Fitzcarraldo

Cayahuari Yacu, the jungle Indians call this country,

"the land where God did not finish Creation."

They believe only after man has disappeared

will He return to finish His work.

For God's sake...

If we're gonna do this...

If we're gonna do this...

...let's do it in style.

We're going to miss Caruso if you don't put some fire under it.

Oh, you've wiped oil all over your face.

Isn't that better?

Oh, Molly, please.

Come on, for God's sake!

Champagne for the horses! The best!

We're gonna make it.

Sir, Madam. This is a gala performance.

We come from Iquitos, one thousand two hundred miles down the Amazon.

I had to row because our motor broke down.

Look at his hands.

For two days and two nights I've been rowing to see Caruso once in my life.

You have no tickets.

This man needs to go in there. He has no ticket but he has a right.

Sir, Madam, you can't go in there.

I'm going to build an opera house in Iquitos and Caruso'll open it.

It'll be the greatest opera of the jungle. Please, let us in.

You'll work with us. Let us in, please.

I'd like to be in there myself, believe me...

Follow me!

Make sure to be quiet and press yourselves right up against the wall.

He pointed to you.

He pointed to me. You see him... he means me.

Fitzcarraldo? How do you spell it?

What an interesting name!

My father was Irish. My real name is Fitzgerald.

Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald.

They had trouble saying it in Peru.

Fitzgerald? Iquitos? You're not the man with the railway are you?

Yeah, that's me.

Well... the Trans-Andean Railway, but...

...the project fell through.

But the idea was a bold one.

At the moment I'm trying my luck as as ice producer, to make money.

Here, all people want...

...for their money are the big names from Europe.

Sarah Bernhardt, an actress who can't even sing.

But her wooden leg is the talk of the town.

The ice, ah, I mean...

I'm doing all this because I have one dream...

...the opera.

The Great Opera in the Jungle!

Fitzcarraldo will build it and Caruso will sing at the premiere.

It's only the dreamers who ever move mountains.

For five years now we've been the richest town in the whole world.

It's like gold fever.

May I show you the house?

When this opera was built there were only a few huts here.

The building was practically in the jungle.

Prices are ten times higher here than in New York.

There are palaces being built with tiles from Delft and Florentine marble.

And Iquitos is catching up. It's still a filthy frontier town...

...but the rubber business is growing by leaps and bounds.

The better-off citizens in Manaus, if I may put it like that...

...send their laundry to Lisbon...

...because the water in the Amazon is felt to be impure.

Aren't you going to stay?

I don't know.

I don't mind you're running a brothel.

But there are too many of your clients around.

Come on. I train the girls for the best households.

Much better than sending them out on the streets.

I've nothing against the girls, Molly.

I just can't stand the sight of dandies who think money can buy everything.

And the opera... I've got to work on this ice production.

You could take a crack at respectability, you know. Wouldn't kill you.

Respectability just made me bankrupt.

I'm better off down there by the river.

Got my real audience down there now...

The kids?

Yeah, that's my public. And a pig.

One of those lean racing pigs loves me.

How could she help it.

When I build my opera house...

...I'll see to it you have your own box and a red velvet armchair.

It works through a chemical reaction of two different salts.

Just imagine the possibilities ice has, but people don't see it.

The children love it.

Yeah, they eat it.

Imagine, one day...

...ice in every warehouse, on every ship.

Yes, make your bet.

What do you think of it?

I'll tell you what I think. You can read up about ice in any school book.

It's out of the question to apply for a patent.

But I have the experience, and it's experience that counts.

What good is ice here? To cool the rubber?

Maybe we should magically create some glaciers in the jungle.

And then we'll build the Trans-Andean Railroad on sled skids...

...loosen the brakes, give her a push...

...and adios! Off she goes, sledding down into the valley?

Come on, come on.

Don't take it to heart.

Here, this is for you.

Use this, play a hand with us.

The precious feeling of losing money!

Nothing like it! Ecstasy!

The church remains closed 'til this town has its opera house.

I want the opera house!

I want my opera house!

I want to have an opera!

This church remains closed 'til this town has an opera!

I will build my opera!

I want to have my opera.

I could have let you cool your heels in there for two weeks.

Thanks. Two days were more than enough.

I'm sure Molly is behind this.

You're mistaken. But come with me.

I'll show you the real reason I'm letting you out so soon.

They won't budge. I felt moved. Even a horse would be touched.

That shouldn't be too hard to arrange.

All of them together, at the same time?

Don Aquilino, The Borja brothers...

I have my ways. Don't worry. I'll bring all my girls with me.

We'll have all the rubber barons gathered together like flies.

And I guarantee you, they'll be feeling good.

I'll bring my phonograph.

You need some sprucing up first.

I'm not letting you out of my house like that.

A steam bath for Mr. Fitzcarraldo! Full treatment.

And then deliver him to my bedroom.

This is serious... help... Hey Molly, tell them... Help!

Everyone wants money from me. The hospital, the fire brigade...

...and now you keep talking my ear off about your opera.

It gives expression to our deepest feelings.

What is he talking about?

Our deepest feelings!

Just take a look at this.

Come a bit closer.

Take a good look.

A little demonstration.

1000 dollar bills seem to taste best.

See how fast our money goes down the drain?

You must have experienced this.

A railway is sure to swallow up a lot of money.

How thrilling it must be to go bankrupt.

Let's return to our friends.

Yes, such a chance to meet all one's friends and rivals in one place...

...does not present itself very often.

Rosita, over there!

Take the champagne over there!

Please, may we have your attention?

Please, come a bit closer.

Servant! Hold him!

He can't get away with this.

One moment! Please, please, please!

Ladies and gentlemen, don't worry.

This man is harmless, he's just had a soul-stirring experience.

My servants will escort you to the kitchen.

My dogs' cook will prepare you a meal.

Thank you very much, sir, you were superb.

To your dogs' cook.

To Verdi.

To Rossini.

To Caruso.

To Fitzcarraldo, the Conquistador of the Useless!

Cheers!

As true as I am standing here, one day I shall bring grand opera to Iquitos.

I will outnumber you.

I will outbillion you.

I am the spectacle in the forest.

I am the inventor of rubber.

I will outrubber you.

Sir, the reality of your world is nothing more...

...than a rotten caricature of great opera.

Fitz, Fitz, let's go.

He's as dead as a doornail. He is no opponent for you.

Madam, I'm still standing firm on both my legs.

You're a big game hunter, aren't you?

What's that got to do with it?

Then you should know: When you shoot an elephant...

...he sometimes stays on his legs for ten days before he topples over.

Come on, girls, we're leaving. This way!

Rubber. That's the way to do it. Forget about the ice.

You need a big steam-boat. And most of all you need land.

And hundreds of workers.

The rubber barons have divided up the land. But there's still some left.

How do you know?

Through Don Aquilino. Why don't you pay him a visit?

Forget about it.

Why don't you try him out?

My territory begins right here where the Pongo ends...

...and reaches downstream for 80 miles.

And above the Pongo?

I'd like to have that myself.

We've thought about building a road across the mountains...

...but it would be an impossible venture, and there still wouldn't be...

A ship... And nobody has made it upstream?

Want to see for yourself? We can go a little further by foot.

What's he saying?

We must be quiet.

He says, whoever talks...