Burden of Dreams

1982

1h 35m

Documentary

List

89%

18 Reviews

Tomatometer

91%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

German director Werner Herzog begins work on his 1982 epic "Fitzcarraldo" but soon runs into serious setbacks, from casting problems to his own stubborn refusal to use special effects. After having to reshoot much of the film because the lead actor was recast, his crew must then haul an old-fashioned steamboat over a mountain using manpower alone. With a resolve bordering on insanity, Herzog struggles to realize his vision, vowing to see the film completed -- even if it leads to his undoing.

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ArtystaPisarz P

From what I heard about the troubled production of “Fitzcarraldo”, this documentary doesn’t cover even half of it, which seems incredulous, as it covers such a large amount of crazy stories of film-making brave-to-a-fault that it can make your head spin and go dizzy. This is a necessary companion movie to Herzog’s “Fitzcarraldo” and may even convince its viewers that somehow the insane story of how this epic movie was made is even more interesting and improbable than the plot of the movie itself. Still, it is a very old-fashioned documentary, as I feel it, with a seemingly omniscient narrator that is so rare in the current movies of this genre. So, though I quite enjoyed “Burden of Dreams”, I cannot but feel that there is even more material here. Maybe someone should make a non-documentary movie about how “Fitzcarraldo” was made? That would certainly be a stranger-than-fiction film I would want to watch!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/27/24

Full Review

dave s

Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo was a film about, among other things, the will of the human spirit. Burden of Dreams, Les Blank's documentary about the making of Fitzcarraldo, is about, ironically enough, the will of the human spirit. The central story thread of Herzog's film is the main character's obsession with physically carrying a large steamboat over land to an adjacent river. The documentary focuses primarily on Herzog's actual attempt to film a cast of hundreds actually transporting the boat over a mountain pass. It's all pretty riveting stuff, but one can't help but think that Herzog himself was responsible for the majority of the misfortunes experienced while making the original movie, his own ego being the cause of his grief. While it's unfortunate that more time wasn't spent with his infamously prickly star Klaus Kinski, it remains a fascinating examination of artistic passion and the madness that often comes with creativity.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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georgan g

Not very impressed. In fact, maybe I've just seen too many Herzog movies & watched the supplemental material. Whatever the cause I didn't learn anything new about Herzog.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It was an astounding film and this documentary shows just how ludicrous a directorial effort this was. How Herzog persevered and achieved this picture is beyond me. Can't have been many films as difficult to pull off as this.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The conclussion of the documentary (as twisted as one of Herzog's movies) is that Herzog is as crazy as Fitzcarraldo and tried the same thing.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

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david f

The story of the making of Fitzcarraldo is fascinating and even more bonkers that Fitzcarraldo.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Les Blank

Director

Claudia Cardinale

Molly

Werner Herzog

Self

Mick Jagger

Wilbur

Klaus Kinski

Fitzcarraldo

José Lewgoy

Self

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Michael Sragow

Rolling Stone

Les Blank’s movie about the making of Fitzcarraldo is dumbfoundingly precious.

Jun 21, 2022

Full Review

Gary Arnold

Washington Post

At best "Burden of Dreams" offers a superficial, inconclusive impression of an esoteric project whose distribution is bound to be haphazard.

May 6, 2017

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Les Blank's Burden of Dreams is one of the most remarkable documentaries ever made about the making of a movie.

Rated: 4/4

Oct 23, 2004

Full Review

Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

[VIDEO ESSAY] Les Blank's haunting documentary about the four years Werner Herzog spent making "Fitzcarraldo" is such an essential companion piece to the actual film that it seems irresponsible for any would-be audience member to view only one of the two.

Rated: A+

Apr 29, 2014

Full Review

Donald J. Levit

ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Gramophone music soothes the savage breast, and operatic human excess defines director and obsession as well as his lead character.

Jul 18, 2011

Full Review

Pablo Villaça

Cinema em Cena

O retrato extraordinrio de um cineasta que, como o protagonista de seu filme, se entrega obsesso por amor Arte.

Rated: 5/5

Jan 26, 2010

Full Review

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Synopsis

German director Werner Herzog begins work on his 1982 epic "Fitzcarraldo" but soon runs into serious setbacks, from casting problems to his own stubborn refusal to use special effects. After having to reshoot much of the film because the lead actor was recast, his crew must then haul an old-fashioned steamboat over a mountain using manpower alone. With a resolve bordering on insanity, Herzog struggles to realize his vision, vowing to see the film completed -- even if it leads to his undoing.

Director: Les Blank
Screenwriter: Michael Goodwin
Production Co: Flower Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 8, 2017
Runtime: 1h 35m
Sound Mix: Mono

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