Burden of Dreams (1982)
Average Rating: 8.6/10
Reviews Counted: 15
Fresh: 15 | Rotten: 0
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 2
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 0
liked it
Average Rating: 4.1/5
User Ratings: 3,164
My Rating
Movie Info
Documentarian Les Blank, who filmed Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe, trained his cameras on Herzog again, as the eccentric German filmmaker made his epic, Fitzcarraldo, in the Amazon rainforest of Peru. Herzog's production is in trouble right from the start. He begins filming with Jason Robards playing the title role, and Mick Jagger playing Fitzcarraldo's sidekick, Wilbur. With 40 percent of the film shot, Robards becomes ill and goes back to the states, where his doctor will not let him return.
Jan 1, 1982 Wide
May 10, 2005
Flower Films
Watch It Now
ADVERTISEMENT
All Critics (17) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (21) | Rotten (0) | DVD (17)
Les Blank's Burden of Dreams is one of the most remarkable documentaries ever made about the making of a movie.
Top CriticThe film is at once funny and, in its depiction of the scant differences between art and megalomania, somewhat frightening.
Gramophone music soothes the savage breast, and operatic human excess defines director and obsession as well as his lead character.
O retrato extraordinário de um cineasta que, como o protagonista de seu filme, se entrega à obsessão por amor à Arte.
Remarkably candid behind-the-scenes documentary.
A fascinating portrait of a filmmaker pushed to the outer edge of sanity...
not only captures the dramatic moments where Herzog risks life and limb ... , but he includes small details that provide necessary natural respites from Herzog's 'madness'
What's provided here is indispensable for Herzog/Kinski junkies.
Herzog here talks his way through the making of his movie with a remarkable self-consciousness, attuned to the effects of cameras on subjects even as he is such a subject.
Highly worthy of your time.
a portrait of filmmaking as potentially deadly obsession, even in the face of nearly insurmountable obstacles
Strangely, Burden of Dreams is a better film than Fitzcarraldo, if only because you get to see the fictional portions of the film along with the backstory
Audience Reviews for Burden of Dreams
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for Burden of Dreams yet.
Latest News on Burden of Dreams
April 8, 2013:
Les Blank: 1935-2013The documentary filmmaker, whose works included "Burden of Dreams," was 77.
What's Hot On RT
The Last Stand, Side Effects
Trailer for new Coen Bros movie
Fast & Furious cars gallery
Blockbusters ranked!
Featured on RT
- In Pictures: The Cars of Fast & Furious 0
- Digital Multiplex: Warm Bodies and Aftershock 1
- Discover the Best-Reviewed Films in Summer Movie Scorecard 2013 0
- RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: The Last Stand and Side Effects 12
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Star Trek Softer Than Expected at #1 85
- Weekly Ketchup: Will Smith to Star in Wild Bunch Remake? 39
- Critics Consensus: Star Trek Into Darkness is Certified Fresh 107
Top Headlines
-
Which Film Franchise Has Been the Best for Female Characters?
0
-
Damon Lindelof Talks Tomorrowland
0
-
10 Movies About Really Fast Cars
0
-
Poltergeist Remake Synopsis Hints at Plot Differences
3
-
Kristen Wiig Says Welcome to Me
1
-
David Fincher's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Gets Bumped
0
-
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance Remake in the Works
0
Fresh Links
Featured
Star Trek Movies Ranked
HitFix offers their own take on the worst-to-best of the Enterprise crew's cinematic adventures.
Top 10 Star Trek Villains
Rolling Stone unveils the Enterprise's most irksome adversaries.
Celebrity Yearkbook Flashback
We'll bet you never realized how many stars were cheerleaders and high school athletes!
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Weirdest Movie Siblings
From Twins to The Royal Tenenbaums, Moviefone explores cinema's oddest siblings.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
Werner Herzog is, hands down, the most fascinating film director of all time. He just has all these qualities that elevate him, and subsequently his movies, into another realm. When he decided to make the highly ambitious film Fitzcarraldo, he also had it in mind to have Les Blank join him to film a making-of documenatry chronicling the film's shoot.
And the results are absolutely fantastic. There have been other movies about troubled film shoots, such as Hearts of Darkness about Apocalypse Now, or even American Movie, but they all seem to pale in comparison to this one, maybe just because of how difficult and troubled Fitzcarraldo's shoot was.
There was the problem of nature, logistics (such as doing everything practically, namely hauling a massive steamship over a mountain), countless delays, dealing with tons of Natives, dealing with geographical issues like red tape and potential civil wars, Herzog trying to deal with the force of nature that was the brilliant but difficult Klaus Kinski (this specific struggle mainly being addressed in the deleted scenes, which were actually taken from Herzog's documentary My Best Fiend), and the director's own massive ego, arrogance, determination, and increasing madness and cynicism.
It's not always flattering, but it's never sensationalist, either. It is simply showing things as they happened. Yeah, it's not always easy to watch, but it's so absorbing that it is hard not to. I especially love the unsubtle way that life reflects art/art reflects life, and the parallels with Herzog's real struggles being one in the same as the lead character's struggles.
If you ever wanted insight as to the sort of questions that can be raised concerning how far is to far when going for greatness and art, then you really must see this film. Or, if you just want to see the ultimate making-of document extended to feature length, then here you go.