Paul Elliott’s review published on Letterboxd:
The exercise of treading dangerously between delusions of grandeur and the creation of artistic work becomes showcased in Les Blank's directed documentary film following German auteur Werner Herzog as he begins work on his 1982 epic Fitzcarraldo.
It draws inevitable comparisons with Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper's Hearts of Darkness, an essential document on the making of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. The cataloguing of various significant setbacks soon threatens to devastate the production ranging from depleting funds, terrible weather and other logistical difficulties.
The documentary's story of obsession is both disturbing and stimulating, with perhaps the most extraordinary inclusion relating to the initial casting problems, the footage of Mick Jagger and lead actor Jason Robards is terrific. Tour commitments with the Rolling Stones brought about Jagger's departure and advice from Robards doctor, after he obtained a severe case of dysentery, lead to him withdrawing from the production - Jagger's part ultimately become expunged, and Klaus Kinski became reassigned Robards role.
Blank's camera, which lingers on Herzog endeavouring to realise his vision, sees him capturing the degradation of Herzog's enthusiastic mind as he is pushed to the borders of insanity as the jungle gradually begins to erode his determination. Herzog himself probably best sums it up near the end of the film when he claims "I shouldn't make films any more. I should go to a lunatic asylum".