Fitzcarraldo - Werner Herzog

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

directed by Werner Herzog
West Germany 1982

Werner Herzog's "Fitzcarraldo" is one of the great visions of the cinema, and one of the great follies. One would not have been possible without the other. This is a movie about an opera-loving madman who is determined to drag a boat overland from one river system to another. In making the film, Herzog was determined to actually do that, which is more than can be said for Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, the Irishman whose story inspired him.

"Fitzcarraldo" (1982) is one of those brave and epic films, like "Apocalypse Now" or "2001," where we are always aware both of the film, and of the making of the film. Herzog could have used special effects for his scenes of the 360-ton boat being hauled up a muddy 40-degree slope in the jungle, but he believed we could tell the difference: "This is not a plastic boat." Watching the film, watching Fitzcarraldo (Klaus Kinski) raving in the jungle in his white suit and floppy panama hat, watching Indians operating a block-and-tackle system to drag the boat out of the muck, we're struck by the fact that this is actually happening, that this huge boat is inching its way onto land -- as Fitzcarraldo (who got his name because the locals could not pronounce "Fitzgerald") serenades the jungle with his scratchy old Caruso recordings.

Excerpt from Roger Ebert at the Chicago Sun-Times located HERE

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Theatrical Release: March 4th, 1982 - West Germany

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DVD Comparison:

Anchor Bay - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Anchor Bay - Region 0 - PAL

Big thanks to Pavel Borodin for all the screen captures!

(Anchor Bay - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Anchor Bay - Region 0 - PAL - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Anchor Bay Region 0 - NTSC	Anchor Bay Region 0 - PAL
Runtime	2:36:55	2:30:40 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.21 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.39 PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: AB (US)
Bitrate: Anchor Bay UK
Audio	German (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dubbed) (Dolby Digital 5.1)	German (Dolby Stereo & Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles	English, and none	English, and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • All Regions • Color, Widescreen • Commentary by director Werner Herzog, producer Lucki Stipetic and Norman Hill • Production notes • German Theatrical Trailer • Still Gallery • Widescreen anamorphic format DVD Release Date: November 2, 1999 Keep Case Chapters 23 *This DVD can be purchased individually or in the 6 disc Kinski/Herzog Boxset found at Amazon HERE	Release Information: Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Commentary track by Werner Herzog, producer Lucki Stepic and journalist Norman Itill • Trailer • Film notes • Talent bios • Photo gallery DVD Release Date: 2 September, 2002 Keep Case Chapters 18

Comments:

Not much to say here... the Region 1 is obviously sharper and superior. Both colors match but I still think there is too much red in the image... and they both appear saturated to me. Extras are the same as is the sound. The REgion 1 is the preferred choice for its superior image quality. the menus are a personal preference - I like less flamboyant the Region 1's.

- Gary W. Tooze

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(Anchor Bay - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Anchor Bay - Region 0 - PAL - RIGHT)

Screen Captures