Conquest of the Useless: Reflections from the Making of Fitzcarraldo

An account drawn from a diary kept by the revered filmmaker during the 1982 production of Fitzcarraldo is a series of notes on a fever dream in the Amazon jungle that also describes the unique difficulties he faced in creating the film, from cast member clashes to the challenges of moving a 320-ton steamship over a hill. Reprint. 20,000 first printing.
Werner Herzog is one of our most revered contemporary filmmakers, a visionary director who ceaselessly tests the boundaries of art. Fitzcarraldo, his lavish 1982 film about a would-be rubber baron who pulls a steamship over a hill to access a rich rubber territory, was hailed by critics around the globe and won Herzog the 1982 Outstanding Director Prize at Cannes. The text of Conquest of the Useless emerged as if out of an Amazonian fever dream: the crew's camp in the heart of the jungle was attacked and burned to the ground; the production clashed with a border war; two planes crashed during filming; and Herzog had to unravel the logistics of moving a 320-ton steamship over a hill without the use of special effects. More than just a journal or diary of the shooting of Fitzcarraldo, Conquest of the Useless is a work of art unto itself, which charts the inner landscapes born of the delirium of the jungle and offers an extraordinary glimpse into the mind of a genius during the making of one of his greatest achievements.