Review of Fitzcarraldo (1982) by John S — 07 Mar 2007

[B] Running Out of Time [/B] is a quick paced action flick with emphasis on the relationship between police negotiator Inspector Ho Sheung-Sang (Ching Wan Lau) and disease ridden master thief Cheung (Andy Lau). Grudging respect grows between the opponents, and the thing has the feel of a buddy cop movie by the ending.

Good acting competes with a heavily contrived plot to land at the ol "watch once" 6er. I liked it, but nothing blew me away.

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[B] Fitzcarraldo [/B] is a yarn about an obsessive opera fan trying to bring, with the financial support of a jungle whore madam, his favorite Caruso to the very first performance in the rainforests in the Amazon river basin.

The settings in the movie are fantastic, and those interested in the engineering feat of dragging a steamship over a mountain will find pleasure.

I had a hard time getting through the initial stages of the film, but it grew on me as the ship sailed down the river. I'd consider the whole package to be mildly entertaining.

Credit to the folks that did the dubbing on this picture. I don't know why I turned it on, as I always prefer subtitles due to the emotional emphasis in speech getting lost in translation, but it was quite well done here.