Dir. Les Blank
1982, USA, 95 min
English, Spanish and German with English subtitles
Rated 18A
Burden of Dreams captures legendary director Werner Herzog’s filming of his most ambitious film Fitzcarraldo, in which an entrepreneur (Klaus Kinski) endeavors to push a steamship over a mountain to build an opera house deep in the Amazon jungle.
“Blank created an enduring record of hubris, exploitation and unrelenting misadventure in the pursuit of artistic greatness.” – Zachary Barnes, The Wall Street Journal
“An extraordinary portrait of Herzog trapped in the middle of one of his wildest dreams… Les Blank is a brilliant filmmaker who is unafraid to ask difficult questions and portray Werner Herzog, warts and all.” – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
