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Conquest of the Useless: Reflections from the Making of Fitzcarraldo
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$ 19.49
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| Retail Value |
$ 24.99 |
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$ 5.50 (22%) |
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| Item Number |
2482041 |
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Item Description...
Overview
An account drawn from a diary kept by the revered filmmaker during the 1982 production of Fitzcarraldo is a series of notes on a fever dream in the Amazon jungle that also describes the unique difficulties he faced in creating the film, from cast member clashes to the challenges of moving a 320-ton steamship over a hill. 10,000 first printing.
Publishers Description
One of the most revered filmmakers of our time, Werner Herzog wrote this diary during the making of Fitzcarraldo, the lavish 1982 film that tells the story of a would-be rubber baron who pulls a steamship over a hill in order to access a rich rubber territory. Later, Herzog spoke of his difficulties when making the film, including casting problems, reshoots, language barriers, epic clashes with the star, and the logistics of moving a 320-ton steamship over a hill without the use of special effects. Hailed by critics around the globe, the film went on to win Herzog the 1982 Outstanding Director Prize at Cannes. Conquest of the Useless, Werner Herzog's diary on his fever dream in the Amazon jungle, is an extraordinary glimpse into the mind of a genius during the making of one of his greatest achievements. |
Item Specifications...
Pages 320
Dimensions: Length: 9.1" Width: 5.9" Height: 1.1"
Weight: 1.05 lbs.
Binding Hardcover
Release Date Jul 1, 2009
ISBN 0061575534
EAN 9780061575532
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Availability 1 units.
Availability accurate as of May 30, 2012 04:42.
Usually ships within one to two business days from La Vergne, TN.
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Reviews - What do our customers think?
 | As Good As The Movie Feb 6, 2010 |
| Much as I love Herzoz's films I did not expect his observations made while making even a movie as outrageous as Fitzcarraldo to be all THAT interesting. Perhaps I feared the opposite, that they would be too interesting - the weird factor infusing his ruminations with a delirium that would irritate me. As it turns out, the way Herzog documents what he sees and experiences is pitch perfect, avoiding a self-indulgence that generally pervades these things. He cannot avoid himself, his idiosyncrasies and imagination, nor can he ignore the bizarre circumstances. But I never feel that Herzog is demonstrating what a unique genius observes and how it expresses itself. His fodder is inherently fantastic and he has the sense to keep it simple. His notes are engrossing, visual, and yes, at times magically real but everything is somehow grounded. I should have known Herzog's exquisite sense of things would enable him to express the outrageous and fantastic without sacrificing, how Gauguin put it, "The flat sound of my wooden clogs on the cobblestones, deep, hollow and powerful..." A scientific quality to Herzog's reflections at times added a painful edge to the book in that, while a sensitivity to suffering is evident, melodrama is absent and attempts at intervention are either not made or are not documented. I imagined how meddling could complicate an already daunting endeavor and how futile it would be regardless. Where would the acts of kindness end. I fear I'd have been driven mad by all those pleading eyes and desperate creatures: live chickens tied by their legs, dangling off the back of a motorcycle, being choked by dust as their heads bounce on the road; dogs tied up, stranded, thirsty, starving and covered in sores; helpless children - the relentless this site. Conquest Of The Useless is one of the most engrossing books I've ever read. For some reason I kept caring. | | |  | Hypnagogic brilliance Jan 31, 2010 |
This is a fascinating, startingly moving diary. It brings eloquence and artistry to a usually mundane form. I wonder how much Herzog edited these entries, if at all, and if he was thinking of publishing them as he wrote them. I'd love to think they were just his daily scribbles, used to keep himself sane under his burden of dreams. However, if they were contrived to a certain degree all the more power to him for his writerly skill.
Great fun to watch the movie again as you read along with his tribulations. Was especially moved by his tendency to describe things as though they were happening in some somnolent state in a country that only existed in his dreams and then how he would effortlessly switch to telling us what he had for lunch.
An audio recording of Herzog himself reading these diaries would be priceless. I'd imagine the absurdity would be operatic. | | | | Genius at work Oct 27, 2009 |
| Herzog is a unique geniuse who produced this unique work. These are almost hallucinatory notes reflecting his thoughts as he made Fitzcarraldo. Dreams enter into rich descriptions. Some sections may make little sense but the book as a whole reveals how his force of will and vision created the movie. For anyone interested in the making of movies, a creative mind under very difficult circumstances, or the life in a jungle or on a movie shot in location, this book is a must. | | | | A beautiful text Oct 3, 2009 |
| I'm not even a huge fan of Herzog but this book is amazing. I have been reading it while in my first semester in grad school, especially when I need to read something beautiful. Herzog's descriptions are so lush and illustrative, both the lovely and terrible. This is a book I will return to again and again. Poetry for those who don't like poetry. | | | | Herzog's new book Sep 8, 2009 |
| This is an amazing book. Highly recommend to any fan of Herzog's work or the movie Fitzcarraldo. | | | Write your own review about Conquest of the Useless: Reflections from the Making of Fitzcarraldo
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