La conquista dell'inutile

by Werner Herzog

Paper Book, ?

Status

Available

Call number

791.4372

Genres

Collection

Racconti

Publication

Mondadori

Description

"Hypnotic....It is ever tempting to try to fathom his restless spirit and his determination to challenge fate." --Janet Maslin, New York Times Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man) is one of the most revered and enigmatic filmmakers of our time, and Fitzcarraldo is one of his most honored and admired films. More than just Herzog's journal of the making of the monumental, problematical motion picture, which involved, among other things, major cast changes and reshoots, and the hauling (without the use of special effects) of a 360-ton steamship over a mountain , Conquest of the Useless is a work of art unto itself, an Amazonian fever dream that emerged from the delirium of the jungle. With fascinating observations about crew and players--including Herzog's lead, the somewhat demented internationally renowned star Klaus Kinski--and breathtaking insights into the filmmaking process that are uniquely Werner Herzog, Conquest of the Useless is an eye-opening look into the mind of a cinematic master.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member CliffBurns

Magnificent book, one of the best I've read in this year.

I've grown quite fond of diaries and journals over the past while and Herzog's notes, written in minuscule script during the making of his epic film "Fitzcarraldo", are mesmerizing, poetic, candid and illuminating. Not much about the making

of the actual film, more a depiction of the inner landscapes of the director's mind, the moods (ecstatic, furious, depressed) that accompanied the massive undertaking of bringing the film to the world's screens.

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LibraryThing member Stbalbach

Conquest of the Useless is pure prose poetry and probably the best book about the jungle I've ever read. Before reading it I was already familiar with the film and the documentary Burden of Dreams, about the making of the film, which is required background before reading this book.

Conquest of the

Useless reads like a fever dream. Although about the film, the main character is the jungle. It's written in diary format with some days taking up only a single line. There's no narrative but rather flashes of incident. What makes it so amazing are Herzog's trademark non sequitur's which weigh with unspoken significance. Scenes appear without context as part of the fabric of the jungle and it's dreamy obscenity of life and death. The book has many rewards and is hugely generous but will require patience. It took months for me to complete, I could only read small amounts at a time, when the mood was right, leaving scores of pages underlined. A great work of art in its own right.

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LibraryThing member Mithril

Wild dreamscape and from an earlier time.

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Awards

NPR's Complete Holiday Book Recommendations (2009)

Los Angeles Times Best Books of the Year (Nonfiction — 2009)

Language

Italian, All

Original language

Italian

Physical description

7.01 inches

ISBN

880456752X / 9788804567523

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