The Werner Herzog movie that saw a crewmember chop off his own foot
The legendary German film director Werner Herzog has often detailed the seemingly impossible dreams of his crazed protagonists, and few of his works have been as intense as his 1982 epic adventure drama movie Fitzcarraldo, starring his frequent collaborator Klaus Kinski in the lead role.
Kinski plays a hopeful rubber baron, Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, known in Peru by the film’s title, who displays an obsessive desire to transport a huge steamship over a large and steep hill in order to access a rubber reserve in the Amazon basin, but this almost impossible task naturally throws up countless issues.
In fact, the production of the film itself seemed to mirror its narrative, and Herzog suffered a production nightmare while completing his work. Not only were several members of the crew injured, but the director also clashed heavily with the notoriously difficult Kinski, despite the pair having previously worked together on Aguire, the Wrath of God and two other movies.
When speaking on This Cultural Life, Herzog explained that he wanted to capture a sense of reality in Fitzcarraldo despite the protestations of the producing studio. “You do not do it second rate,” he said. “You don’t do what I call the ‘plastic solution’ with a miniature plastic boat [pulled] over a hill in the San Diego Botanical Garden, which is what 20th Century Fox proposed when they wanted to finance and produce the film”.
Instead, Herzog demanded that the ship in question would be all real, weighing 320 tonnes, and would be “hauled over a mountain in the jungle by 800 native indigenous people of the region with stone age technology”. This kind of commitment to authenticity would be considered insane by some (who would mostly be right), but it also proved Herzog’s prowess as a cinematic auteur.
Naturally, then, the production of Fitzcarraldo was a dangerous voyage, much like the narrative of the film itself. However, Herzog explained that he never made any of his cast or crew do anything that he had not first undertaken himself. “So I got injured sometimes, and that’s OK,” he said.
Unfortunately, though, not everyone in the production of Fitzcarraldo made it through with all their body parts intact. The truth is that one of the lumbermen, who had been clearing trees for the film’s on-location set, was bitten by a poisonous snake with venom so strong that it takes just a minute or two to stop the victim’s breathing and heart completely.
The production team naturally had an antidote for the venom, but the lumberman was so far away from it that he had to take matters into his own hands (or, erm, feet). Explaining the courageous move by the crew member, Herzog said, “He picked up [his chainsaw] from the ground, started it again and sawed off his foot because he knew that would save his life. And it did.”
Fitzcarraldo is a truly magnificent piece of cinema, and it serves as a testament to Herzog’s artistic vision and his borderline-insane dedication to an authentic production. While this commitment undoubtedly led to the film’s quality, it had some dire consequences, including the loss of a lumberman’s foot, further injuries to his crew and a worsening relationship with lead actor Klaus Kinski.
Check out the trailer for Fitzcarraldo below.