Any film made by a German, who takes more than five years to do it, is, by definition, going to be great. Fitzcarraldo is no exception. First half kicks so much ass. Second half kicks ass too, but the first half kicks so much ass. It’s like Peter Weir, Nick Roeg, The sounds of Blade Runner. The bell-making scene in Andrei Rublev. And National Geographic all rolled into one. The first half of this film kicks so much ass I can’t even tell you, even though I’ve just tried.