Is it true that some indians died during the production of this film? This is mentioned in the Omnibus documentary Making of a Mission (a docu on the filming of The Mission).
I enjoyed Fitzcarraldo a lot but this puts a whole new perspective on this movie. :(
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If you watch Burden of Dreams - the Les Blank documentary about the making of Fitzcarraldo (one of the greatest documentaries ever) a strange scene has Herzog mentioning some sort of plane crash, people dying and being paralysed.
In the extras (on the DVD of Burden of Dreams) Herzog (in a 2005 interview) refutes this as some kind of mis-editing and claims that it caused him to be outcast from film making circles and his reputation in tatters for over 10 years. He then goes on to explain how 2 natives drowned, at the time of the filming, as a result of a completely unrelated canoe theft.
how the canoe theft and the plane crash have any relation to each other is not really explained (and i suspect it never will be).
but, to cut a long story short, it doesn't sound like any natives were killed as a direct result of the filming.
also from what i could see in the documentary, the natives did not appear to be exploited (they were earning very healthy sounding wages), and i'm sure they weren't abused in any way - in fact a catholic missionary visits the camp to check on conditions and reported only a few minor grievances from the natives.
herzog even goes to the lengths of provided prostitutes from the cities for his film crew to avoid them interfering with the native women.
all in all, you will get the impression that Herzog is incredibly concerned with the welfare and the treatment of the natives.
i would highly recommend you to watch Burden of Dreams - it's amazing!
Absolutely, and I'm glad you made these points. The natives were paid double to triple their normal wages, their land was literally saved by Herzog, and all of them were free to leave whenever they wanted. He really did go to great lengths to respect and even preserve the natives' culture.
--Todd Gold
I'm sure the native people were more happy to play workers who had to haul a 300+ ton ship over a slick, steep hill than laborers who actually had to do the work. Especially for three times the going wages.
No two persons ever watch the same movie.share
Herzog was in his element. As he had told me, he knew how to handle "the daily grind of catastrophe" that can beset a film set (or, at least, his film sets). On "Fitzcarraldo, " he had been forced to start over after his original star, Jason Robards, fell ill. Robards's replacement, Kinski, was incandescent as Fitzcarraldo, but he threw daily fits, frequently refusing to perform. This time, Herzog did not threaten Kinski with a gun, though a local Indian, appalled by the actor's vile manners, offered to murder him. It is impossible to say which was harder: getting Kinski to finish his scenes, or hauling the three-hundred-and-forty-ton steamboat over the mountain, via a creaky system of pulleys. No crew members were killed in the process, Herzog often points out, though the production sustained collateral damage. While the cinematographer was filming on board the steamboat as it bounced over fierce rapids, his hand was smashed open and had to be sewn up without anesthesia. A crew member was bitten by a snake whose venom can quickly induce cardiac arrest; to save himself, he cut off his foot with a chain saw. Another was paralyzed after his plane crashed en route to the isolated location, in northeast Peru. Yet the film betrays no sign of its agonized gestation: the prevailing tone is deliciously languid and dreamy, and Fitzcarraldo's labors evoke the Little Engine as much as Sisyphus.
It seems to be that the person in most danger of death during the making of Fitzcarraldo was Klaus Kinski. . .
"Kinski walked off, packed all his things and was absolutely serious about quitting and leaving at once— he'd already broken his contract 40 or 50 times. I went up to him and said, 'You can't do this.' I told him I had a rifle and that he'd only make it as far as the first bend before he had eight bullets in his head— the ninth one would be for me." - Werner Herzog
"I needed Kinski for a few more shots, so I turned them down. I have always regretted that I lost that opportunity." - Werner Herzog on declining an offer by local Indians to kill Kinski for him.
Former refers to Aguirre, though.
sharei watched a burden of dreams yesterday and it is fantastic, but didn't a few Indians die as a heavy metal piece of machinery snapped and the boat slid down the hill crushing them??
share>i watched a burden of dreams yesterday and it is fantastic, but didn't a few Indians die as a heavy metal >piece of machinery snapped and the boat slid down the hill crushing them??
The short answer: No.
It was probably a much safer routine than it was sensationalized to be. Herzog is one of the most careful filmmakers ever. Not one who risks life.
Two indian boys died during the shooting though. They stole a canoe at nighttime, that was secured by chains by Herzog himself. They got it loose somehow, and took at night. Drowning.
It had nothing to do with Herzog or the filmcrew... but of course it was a tragic event to have on a film set anyway.
Sadly, a story like that goes out of proportions and people say stuff thats not true. That Herzog sacrificed lives to do this movie or whatever. Completely untrue.
This article (from 1985) does claim that Herzog exploited the Indians and mentions that a few Indians died during production (and essentialy blaming herzog for bringing them in this dangerous situation). They even go so far as to claim that he stole 'the Indians souls'.
http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC30folder/Fitzcarraldo.ht ml
Furthermore, Herzog apparently initially wanted to shoot on the territory of the Aguaruna Indians, but was chased away because they didn't like him and his methods..
I don't know what to think of the article, on the extras of 'Burden of Dreams' and in the audio commentary of Fitzcarraldo Herzog claims the 'Native Indians' as he calls them were not abused and treated well. But then again, it wouldn't be that surprising if he is presenting himself in a more positive light than is actually justified..
Oh well, it is still a nice film though..