: True to his "no special effects" philosophy, Herzog actually had a 320-ton steamship dragged over a steep hill using only a system of pulleys and indigenous labor.

Set in the early 20th century, the film follows (known as "Fitzcarraldo" by the locals), a failed entrepreneur obsessed with building a grand opera house in the middle of the Peruvian jungle. To fund this dream, he devises a plan to exploit a rich rubber territory that is otherwise inaccessible due to impassable river rapids. His solution is to navigate a massive steamboat up a parallel river and then physically haul it over a steep hill to reach the rubber-rich waters on the other side. Production & Infamy

For those interested in the full dialogue or technical details, you can find the Fitzcarraldo script transcript at Script-O-Rama.