If you had to name the greatest documentaries of all time, well, that’s tough, but if you had to name the greatest portrait documentaries of all time, well, at the very least, “Burden of Dreams” would easily be in the top ten and likely on the all-time list too. Directed by the late legendary documentarian Les Blank, the award-winning “Burden Of Dreams” (1982) centers on German filmmaker Werner Herzog, actor Klaus Kinski, and the nearly disastrous making of their third collaboration, “Fitzcarraldo” (1982).
READ MORE: The Essentials: 7 Films You Should Know From Acclaimed Documentarian Les Blank
Written and directed by Herzog, “Fitzcarraldo” tells the story of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald (Kinski), an extremely determined man who intends to build an opera house in the middle of a jungle. The film, however, is essentially a portrait of obsession leading to madness, which mirrored the extremely difficult making of the film, Herzog having to constantly battle the unpredictable elements of the South American jungles where the film was shot.
While production was battling itself, Blank was there the entire time, documenting it all and watching the war between Herzog and his star grow as the film became more and more impossible to shoot.
“Burden Of Dreams” is so good that Herzog later used portions of the film for his own documentaries, “Portrait Werner Herzog” (1986) and “My Best Fiend” (1999), the latter specifically about Herzog’s troubled relationship with Kinski working together on five films in total.
A new 4K restoration of “Burden Of Dreams” will run at Film Forum from Friday, July 19 through Thursday, July 25, with a national expansion to follow in select markets via Argot Pictures. Thus, a new 4K trailer for the classic doc has been released.
Select screenings of Werner Herzog’s epic adventure drama FITZCARRALDO (1982) will play throughout the Film Forum run (more details here)
Here’s the official synopsis:
BURDEN OF DREAMS is the riveting account of the near-disastrous production of director Werner Herzog’s FITZCARRALDO, starring Klaus Kinski in the titular role and Claudia Cardinale, which traces the story of one man’s attempt to build an opera house deep in the Amazon jungle. As cast members drop like flies (original lead Jason Robards Jr. became ill with dysentery and was forbidden by his doctors to return to Peru to finish filming; ship captain Mick Jagger had to leave to tour with the Rolling Stones), a prop ship is trapped in the rapids, and Herzog makes impossible demands, haranguing hundreds of native Campa, Machiguenga, and Aguaruna people to pull a full-size, 320-ton steamship over a small mountain.
Anchored by an as-it-was-happening interview with Herzog himself, as he details his unflinching vision for a project that took nearly five years to pull off. BURDEN OF DREAMS has endured as a fascinating–and controversial–record of the filmmaking process and a unique look into the mind of one of cinema’s most idiosyncratic and fearless directors.
“Since Les Blank died in 2013, we have remastered and released seven of his films. The restoration of BURDEN OF DREAMS is of the highest quality to date, and what may set it apart is the audio restoration, as Nick Bergh worked from the original ¼” audio tapes and created a 5.1 mix,” said restoration executive producer Harrod Blank, documentary filmmaker and son of Les Blank (there’s also a must-own Les Blank documentary box set from Criterion that we highly recommend).
“Burden Of Dreams” opens at Film Forum today. Watch the trailer here, and make sure you make the time to see this seminal documentary.