A fever dream that tells the engagingly insane story of a Hollywood crew shooting an aggressive Western on location in an unspoiled area in Peru. A hallucinogenic film about the making of a film going off the rails. The crew − the director is played by Samuel Fuller – leave their backdrop and a new ritual behind with the indigenous population. Members of the native tribe reconstruct cameras, microphones and reflectors out of bamboo and make a film in kind with Hopper, an actor/stuntman who stayed behind, as the innocent ‘star’. The Peruvian villagers show a passion for realism, refusing to use trick photography and so almost ritually crucifying Hopper.
“I used the film as source material”, Hopper says in his introduction. “I remind you constantly that we are shooting a film. As a viewer, you become immersed in the film, believe in it, then straight away I take you out of that. A very unpleasant experience. I hope that you will enjoy the film, that I haven’t been too radical.”
Film details
- Country of production
- USA
- Year
- 1971
- Festival edition
- IFFR 1977
- Length
- 108"
- Medium/Format
- 35mm
