 
It seems like these days, nearly every DVD contains some kind of behind the scenes footage or ‘making of’ featurette that pulls back the curtain to reveal another side to the movie-making process. When Les Blank released Burden Of Dreams in 1982 this practice was fairly uncommon, so this intimate look at one of Werner Herzog’s greatest films was all the more special. If you haven’t seen Fitzcarraldo, the tale centers on a robber baron played by Klaus Kinski, who has a dream of building an opera house in a remote location in the Amazon jungle. In order to facilitate transportation to and from his site, he proposes to station a steamship on the site’s adjoining river, however there’s one major hitch: His ship is on a parallel tributary and the only way to move the vessel to its intended location, is to drag it over a strip of land that just happens to have a mountain in the center. Herzog became obsessed with bringing this vision to life, but the logistics proved to be the greatest challenge of his career. At first, the director found himself in the middle of tribal political confrontations, border skirmishes between Peru and Brazil and the object of a smear campaign that accused his team of murdering local villagers. He and his crew had to leave the country, but returned thirteen months later to begin anew. At the time, the lead role was to be played by Jason Robards, with Mick Jagger in an important secondary slot. When the picture was 40% completed, Robards became ill with dysentery and was forced to return to the States. Jagger and the Stones were going into the studio to record Tattoo You, then hit the road for a tour, so he too dropped out. Herzog was forced to start all over again, this time installing Klaus Kinski in the lead role. His problems did not end there and Blank stuck around for nearly five years to capture the agony and frustrations that were the hallmark of the production. Horrible weather conditions, social unrest in the native camp, Kinski’s legendary temper tantrums and the trials and tribulations of dragging a 320-ton steamship up and over a 40 degree grade are all part of the amazing story depicted in this fascinating documentary. The new high-def transfer is beautiful and all the extras are well worth your time. They include a recent interview with Herzog discussing his ordeal in the jungle and the making of both films, the first Herzog/Blank collaboration, “Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe,” two deleted scenes that later appeared in My Best Fiend and an 80-page book featuring excerpts from Les Blank and Maureen Gosling’s production journals. - David Bassin
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Burden
Of Dreams