at their old home for some time. There is also tension relating to their stepfather Antonio Gilardini (Renzo Ricci) who knows about their secret as he and Sandra despise each other with Gilardini also taking care of their ailing mother (Marie Bell) who also issues with her children. Dawdson would try to settle things as he also meets a former lover of Sandra in Dr. Pietro Formari (Fred Williams) who would further the tension that is already boiling as he is also watching over Sandra and Gianni’s mother. Even as Dawdson would stage a dinner for everyone to settle matters once and for all as he would learn about his wife’s shocking secret.

Luchino Visconti’s direction is mesmerizing for the way he captures a woman returning to her hometown as it is filled with unique yet abstract visuals that play into this sense of dread and regret. Shot on location in Volterra in the Tuscan region of Italy, Visconti maintains an intimacy throughout the film though there are wide shots of these locations including the main home where Sandra’s family lived in that includes some decayed area where a bust of her father’s head is to be unveiled. Much of Visconti’s direction emphasizes on close-ups and medium shots as it plays into the dramatic tension and melodrama that occurs throughout the film. Notably in the scene at the decayed wall on a windy night where Sandra and Gianni reunite as there is something rich in Visconti’s compositions as well as scenes where Gianni and Andrew walk around town where the latter meets Dr. Formari for the first time as it is an awkward meeting.

Visconti also maintains this dramatic tension as it includes a tense scene between Sandra and her mother that is intercut with a meeting between her and local officials including her stepfather as the tension is felt throughout the film. Even as Visconti would go into the melodrama as well as these rich compositions in a scene at an old water tower between Sandra and Gianni as it acts as the two siblings possibly rekindling their taboo relationship. Yet, their relationship is put to the test in this climatic dinner scene at the film’s third act where Sandra, Gianni, Andrew, Dr. Formari, and Gilardini are attending as Visconti definitely creates this tense atmosphere where something is about to happen. Even as its aftermath would have this sense of tragedy but also acceptance of letting go something that has been the source of discord within her family. Overall, Visconti crafts a chilling yet rapturous film about a woman returning home to celebrate her father’s legacy as well as confront her troubled relationship with her brother.

Cinematographer Armando Nannuzzi does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography as it is filled with imagery with its usage of lights and shadows for the interior/exterior scenes including some really dark scenes in some of the bedrooms at night. Editor Mario Serandrei does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward to play into the dramatic tension as well as some of the melodrama that occurs with its usage of rhythmic cuts. Production designer Mario Garbuglia and set decorator Laudomia Hercolani do amazing work with the look of the rooms at the family estate including its main hall and a room full of statues and antiques as it is a highlight of the film.

Costume designer Bice Brichetto does fantastic work with the costumes in some of the suits the men wear as well as the stylish clothing that Sandra wears. The sound work of Bruno Borghi and Claudio Maielli do superb work with the sound in the way the wind sounds up close and from afar in a key scene early in the film as a lot of it emphasizes on natural sounds presented from its location as it is a highlight of the film. The film’s music by Cesar Franck is phenomenal for its classical-based piano score that features some classical variations as it adds to the drama and tension that looms throughout the film while its soundtrack features some pop and rock music of that period.

The film’s wonderful ensemble cast feature some notable small roles and appearances from noted production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti as a party guest at the film’s opening scene, Amalia Tosca as the family maid Fosca, and Marie Bell (w/ the voice of Andreina Pagnani) as Sandra and Gianni’s mentally-ill mother who despises her children. Fred Williams is terrific as Dr. Pietro Formari as a former lover of Sandra who finds himself dealing with some of the family chaos as he also cares for their mother as he tries to help settle things despite the awkwardness between him and Dawdson. Renzo Ricci is excellent as Antonio Gilardini as Sandra and Gianni’s stepfather who isn’t fond of them yet loves their mother as he is trying to take care of her while he knows about their secret relationship as it is the source of his issues between his stepchildren.

Michael Craig (w/ the voice of Giuseppe Rinaldi) is brilliant as Sandra’s American husband Andrew Dawdson as he is someone trying to learn about the family as well as Sandra’s early life as he also serves as a mediator between the family and their many issues as he is largely reserved until the film’s climax. Jean Sorel (w/ the voice of Massimo Turci) is amazing as Sandra’s brother Gianni Wald-Lutazzi as a man who had maintained a mysterious life as he spends much of his time at the family estate as he hopes to renew his incestuous relationship with Sandra, despite liking Dawdson, as he becomes unhinged over the possibility that it wouldn’t continue. Finally, there’s Claudia Cardinale in a tremendous performance as the titular character as this woman who returns to her hometown to commemorate her Jewish father as well as deal with family issues including her brother as she is unsure about restarting their taboo relationship. Cardinale brings in a complex performance as a woman that is full of grief but also someone that is conflicted and full of rage as it relates to her family as it is a career-defining performance from Cardinale.

Vaghe stele dell’Orsa is a sensational film from Luchino Visconti that features a great leading performance from Claudia Cardinale. Along with its ensemble cast, riveting story of family tragedy and taboo, ravishing visuals, and an evocative music score. It is a film that explores a woman trying to settle family matters as well as confront a taboo relationship with her brother that had been the source of family drama. In the end, Vaghe stele dell’Orsa is a phenomenal film from Luchino Visconti.

Luchino Visconti Films: (Obsessione) – (Giorni di gloria) – (La Terra Firma) – (Appunti su un fatto di cronaca) – (We, the Women) – (Bellisima) - Senso – White Nights (1957 film) - Rocco and His Brothers - (Boccaccio ’70-Il lavoro) – The Leopard - (The Stranger (1967 film)) – The Witches-The Witch Burned Alive - The Damned - Death in Venice - (Alla ricerca di Tadzio) – (Ludwig) – (Conversation Piece) – The Innocent (1976 film)

© thevoid99 2024

Rocco and His Brothers

Based on an episode from the novel Il ponte della Ghisolfa by Giovanni Testori, Rocco e i suoi fratelli (Rocco and His Brothers) is the story of a family in Milan who deal with their surroundings where a man tries to maintain the unity of his family who deal with their new surrounding and its vices. Directed by Luchino Visconti and screenplay by Visconti, Suso Cecchi d’Amico, Pasquale Festa Campanile, Massimo Franciosa, and Enrico Mediola from a story by Visconti, d’Amico, and Vasco Pratolini, the film is an exploration of the life of a family struggling to be together amidst their need to succeed and find happiness. Starring Alain Delon, Renato Salvatori, Annie Girardot, Katina Paxinou, Spiros Focas, Max Cartier, and Claudia Cardinale. Rocco e i suoi fratelli is an evocative and rapturous film from Luchino Visconti.

The film follows a family from Southern Italy who travels to Milan to join their eldest son to live in a new environment hoping they wouldn’t struggle yet they would deal with the demands of the modern world and the vices it would bring that would shake the unity of the family. It’s a film told in five parts as it feature five brothers who are from Southern Italy as they all try to make it in Milan with the youngest being a child with their mother Rosaria Parondi (Katina Paxinou) hoping the move would be a good change for the family. The film’s screenplay does have this structure that is told in five parts as it goes from the eldest son in Vincenzo (Spiros Focas) to the youngest in Luca (Rocco Vidolazzi) with the titular character Rocco (Alain Delon) in the middle. The first act revolves around Vincenzo being engaged to a young woman in Ginetta (Claudia Cardinale) and the second eldest in Simone (Renato Salvatori) trying to make it as a boxer where he falls for a prostitute in Nadia (Annie Girardot). The second act is about Rocco while the third is about the younger brother Ciro (Max Cartier) and Luca.

When the Parondi family arrives to learn about Vincenzo’s engagement to Ginetta, it is a surprise where things don’t exactly go well forcing Vincenzo to be with his family and help them find a home and work for his brothers. When Ginetta becomes pregnant, Vincenzo would marry her as he would make the decision to be with Ginetta and their growing family leaving his mother and brothers to fend for themselves despite wanting to help them. It’s around this time that Simone becomes fascinated by boxing due to his physique but also wants more as he isn’t interested in doing menial work like Vincenzo and Rocco where he would meet Nadia and would do whatever to please her. Even if it means stealing from the laundromat that Rocco works at which would be the start of his own downfall from someone that was loyal to his family to becoming selfish and lazy. Simone’s development is crucial to the story as is Rocco who is this saintly figure of sorts that is doing whatever he can to help his family. Even if it means sacrificing his own happiness for the good of his family where the second act is about him doing his military service where he would meet Nadia a few years after their arrival in Milan.

The second act wouldn’t just play into Rocco searching for his own place in life which also means having to reluctantly become a boxer as Simone’s trainer realize that Rocco has a lot more to offer to the sport than Simone. It’s also for the fact that Rocco is willing to help his family as well as try to mend fences between his mother and Vincenzo in order to meet his growing family. Yet, Rocco’s time with Nadia, who sees him as a way out of prostitution and immorality, would cause problems with Simone. The third act which begins with Ciro, who grows into a responsible young man with a steady job and a girlfriend, who begins to be the one providing for himself, Luca, and their mother as he would be forced to deal with Simone’s self-destructive lifestyle with Nadia that becomes too much for Rosaria to deal with. Ciro’s development is crucial in the third act as he started off as a teenager focusing on his studies and then become a man with responsibilities watching everything around him. Even as he has to be the one to guide his youngest brother Luca about the struggles they all have to deal with.

Luchino Visconti’s direction is definitely intoxicating for the way he captures life in early 1960s Milan as this epicenter of post-war modern Italy. Also shot on location near Lake Como, Visconti would create this world which would seem foreign to a family like the Pardoni who come from the rural landscape of Southern Italy where they had land that was their own despite the struggles they endure. In the city, they had to work harder to get a home and the things needed in a home. While there are a lot of wide shots that Visconti would use to capture the world of Milan and areas that represent this world that is modern as it’s filled with pool halls, boxing arenas, and posh hotels. Visconti creates something where it is a world that is enthralling but also a little off for characters like Rocco who had lived most of his life in the countryside which is a world Visconti doesn’t show at all. Instead, he opens the film with the Pardoni family, minus Vincenzo, arriving on a train station in Milan where they’re in awe of their new surroundings.

While the setting of the film is quite vast, there is still an element of intimacy into the characters that Visconti is interested in as he would use close-ups and medium shots to get a glimpse into the life they have. Especially in the apartments where there’s a scene of Rocco coming into Vincenzo’s apartment late in the second act as it show the kind of life Vincenzo has which is what Ciro is aiming for while still living with his mother and Luca. The film’s third act is about this desire to return to the South as it’s something Rocco wants where he copes with all that he tries to do for his family including Simone who would constantly put the family into shame. Especially in the film’s climax where all of the goading he gets for his troubles would finally test Rocco in his desire to help and forgive with Ciro having to tell Luca about what he would face as well as the realities of what is to come if the family ever returns to the South. Overall, Visconti creates a ravishing yet visceral film about a rural family dealing with modernism, sacrifice, and major challenges in the big city.

Cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno does incredible work with the film’s black-and-white photography to capture the look of modern Italy from the sunny look of the scene outside of the hotel to low-key approach of lighting for the boxing scenes as well as a scene where Simone confronts his former manager. Editor Mario Serandrei does brilliant work with the editing as it emphasizes on a lot of the dramatic elements with its usage of rhythmic cuts to play into some of the intense moments as well as stylish montage of sorts for a key sequence in the third act. Production designer Mario Garbuglia does excellent work with the look of the apartment that the Pardoni family would live in as well as some of the places the brothers would work at and the gym where Simone and Rocco would train.

Costume designer Piero Tosi does terrific work with the costumes as it play into the ragged look of the men early on and the clothes they would wear in the coming years to the fabulous dresses that Nadia would wear to play into the lifestyle of decadence that she craves for. The sound work of Giovanni Rossi is superb in capturing the atmosphere of the city from the things heard from afar as well as some of the raucous sounds at the gym and the apartment building Rosaria would live in. The film’s music by Nino Rota is phenomenal for its lush orchestral score as it play into the melodrama while creating themes that range from being upbeat to using more heavy strings for the eerie moments in the drama as it is a highlight of the film.

The film’s marvelous cast feature some notable small roles from Alessandra Panaro as Ciro’s girlfriend, Corrado Pani as Simone’s friend Ivo, Claudia Mori and Adriana Asti as a couple of laundromat workers who flirt with Rocco, Suzy Delair as the laundromat manager, and Paolo Stoppa as Simone’s manager Cerri as a man who discovers Simone and sees his potential only to find himself into trouble when Simone descends into alcoholism. Claudia Cardinale is fantastic in a small role as Vincenzo’s fiancée Ginetta as a young woman that is willing to be part of Vincenzo’s family despite the mistreatment they received from her family. Rocco Vidolazzi is terrific as Luca as the youngest of the five brothers who is often with his other as he would observe everything around him while having to bear the responsibility of what he will need to do when he gets older. Spiros Focas is superb as Vincenzo as the eldest of the five brothers who is trying to create a family of his own while doing whatever he can to help his mother and brothers. Max Cartier is superb as Ciro as the second youngest of the five brothers who spends much of the film observing his older brothers while trying to make his own mark in his life where he also voices his opinions about what to do.

Katina Paxinou is excellent as Rosaria Pardoni as the mother of the five brothers who frets over the situation of the family while hoping they would get a good life as she wonders if the move to Milan was a good idea. Annie Girardot is brilliant as Nadia as a prostitute who is a woman that lives a decadent lifestyle that has her bringing in some bad vices to Simone until she would fall for Rocco where she hopes to make some changes in her life until Simone wants her back. Renato Salvatori is amazing as Simone as the second eldest brother who is eager to succeed in the city where he becomes a boxer but succumbs to his infatuation with Nadia that would eventually be his downfall as he becomes selfish, lazy, and destructive in the shame he would bring to his family. Finally, there’s Alain Delon in a tremendous performance as Rocco Pardoni as the middle brother who is trying to do what is right for his family as well as maintain order including helping Simone with his troubles as it’s a very restrained performance from Delon that is filled with anguish and humility.

Rocco e i suoi fratelli is an outstanding film from Luchino Visconti. Featuring a great cast led by Alain Delon as well as great visuals, Nino Rota’s sumptuous score, and a heartbreaking story on family dealing with the modern world. It’s a film that explores the life of a family trying to start over in a new world that demands so much and filled with vices that would test their unity. In the end, Rocco e i suoi fratelli is a magnificent film from Luchino Visconti.

Luchino Visconti Films: (Obsessione) – (Giorni di gloria) – (La Terra Firma) – (Bellissima) – (Appunti su un fatto di cronaca) – (We, the Women) – Senso – White Nights (1957 film) – (Boccaccio ’70-Il lavoro) – The Leopard - Sandra – (The Stranger (1967 film)) – The Witches (1967 film)- The Witch Burned Alive – The Damned (1969 film) – (Alla ricerca di Tadzio) – Death in Venice – (Ludwig) – (Conversation Piece) – The Innocent (1976 film)

© thevoid99 2017

Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone

Written and directed by Howard Hill, Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone is a documentary about the life and career of one of cinema’s great filmmakers in Sergio Leone. The documentary explores the evolution of his career from his days making sword-and-sandal films in Italy to how he reinvented the western with his Dollars trilogy. The result is a fascinating story about one of the world’s most beloved filmmakers.

The documentary reveals the life of Sergio Leone through his widow Carla (whom the film was dedicated to) as well as biographer Sir Christopher Frayling where the two unveil a lot about Leone’s personal life. Also interviewed are those who worked with Leone like Eli Wallach, Rod Steiger, Jason Robards, James Woods, Claudia Cardinale, James Coburn, music composer Ennio Morricone, and some of men who co-wrote some of his films. Clint Eastwood appears in an archived piece where he talks about his admiration for Leone.

The documentary also reveals a lot about his importance to the world of cinema though not much is revealed about his pre-Western work like The Last Days of Pompeii and The Colossus of Rhodes as well as the films he supposedly had done additional direction like My Name is Nobody and A Genius, Two Partners, and a Dope. What is shown that Leone fans will love are the commercials he made during the 1970s that definitely bears a lot of the Leone trademarks. Still, the documentary takes it time to reveal a lot about the great films he made such as the Dollars trilogy and Once Upon a Time in America where there’s a lot of stories regarding to the latter and how it was badly mishandled in its re-cut form by the American distributors.

James Coburn recalls how heartbreaking it was for Leone after the film had been badly butchered by the American distributors while James Woods revealed that the re-cut version was voted the worst film of 1984 by Sheila Benson of the L.A. Times while she later saw the uncut version which she named it as one of the best films of the 1980s. Quentin Tarantino reveals a lot about how Leone influenced his work including the close-ups he does which is often a tribute to Leone. Through some rare still photos and other rare footage, Howard Hill makes something is truly a delight for Leone fans.

Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone is an excellent documentary from Howard Hill that explores the life and works of Sergio Leone. It’s a documentary that fans will definitely enjoy despite some its flaws in not unveiling a lot of information about his films. In the end, Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone is a superb film from Howard Hill.

Sergio Leone Films: The Last Days of Pompeii (1959 film) - The Colossus of Rhodes - A Fistful of Dollars - For a Few Dollars More - The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly - Once Upon a Time in the West - Duck, You Sucker! - Once Upon a Time in America

Related: The Auteurs #16: Sergio Leone

© thevoid99 2012

Once Upon a Time in the West

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 5/8/06 w/ Additional Edits & Extensive Revisions.

Directed by Sergio Leone and screenplay by Leone and Sergio Donati, with English translation by Mickey Knox, from a story by Leone, Dario Argento, and Bernardo Bertolucci, Once Upon a Time in The West is the story about an outlaw and a mysterious man protecting a woman from hired killer who is trying to attain a piece of land for a railroad baron. The film serves as Leone's first part of a trilogy about the changes of American life as well as an exploration into revenge and gain. Starring Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards, and Gabriele Ferzetti. Once Upon a Time in the West is a grand yet operatic western from Sergio Leone.

At a desert far from the town of Flagstone, Brett McBain (Frank Wolff) prepares for a feast as he's set to pick up his new wife Jill (Claudia Cardinale). Suddenly, a gang of gunslingers arrive to kill the McBain family as its led by its leader in Frank (Henry Fonda). Jill arrives at the town of Flagstone via train from New Orleans as she waits for the arrival of McBain as she ends up taking a ride from a local named Sam (Paola Stoppa) where they stop at a bar where she hears a mysterious man (Charles Bronson) playing the harmonica as another man named Cheyenne (Jason Robards) arrives with his gang. Jill watches Cheyenne confront the mysterious man known as Harmonica as she continues to ride with Sam to the McBain home where she learns about what happened. After the local sheriff finds evidence believing that Cheyenne is the killer, Jill decides to stay at the McBain home.

After news spread about the McBain massacre, Harmonica tortures a man named Wobbles (Marco Zuanelli) who reveals information about who killed the McBain family as it relates to the involvement of a paralyzed railroad baron named Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti). Morton isn't happy about what Frank and his gang did as they conspire to own the entire railroad system so that Morton can have a legacy to hold on to as they learn that Jill has arrived. After hearing Harmonica's playing, Jill attempts to leave only for Cheyenne to arrive at his home with his gang where they talk about her life in New Orleans as Jill realizes that Cheyenne isn't the killer. Harmonica later arrives after Cheyenne's departure as he reveals some information about what happened to McBain. Harmonica and Cheyenne decide to work together to figure out what Frank and Morton are up to while Jill makes a discovery of her own about the land her late husband had bought.

Frank kidnaps Jill for his own reasons as he tries to convince her to sell the McBain land at an auction that is held until Harmonica arrives with a tied-up Cheyenne to get the reward money so he can buy the McBain land. Jill realizes there is a connection between Frank and Harmonica as Frank's alliance with Morton falters as Frank discovers about the plans McBain had fro the land. This would eventually lead to a showdown between Frank and Harmonica as Cheyenne watches from afar realizing that the days of the West is about to end.

In Leone's past trilogy of Westerns with Clint Eastwood, he wanted to reveal what was great about the genre while giving it a fresh coat of European sensibility in terms of its violence. For this particular film, Leone clearly wanted it to be not just his best Western but a tribute to the genre itself. Leone aimed for an operatic end of the genre by making the film play as a background where it's the time where the railroad starts to emerge where it's the start of modernization and the end of the West. In some ways, the film is considered to be a political film by Leone since the railroad is where the power is. In many ways, it's Leone's most complex film among his Westerns while the structure and plot is a bit more simple.

The script's structure and timing might seem slow to some viewers but its pacing and observation is deliberate to the way Leone tells his story. The credit for hashing out Leone's script is his co-writers in Sergio Donati and Mickey Knox plus contributions from Bernardo Bertolucci and Dario Argento. What the script reveals is Leone's transition from action-driven, stylized Westerns to more dramatic elements that helped evolve his unique ability as a storyteller. While there's only a few main characters of the film, they're all wonderfully developed and fully realized in their intentions and in the presence they bring. Particularly the way heroes and villains are portrayed as multi-dimensional characters. Cheyenne and Harmonica aren't true good guys since Cheyenne is a fugitive who does bad things but at least has his own morals while Harmonica is a bit more vicious since he's here for far more personal reasons in a vendetta.

Part of Harmonica's story is told in flashback since his objective is to find Frank where it eventually reveals itself in a flashback and how he got the name. The main villain of Frank is truly one of the most chilling villains in the history of cinema. Notably for his lack of remorse as he is willing to kill anyone including women and children without no pretenses and morals. He is a sadist and he doesn't have a care in the world except for money and pride. While another villainous character in Morton is in the story, he's not that much of a villain since he has his own morals and his desire to dream of a legacy. Plus, he’s the brunt of abuse in his already tumultuous business relationship with Frank where all Frank cares for is money and power. The real hero of the film is the most unlikely hero of any of Leone's film and that is in the part of a woman.

In the films prior to this one, the women Leone had were often portrayed as hookers or mothers trying to take care of their children. For this film, his main protagonist is a woman where she ends up becoming an unlikely heroine. Not with shooting or playing cowboy but a woman who isn't playing a just a former hooker, but someone who ends up helping create a lost dream while maintaining her dignity. It's in not just the script of Leone but his wandering direction that allows the characters to connect while making them their own as characters that audiences can care about or totally dislike. In his epic vision, Leone aims for a scope where all the tricks he used in previous films work for him where he goes from a close-up of a house and then have the camera move to show an entire town in one long shot.

Leone's love for conventional Western cliches, notably the shootouts are done with great style while making them unconventional at the same time. He starts off with a near-ten minute opening where for a while, nothing happens until Harmonica arrives playing this haunting, harmonica melody. Then, the film immediately opens with a shootout. Even the final shootout between Harmonica and Frank is done with great complexity about the history that reveals a key point to the film's plot in Harmonica's hatred for Frank. Its his presentation that gives voice to the Western while declaring it dead at the same time. While his love for many Westerns including the ones by John Ford are mentioned, he also breaks them to give the genre a great send-off where we understand some of Frank's motives for not wanting the McBain dream to stay alive. In many ways, what Leone would do for ending the West with Once Upon a Time in the West. Sam Peckinpah would confirm it even more in its ideology a year later for his 1969 film, The Wild Bunch.

Helping Leone out in his epic, visual-scope is his longtime cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli. Colli's widescreen photography is not very good when its shown on a fullscreen format but on widescreen, the presentation is beautiful. Taking advantage of the light from the sun in many of the film's exterior settings and giving the interior a grungy yet true atmosphere to the genre. The photography in the film is wonderfully authentic in every frame. Two more of Leone's longtime collaborators also do great work in their respective trade. Longtime art director/costume designer Carlo Simi whose presentation of the Western towns and bars is wonderful in its detail while his creation of the Flagstaff town is rumored to be worth more than the entire budget of Leone's first Western in A Fistful of Dollars. Simi's costume work is great while giving Henry Fonda a great look to his villainous persona and doing great work on the clothing of Claudia Cardinale.

Editor Nino Baragli whose iconic cutting style in The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly is used to great form as he does great work in dissolves and transitional cuts to create a wonderful atmosphere and pacing to the film. Helping with the film's sound work are Fausto Ancillai and Claudio Maielli who help create the atmosphere of the West. Notably, the film's first scene where the sound is amazing from its windmills, creaking chairs, and the noise of a fly. The makeup team of Alberto and Giannetto de Rossi do great work in getting the tanning look to help create the heat of the West along with the red sand of the American West.

The final key collaborator of all of Leone's great films is the work of music composer Ennio Morricone. The score of Morricone is divided into four themes to be played for its main characters. The first is a sweeping, operatic arrangement of strings for the character of Jill while Cheyenne gets a rhythmic, banjo-like guitar accompaniment that plays to the film's humor. The character of Harmonica has a theme to the tune of a haunting harmonica melody while Frank gets a droning, dorbo-like guitar riff when his character arrives. Each arrangement and note Morricone would put would often mix into some of the greatest score work ever assembled which he wrote just before the film was even made. Morricone aims for the same tone of opera and tension, notably in the film's final shootout where the arrangements are sweeping to convey the sense of momentum. In the end, it's one of the best film scores ever composed by the always brilliant Ennio Morricone.

Now we come to the film's amazing, large ensemble cast. While there's some nice, memorable roles from Claudio Mancini as Harmonica's brother and Dino Mele as the young Harmonica in a flashback sequence along with Marilu Carteny and Enzo Santaniello as the McBain children. There's some great performances from veteran Western character actors Jack Elam, Woody Strode, and Al Mulock in the film's opening sequence. Notable small roles like Paola Stoppa, Keenan Wynn, Lionel Stander, and Marco Zuanelli are memorable as is Frank Wolff as the ill-fated McBain. The most memorable supporting role is the role of Morton by Gabriele Ferzetti. Playing a cripple, Ferzetti brings a complexity to his role of a villain who wants to hold on to a final dream as he keeps on hearing and looking at images of the sea. Ferzetti holds his own in many scenes, especially with Henry Fonda as its really two actors just acting with each other while being very comfortable. While he may not be known to Americans, Ferzetti holds a lasting impression.

Claudia Cardinale gives an amazing performance as the hooker with dignity known as Jill. While most of her dialogue was dubbed to cover up her heavy Italian accent, Cardinale still maintains a presence that is matched by her beauty while most of her performance is in reaction shots and observance. It's truly one of the best performances in any Western while she becomes an unlikely heroine despite her past as a hooker. Cardinale has great chemistry with her co-stars but its with Jason Robards that has the greatest impact of sensitivity. The late Jason Robards gives a great performance as the sensitive but dirty Cheyenne whose knowledge of morals and codes of the West brings a man with a lot of integrity despite his criminal background. Robards also plays the moral conscience in the film of sorts despite his deeds while he is the only one to calm someone like Harmonica and bring some good company to Jill. It's a great role from the late actor who also had a great performance in another Western, the often-underrated Sam Peckinpah film, The Ballad of Cable Hogue.

The late Charles Bronson is great in his role as the mysterious Harmonica. Bronson brings a dark, quiet presence to the film where the audience is aware that he's dangerous and he's got something up on his sleeve. His face also carries a sense of pain and mystery as he uses his body language to maintain a performance that is minimalist in its lack of emotions. It's truly an iconic performance from the late actor, who has been an icon in being a badass. The film's most shocking performance goes to none other than the late but legendary Henry Fonda. Throughout his career, especially in films like The Grapes of Wrath and 12 Angry Men, Fonda has played men of struggle and men who just wants to do and do the right thing. In this film, he does the exact opposite. Fonda uses the right look and tone to play a character that is pure evil from every of his intentions for his own gain. Fonda truly captures everything that a villain is needed to the point that he's a villain some can like despite his actions. It's truly one of his many iconic performances.

The 2003, 2-disc Special Edition Region 1 DVD from Paramount is truly one of the best packages of any DVD. Particularly since it's the uncut version of the film where the American release cut 25 minutes from the film in 1968 where in later releases, the scenes that got cut were restored. Presenting the film in the preferred widescreen format that is the only true way to watch a Leone epic. The film looks wonderful in all of its glory while its 16x9 aspect ratio is perfect for TV. With 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound plus restored mono audio in English and French along with English subtitles. The 2-disc set features the first disc presenting the entire film in all of its glory with its only special feature is a huge audio commentary track. The second disc is filled with several documentary shorts plus cast profiles, theatrical trailers, and photo galleries.

The first disc features a full-on audio commentary track with excerpts recorded separately from different places. On the commentary are film historians Sir Christopher Frayling and Dr. Sheldon Hall, film directors John Carpenter, Alex Cox, and John Milius, and from the actual movie, co-writer Bernardo Bertolucci and the film's star Claudia Cardinale. While John Milius and Claudia Cardinale had brief commentary tracks, they're wonderfully informative as Milius talks about his friendship with Sergio Leone. Claudia Cardinale comments on her love scene with Henry Fonda which she thought was a terrible day since she and Fonda were shooting the scene in front of journalists and Fonda's wife at the time. The shooting made things tense as Cardinale recalled though she had a good time with the legendary actor. She also talks about how Leone is compared to the great directors she worked with like Federico Fellini in 8 1/2 and Luchino Visconti.

Alex Cox and John Carpenter provide the more enjoyable commentaries as Cox talks about some of the scenes that got cut in the heavily-edited American version. Carpenter talks in a couple of scenes from a technical standpoint and his enjoyment of Leone's tracking and crane shots along with the editing and pacing style that was inspired the Japanese films of Kurosawa and Ozu. Bernardo Bertolucci also had a couple of cuts where he talked about the writing of the film and how pleased he was with the film's final cut while talking about his love for the Western genre as a kid and how Leone got him to regain his love for the genre after being enamored with the French New Wave. The more informative commentaries come from Dr. Sheldon Hall and most of all, Sir Christopher Frayling where they talk about the scenes that got cut while Frayling describes a lot of the mythology of the film. Plus, the noted references into the many movies of John Ford whom Leone loved among all Western directors while the harmonica playing is a reference to Nicholas Ray's Johnny Guitar.

The second disc of the DVD features several little documentaries relating to the movie. Three of them is about the film with interviews from Cardinale, Bertolucci, Cox, Carpenter, Milius, and Frayling along with late cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli and Gabriele Ferzetti. The first of the three-part documentary is a 30-minute segment called An Opera of Violence where Frayling discusses Leone's film background where his father was a silent film director and mother was an actress that did the first ever Italian Western. Leone would eventually become an assistant director for Mario Soldati in many Roman-like epics while doing some camera work in other movies like Cleopatra and Ben-Hur where Leone was part of the crew shooting the chariot scene. When Soldati died during production of a film, Leone took over to finish where he got to do his first ever film entitled Colossus of Rhodes in 1961.

Then in the early 60s, the Italian film industry went bust after the era of Roman epics were gone, Cleopatra just bombed while Luchino Visconti's Il Gatopardo also failed commercially. Frayling discusses that the Italian industry was at the time, an industry that will go on one trend and then make films of that same style. While there were films by Visconti, Federico Fellini, Michaelangelo Antonioni, Roberto Rosellini and Vittorio de Sica at the time, they weren't big commercial films. Then came Leone with the trilogy of A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly. The Italian industry went up and running again while Leone was becoming a hero. During the premiere for The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly in December 1966, Leone met with a then-new filmmaker named Bernardo Bertolucci and a local film critic from Rome named Dario Argento. Though Leone had planned to do an epic mob movie that would eventually become Once Upon a Time in America, he didn't want to do another Western.

Paramount from the U.S. convinced Leone thanks to the international buzz of his Western trilogy as he decided to do one more Western with help from Bertolucci and Argento. Bertolucci talked about how he came up with the idea of getting a female protagonist for the film which Leone resisted at first only to be won over by the idea. Claudia Cardinale discusses how she got contacted and how she wanted the part to be more complex and it helped the writing more. The documentary also features rare interview clips from Leone in 1984 when he was finishing Once Upon a Time in America and an old 1975 interview with Henry Fonda talking about taking the role for Once Upon a Time in the West. Part of a trilogy of the events that touched America, Leone wanted to pay homage to the West but also attack the American ideology while Alex Cox talked about the opening scene where there's a legendary story about the stars of The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly playing the part of the three men only to be killed in the first five minutes.

The second doc short for The Wages of Sin is a 20-minute segment where the discussion is on Leone's working style. John Carpenter, Cox, and Delli Colli discusses his precise detail for everything right. They discuss the photography style of Delli Colli as well as the work of the late art director/costume designer Carlo Simi. Frayling talks about while most of the film was shot in Spain with some interiors in Cinecetta studios in Rome. The famous shot of Jill with Sam riding through Monument Valley was one of the few scenes in America. Before shooting, Leone and Delli Colli went to America for a tour group to look at Monument Valley where Leone acted like a kid in a candy store since that's where John Ford shot some of his Westerns. Leone and his crew even went up to get the red sand from Monument Valley to use for the film. The segment also discusses the Leone close-ups and his canvas where Carpenter, Cardinale, and Frayling all feel it's the key to being a great storyteller.

The third and final part of the documentary is an 18-minute segment called Something to Do with Death where they discuss the music of Morricone where in this film, it was the first time he wrote an entire score just before the film was even shot. They discuss the themes he wrote and how Leone got inspired by them. The opening scene of the film originally was supposed to have music but the themes Morricone and Leone tried to use didn't work until Morricone went to a performance art show about a guy making sounds with ladders. There, it gave the idea for the film's opening scene with its array of amplified sounds. This leads to the discussion of the film's release where in Europe, it was a success but in the U.K. and U.S., it wasn't. Especially in America where they cut 20 minutes of the film for length reason, which would be the case for the remainder of his films in the years to come where they would get chopped up in the editing room.

The short six-minute featurette entitled Railroad-Revolutionizing the West is a short doc about the evolution of the railroad and its impact that it had on the West. Especially in its influence on the cinema where Alex Cox reveals that it talks about the process of industrialization where machines came and the beginning of the end of man. Two galleries appear for the DVD. First is a locations gallery to compare and contrast the locations of the film where many of the railway locations from Spain show no railroad but more grass. The McBain house looks more colorful while keeping the wood that was actually taken from a film by Orson Welles. The look of Monument Valley remains insatiable in its red look while the trail don't exist only as a path of sorts. The film photo gallery features black-and-white stills of the cast and crew working including a deleted scene that never made the final cut of Harmonica being assaulted by the town's sheriff.

Also included are the cast bios of the five main actors, French and English subtitles, and the original theatrical trailer for the film. Overall, this is a fantastic DVD though the only flaw is its packaging where both discs are on top of another and if anyone is trying to get the second disc. Get the first one out or you'll cause some scratches.

Once Upon a Time in the West is a majestic and outstanding film from Sergio Leone. Featuring incredible performances from Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards, and Gabriele Ferzetti. It is truly one of the great films that transcends the western genre as it also serves as a worthy introduction for anyone new to the western. The film also features amazing technical work as well as an awesome score by Ennio Morricone that is truly one of the great film scores ever composed. In the end, Once Upon a Time in the West is a remarkable film from Sergio Leone.

Sergio Leone Films: The Last Days of Pompeii (1959 film) - The Colossus of Rhodes - A Fistful of Dollars - For a Few Dollars More - The Good, The Bad, & the Ugly - Duck, You Sucker! - Once Upon a Time in America

Related: Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone - The Auteurs #16: Sergio Leone

(C) thevoid99 2012

My Best Fiend

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/26/07 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

From 1972 to 1987, German director Werner Herzog and actor Klaus Kinski created five different films that were both brilliant and catastrophic. After Kinski's death in November 1991, it was an end of an era despite Herzog's love-hate relationship towards the actor. After his final collaboration with Kinski for 1987's Cobra Verde that proved to be troubling, Herzog ended his collaboration where throughout the 1990s, Herzog went into documentaries and his work in feature films became less and less. In 1999, Herzog made another documentary for European television chronicling his troubling yet inspired collaboration with Kinski called Mein Liebster Fiend (My Best Fiend). The documentary reveals the films the duo made together like Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Nosferatu, Woyzeck, Fitzcarraldo, and Cobra Verde. With interviews from former co-stars like Claudia Cardinale, Eva Mattes, and Justo Gonzalez along with various crew members. Mein Liebster Fiend is an insightful, troubling documentary into one of cinema's most passionate and chaotic collaborations.

The documentary recalls Herzog's memories with Kinski whom he met when he was 13 years old in an apartment where he lived with his mother and two brothers in the 1950s. Herzog would revisit the Munich apartment as he recalls that first memory of Kinski. The film is essentially a documentary of how their collaboration began with Aguirre, the Wrath of God where Herzog wrote a script around the time Kinski was playing Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar for a European road tour where Kinski received the script. It is in that moment Herzog and Kinski began a very tumultuous yet ambition collaboration through five feature films. During the course of the film, Herzog revisits the Amazon river where he shot both Aguirre and Fitzcaarraldo where Herzog is joined by Justo Gonzalez from Aguirre who also remembers Kinski's violent behavior and phobias towards wasps.

One of the documentary's highlights are the interviews with Herzog's second wife/Woyzeck co-star Eva Mattes and Claudia Cardinale from Fitzcarraldo where the two shared their memories about Kinski where they revealed the warm side of Kinski. Notably as Mattes got a Best Supporting Actress prize at Cannes where she received praise from Kinski. Another highlight of the film involves the making of Fitzcarraldo with footage of Les Blank's 1982 documentary Burden of Dreams that features an infamously violent and intense rant from Kinski who vents his anger at production manager Walter Saxer that proves a scary side of the actor. While Herzog tries to find the balance between the very different sides, he also reveals his frustrations towards Kinski during the production of Fitzcarraldo where both men plotted to kill each other. All of that tension came ahead when they did 1987's Cobra Verde where photographer Beat Pressner revealed an unsettling photo that showed the deterioration of that relationship. Still, Herzog wants to maintain his fondness for Kinski no matter how bad things had ended.

While the film will baffle audiences into why would a director like Herzog would want to work with someone like Kinski. Some will realize that the two working together makes sense since they're both nut-cases while Herzog is not so much in the film's present footage. There are scenes where Herzog returns to the locations and meet the people including extras to discuss everything that went on while looking back at the same spot where a certain part of a film was shot. There's even a scene in where Herzog reveals why he wanted to work with an actor like Kinski as he shows an old 1955 German film called Kinder, Mutter Und ein General (Children, Mother, and the General) that also starred Maximilian Schell. There's a moment,in which, Herzog is transfixed in a scene featuring Kinski. While the doc's tender moments including the film's ending is wonderful, it's still a bit overshadowed by the drama of Kinski and his troubling behavior. Especially since the film also features Kinski's voice through recorded audio in all of his energetic anger, where at one point during Aguirre. Kinski demands for the film to be shot in the same way like Brecht and David Lean while Herzog replies that he doesn't care for either of those men.

It's the drama and Herzog's depiction of his late collaborator that brings both excitement and sadness. Though Herzog is willing to put himself on the line as an egomaniac, he admits it and isn't afraid to show himself in all of his flaws. Though the film is a bit flawed due to pacing, it is wonderfully handled by Herzog in how he tells the story. Particularly through the editing of Joe Bini who cuts a lot of footage and moments in parts of the film to reveal the brilliance and folly of their collaborations as well as how Eva Mattes and Claudia Cardinale reflect on a few scenes they had with Kinski. Cameraman Peter Zeitlinger does great work following Herzog through the locations he's filmed in as well as the interviews to reveal the professionalism and ease he has during the interviews. Longtime composers Popol Vuh bring back the same, atmospheric scores of their work in some of the films they did with Herzog including an angelic piece for the film's final moments.

***Additional DVD Content Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/30/07 w/ Additional Edits***

The Region 1 DVD from the 2000 Herzog-Kinski box set from Anchor Bay is presented in a widescreen presentation of 1:77:1 aspect ratio for 16x9 TV since it was originally made for European TV with help from IFC for a limited theatrical release. The language in both English and German 2.0 Dolby Surround Sound with English subtitles, the DVD's only special feature is the theatrical trailer. There's no commentary needed since Herzog narrates in parts of the documentary. The essay by Michael Felsher doesn't reveal much that the documentary has covered other than a viewpoint from the essayist about the film.

The box set features a little excerpt from longtime Herzog supporter and film critic Roger Ebert about the infamous collaboration between the two actors. Each disc is packed in a thin, plastic case featuring international posters of the film and color coded. With a booklet inside the box that includes an introduction with a quote from Herzog and essays for each film by Jim Knipfel, Cliff MacMillan, Michael Felsher, and Herzog in a conversation with Laurens Staub. This box set is truly one of the must-have for any fan of international cinema while it's a great starting point into the works of Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski.

***End of DVD Tidbits***

While it's not perfect, Mein Liebster Fiend is still a fascinating documentary from Werner Herzog in revealing the tense collaboration with the late Klaus Kinski. While it serves as a nice introduction to their work, it's best to start with Aguirre, the Wrath of God while going through their other films. Fans of Klaus Kinski won't be surprised into his complex behavior though they'll be entertained in what he reveals to himself. In the end, Mein Liebster Fiend is a fitting tribute/hate mail to Klaus Kinski from the always provocative Werner Herzog.

Werner Herzog Films: Feature Films: (Signs of Life) - (Even the Dwarfs Started Small) - (Fatana Morgana) - Aguirre, the Wrath of God - (The Enigma of Kasper Hauer) - (Heart of Glass) - Stroszek - Nosferatu, the Vampyre - Woyzeck - Fitzcarraldo - (Where the Green Ants Dream) - Cobra Verde - (Scream of Stone) - (Lessons of Darkness) - (Invincible (2001 film)) - (The Wild Blue Yonder) - Rescue Dawn - (Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans) - (My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?) - Queen of the Desert

Documentaries: (The Flying Doctors of East Africa) - (Handicapped Future) - (Land of Silence and Darkness) - (The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner) - (How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck) - (La Soufrière) - (Huie's Sermon) - (God's Angry Man) - (Ballad of the Little Soldier) - (The Dark Glow of the Mountains) - (Wodaabe – Herdsmen of the Sun) - (Echoes from a Somber Empire) - (Jag Mandir) - (Bells from the Deep) - (The Transformation of the World into Music) - (Death for Five Voices) - (Little Dieter Needs to Fly) - (Wings of Hope) - (Pilgrimage) - (Ten Thousand Years Older) - (Wheel of Time) - (The White Diamond) - Grizzly Man - Encounters at the End of the World - Cave of Forgotten Dreams - (Into the Abyss) - (On Death Row) - From One Second to the Next

© thevoid99 2012

Burden of Dreams

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/17/07 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

1982's Fitzcarraldo by Werner Herzog and starring Klaus Kinski and Claudia Cardinale was considered to be one of the most ambitious films ever made. Largely due to its plot of an opera-loving baron who seeks to exploit an unclaimed part of land while getting his steamboat dragged by Amazon natives on top of a mountain. Despite the film's international acclaim and success, the film was years in the making with cast changes and production problems that the story behind the making of the film was even more interesting. It was there that documentary film director Les Blank released a film about the making of Fitzcarraldo called Burden of Dreams. Starring Herzog, Kinski, Cardinale, along with Mick Jagger, and Jason Robards. Burden of Dreams is a superb, intriguing documentary about all the troubles that goes on behind the world of filmmaking.

After a year of pre-production, Werner Herzog and his film crew travel to the Amazon for locations scouting for his film entitled Fitzcarraldo. Part of the film's story would involve dragging a steamship on top of a mountain as Herzog and his team found the location they needed. The only problem is that they encounter a border dispute between Indian tribes and the government forcing Herzog to postpone the shoot for a year. Finally in 1981, Herzog was able to shoot in Iquitos, Peru for the film as he got his cast ready as it would star Jason Robards as the titular character and rock singer as his assistant Mick Jagger. With 40% of the film shot and things seemed fine, Robards became ill as he had to return to the U.S. for medical reasons as he never came back to Peru due to his illness. The production was halted for six weeks as Jagger had to leave production due to his touring commitments with the Rolling Stones. In April of 1981, Herzog brought in Klaus Kinski, whom he had already collaborated in three films by this time, to replace Robards while Jagger's character was cut out of the film. Re-shooting all of the scenes in Iquitos, Herzog found the steamboat he needed as he as he also rented two steamboats to make them identical as filming continued with Kinski and Claudia Cardinale.

Herzog also found a new group of Indian tribes to work with while doubling their wages to continue doing their other work. Still, the shoot dealt with problems due the end of rain season where Herzog and crew had to shoot in the mildly dangerous currents of the Pachitea river while the other boat was in the Ucayala Falls. Things were still troubling over tension between differing tribe members while the planning for the steamboat dragging sequence proved to be daunting. Even as a rented bulldozer couldn't help create the slope Herzog needed as he's running out of time and money as the production got longer than he anticipated. While also dealing with restless natives as a missionary priest tries to ease the tension, Herzog and his team tried to stay away at another camp as Kinski complained about the boredom that is happening. With the slope finally completed, a Brazilian engineer is asked to figure how to drag a ship on top of a mountain as he later quit over its problems. After a first attempt where the cable breaks, Herzog reveals his love/hate relationship towards nature believing that nature is winning. Though filming is able to continue despite the on-going trouble in the production that included the treacherous rapids sequences. Herzog contemplates about making another film as the shooting of Fitzcarraldo finally finishes in November of 1981.

While many people will know that making a film isn't easy but what Les Blank and his co-director Maureen Gosling revealed is how far a director will go to achieve his dream and how far he's willing to take himself. Though Herzog isn't entirely portrayed as an egomaniac, he is willing to himself to reveal his personality, flaws and all. There's parts of him that is caring and sensitive and there's another side of him that can be insensitive and delusional at times. Still, Blank and Gosling reveal all the troubles in which Herzog had to go through. From the border disputes between tribes and the Peruvian government to the battle with nature on trying to get the steamboat on top of a mountain as well as trekking through the Amazon. It's more than the typical, behind-the-scenes kind of mini-film that would often be seen on TV specials or as extra features on a DVD. What Blank unveils is what could go wrong in a movie definitely goes wrong and how Herzog persevered through the challenges.

While the entire film isn't perfect since there's a few parts that drag, the documentary is sobering in how the tribes and local react to being apart of this project. The reaction was indeed mixed where though they like the money and being apart of something grand, they didn't expect it to be that hard or to come into a situation that is tense. With Blank serving as the cinematographer, he goes deep into the contrasting world of the camps that the tribes lived in and where the cast and crew lived since Herzog didn't want to impose the culture of his camp onto theirs. The interviews with Herzog, Kinski, Paul Hittscher, Thomas Mauch, Miguel Angel Fuentes, Jose Lewgoy, various crew members plus locals reveal the atmosphere and the culture of the Amazon. While Herzog doesn't want to maintain or exploit their culture, he does his best to get the tribe into getting their land where by the end of the film, the final credits revealed that the tribe is still struggling to get their land.

Then there's the narration written by Michael Goodwin as it reveals the troubles of the film and what was going on during the months of filming. It's a wonderful narration in its insightful, sobering effects of how weather, locations, and politics can cause problems during filming. Then there's the role of Maureen Gosling whose editing and sound work reveal the tense atmosphere of the areas while her editing, revealing several amounts of footage shows the complexity of the Amazon as well as everything that goes in the film. It's superbly edited while it reveals the two lost scenes with Jagger and Robards including a scene of the two actors calling out wanting an opera on top of a church. Those two scenes reveal what was left since the remaining footage was lost. Other footage in the documentary, particularly between Herzog and Kinski is revealed more in Herzog's 1999 documentary about his collaboration with Kinski called My Best Fiend.

Burden of Dreams is marvelous documentary from Les Blank that chronicles the production of Fitzcarraldo. Fans of Herzog's film will no doubt want to check this film out to see how far Herzog was able to reach the impossible for this film. Particularly as it gets very close to the filmmaking process and how ambitious production can lead to trouble. It's a very engaging and hypnotic documentary to see what had to be done to do the impossible as Burden of Dreams is a truly intoxicating documentary from Les Blank

Fitzcarraldo

(C) thevoid99 2012

Fitzcarraldo

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/14/07 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Written and directed by Werner Herzog, Fitzcarraldo is the fourth and possibly, the greatest collaboration between Herzog and actor Klaus Kinski. The film tells the story of a man, in the turn of the century, who has dreams of bringing the opera to the masses as he and his companions go on a steamboat to the Amazon where at one point, he tries to take the boat over a mountain in order to get to the other side of the river. One of the most ambitious films of the 1980s, the film is shot on location in the Amazon as Herzog tells the story of a dreamer trying to achieve the impossible as Kinski plays the title role of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald aka Fitzcarraldo. Also starring Claudia Cardinale, Jose Lewgoy, Paul Hittscher, and Peter Berling. Fitzcarraldo is a sprawling, magnificent film from Werner Herzog and its star, Klaus Kinski.

Living in the small town of Iquitos at the Amazon in Peru, Fitzcarraldo and his wife Molly (Claudia Cardinale) arrive at an opera house to hear the voice of Enrico Caruso. After meeting the opera manager (Peter Berling), Fitzcarraldo announces he wants to stage a grand opera in Iquitos though many laugh as Fitzcarraldo wants to prove everyone that he'll do it. Though Molly runs a brothel and Fitzcarraldo produces ice in different parts of the town, he attends a party with several rubber barons as they all mock Fitzcarraldo with the exception of Don Aquilino (Jose Lewgoy). Aquilino wants a piece of unclaimed land down south in the Ucayala Falls that he needs to exploit it. The only reason it had been unclaimed was due to dangerous rapids on the other side called Pongo das Mortes as Fitzcarraldo gets a map where the only way through is to go to the Pachitea river that features a group of dangerous tribes. Fitzcarraldo makes a deal with Aquilino to do the job as he and Molly buy Aquilino's old steamboat with his mechanic Cholo (Miguel Angel Fuentes). With a crew that includes the drunk cook Huerequeque (Hurequeque Enrique Bohorquez) and a Dutch captain named Orinoco Paul (Paul Hittscher), Fitzcarraldo is on his way to get funding for his opera.

Fitzcarraldo and his crew of the newly repaired steamboat named Molly Aida make way upstream towards the Pachitea around the Amazon. Stopping at an old railroad station that Fitzcarraldo owned, the team gets rails as Fitzcarraldo ensures the old station manager (Grande Otelo) that the railroad will be restored. After an encounter with two priests (Dieter Milz and Salvador Godinez) about the tribe, Huerequeque reveals to know a lot about the tribe where Fitzcarraldo and crew continue to trek towards the sinister Pachitea as things become tense when the tribe's music is heard. Fitzcarraldo counters it with the voice of Enrico Caruso where Huerequeque reveals a myth about a man in white who might rid of the evil that's been surrounded. With some of the crew, except for Cholo, Paul, and Huerequeque, having left the boat due to this curse, Fitzcarraldo and the remaining crew encounter the tribe who believe Fitzcarraldo is the man that they believe will lift the evil spirits away from their land.

After observing the land and its beauty, Fitzcarraldo needs to get back to Iquitos only to realize the tribe has blocked the way in the Pachitea stream forcing Fitzcarraldo to make a daring plan by dragging the ship to the other side. The only way to get to the Ucayala falls is to go to the other side as Fitzcarraldo has a strange plan of dragging the steamship from one side of the mountain to the other. Despite months of work and everything else including false starts that proved to be fatal, Fitzcarraldo at first seemed defeated but his drive to dream the impossible makes him determined as he hopes to do the impossible, even if he has to go through the cursed rapids of the Pongo das Mortes.

Easily the most ambitious and grandest of Herzog's films, Fitzcarraldo is truly Herzog in every shape and form from its conflict of man vs. nature to doing the impossible. The film is about dreamers achieving what could be impossible and the result is truly magnificent in every frame shot. While the film does have similarities to another Herzog film, 1972's Aguirre, the Wrath of God, about a dark journey in the Amazon river, where both Aguirre and Fitzcarraldo embark on dark, treacherous journeys into the heart of the Amazon. Unlike the doomed, manic Aguirre, Fitzcarraldo has an innocence and determination that's more human as he embarks on this journey just to have this crazy dream of bringing the Grand Opera to a little poor town of Amazon natives. Still, this film is really about Herzog himself, who manages to do something impossible and succeeds in the end. Really, the film is about the experience of doing something to achieve a destiny that many refuse to believe in.

Herzog's screenplay is wonderfully structured in the first act being about Fitzcarraldo wanting to bring an opera to Iquitos despite those against him while the second is about the journey into the Amazon. The third and most climatic act is about that ship being dragged on top of a mountain and the journey afterwards in which Fitzcarraldo has become a character that's more human in everything he's experienced. It's really due to Herzog's ability to portray man in a way that's he is completely relatable to anyone that is a dreamer. Fitzcarraldo is really every person who has a dream and wants to achieve it. It's his most personal and its filled with a lot of heart and joy, it's truly Herzog at his finest.

Herzog's direction is also ambitious by shooting the film entirely on location in Iquitos and parts of the Amazon. Herzog, known for his work in documentary, brings a documentary-like feel to the film where the audience isn't sure what's going to happen or if a character like Fitzcarraldo is going to succeed. Then there's the climatic scene of the steamboat being dragged on top of a mountain. The steamboat is real and this really happened. No film or film director has done something like this by actually doing something with a cast of hundreds of people including a few accomplished actors giving into the emotions and everything that could go wrong or could go right. It's a very unpredictable film as Herzog really pulls on all the stops and sees what he can come up with as he delivers a knockout of a film. Plus, it should be noted that Hollywood has probably never done something like this nor would they since they can't work with someone as fearless and as driven as Werner Herzog.

Cinematographer Thomas Mauch brings a wonderful visual scope to the landscape of the Amazon in its beauty and treachery with wonderful, long shots of the boat in the river during sunset. Mauch's photography is exquisite and harrowing in its documentary-style where it adds all sorts of poetic imagery to the film's exterior look of the Amazon while adding some wonderful shadows and lighting style to the film's interior scenes in Iquitos. Editor Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus does wonderful work in the editing in bring a nice, elliptical pace to the film and long cuts to reveal a scene in its 157-minute running time. Production designers Henning von Gierke and Ulrich Bergfelder do wonderful work in creating the posh houses of the barons and opera managers while doing extensive work on the steamboat which serves as a great character. Costume designer Gisela Storch does great work in the film's costumes for the first act from the period dresses that Claudia Cardinale wore to the white suit that Klaus Kinski wears throughout the entire film. Sound recordists Juarez Dagoberto Costa and Zeze d'Alice do excellent work in capturing the sounds of the Amazon, including one great scene of the tribal drumming mixed in with the opera music in one scene.

Longtime collaborators Popol Vuh and its leader Florian Fricke bring a wonderfully operatic, atmospheric score filled with guitar, choir-like vocal arrangements, and melodic textures that adds a lot of dream-like quality to some of the film's scenery. With a mix of traditional, tribal music, the soundtrack is filled with a lot of opera cuts from Richard Strauss, Vincenzo Bellini, Giacomo Puccini, and Guiseppe Verdi. The soundtrack is wonderfully amazing and the mixing of tribal and opera makes total perfect sense in its rhythm and intensity.

The film's casting is truly inspiring since a lot of the natives and locals in Iquitos were used for realism while David Perez Espinosa is given a memorable performance as the tribal chief along with notable small performances from Dieter Milz, Salvador Godinez, Grande Otelo, and from Aguirre, Peter Berling. Huerequeque Enrique Bohorquez is hilarious as the drunkard cook whose crazy idea of how to get the ship on top of the mountain is pure comedy as he brings humor to some of the film's tense moments. Miguel Angel Fuentes is excellent, skillful mechanic Cholo whose awareness of the Amazon makes him a wonderful supporting character in making sure that Fitzcarraldo does what he is yearning for. Paul Hittscher is great as the weary but experienced captain who is really the moral conscious of the film as he wonders if he, Fitzcarraldo, and their crew are doing the right thing. Jose Lewgoy is good as Don Aquilino who helps Fitzcarraldo fund his big dream while showing what he must do in order to achieve it. Though she's only in half of the film, Claudia Cardinale is excellent as Molly, who is the great supporter of Fitzcarraldo while believing that he can do it as she really serves her role very well.

Finally, there's Klaus Kinski in what has to be one of his greatest performance ever in film. Unlike the madness of Aguirre, the creepiness of Dracula in Nosferatu, or the fragility of Franz Woyzeck, Kinski brings a newfound sense of innocence into playing the title character of Fitzcarraldo. While Woyzeck showed his range as an actor, Kinski gives Fitzcarraldo something that audiences can relate to as a dreamer who wants to bring something for those around him. Kinski adds a complexity of emotions as a man who is aware he has to face realism where he nearly breaks and often ponders if he will fail or succeed. Kinski brings a maturity and wisdom to a man that is flawed and complex as Fitzcarraldo and this is truly the best performance he did in the films with Herzog.

***DVD Contents Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/30/07*** 

The Region 1 DVD, from the 2000 Herzog-Kinski box set from Anchor Bay, presents the film in the widescreen format of 1:85:1 ratio for 16x9 TVs along with 5.1 Dolby Digital and Surround Sound for both German and English with English subtitles. The special features includes the film's theatrical trailer in German plus the talent bios of Herzog, Kinski, and the music group Popol Vuh, and a still gallery featuring promotional shots, behind-the-scenes photos, and posters. The audio commentary track from Herzog, Norman Hill, and producer Lucki Stipetic is one of the most sobering commentaries into the making of the film which was notorious and revealed more deeply in Les Blank's 1982 documentary Burden of Dreams.

Herzog downplays the film's notorious troubles while admitting to some of the infamous ongoings. At one point, his cinematographer Thomas Mauch injured his hand during the shooting of the boat in the rapids due to the boat's collision with the rocks. In that same sequence, a cameraman, shooting from the bank of river was left out and angry at Herzog for being left behind. Herzog talks about his trouble with Kinski during the shoot since Kinski would often freak out in scenes with animals or anything that was going on during the shoot and Herzog had a hard time to calm him down. Herzog gives praise to Claudia Cardinale for being one of the few to calm down Kinski and making him smile on camera. It's one of the best commentaries that reveals the troubled nature and accusations Herzog had received during the film.

***End of DVD Tidbits

Fitzcarraldo is truly one of the most ambitious and spectacular films that delivers and more that could only come from the mind of Werner Herzog. Featuring a towering performance from Klaus Kinski, it is truly a film like no other that is out there. Notably as it actually does the impossible by actually dragging a steamship on top of a mountain. It's definitely one of those films that anyone who has never seen a Werner Herzog film must see for its sense of ambition and willingness to do whatever to tell a grand story. In the end, Fitzcarraldo is a marvelous film from Werner Herzog and its star Klaus Kinski.

Werner Herzog Films: Feature Films: (Signs of Life) - (Even the Dwarfs Started Small) - (Fatana Morgana) - Aguirre, the Wrath of God - (The Enigma of Kasper Hauer) - (Heart of Glass) - Stroszek - Nosferatu, the Vampyre - Woyzeck - (Where the Green Ants Dream) - Cobra Verde - (Scream of Stone) - (Lessons of Darkness) - (Invincible (2001 film)) - (The Wild Blue Yonder) - Rescue Dawn - (Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans) - (My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?) - Queen of the Desert

Documentaries: (The Flying Doctors of East Africa) - (Handicapped Future) - (Land of Silence and Darkness) - (The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner) - (How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck) - (La Soufrière) - (Huie's Sermon) - (God's Angry Man) - (Ballad of the Little Soldier) - (The Dark Glow of the Mountains) - (Wodaabe – Herdsmen of the Sun) - (Echoes from a Somber Empire) - (Jag Mandir) - (Bells from the Deep) - (The Transformation of the World into Music) - (Death for Five Voices) - (Little Dieter Needs to Fly) - My Best Fiend - (Wings of Hope) - (Pilgrimage) - (Ten Thousand Years Older) - (Wheel of Time) - (The White Diamond) - Grizzly Man - Encounters at the End of the World - Cave of Forgotten Dreams - (Into the Abyss) - (On Death Row) - From One Second to the Next

Related Review: Burden of Dreams

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