What's the advantage of getting the boat into the other river system?
If it's inaccesible then the boat couldn't get out of it either. Is it just for trade within that river system?
shareI think the boat would have initially been pulled back over the mountain. Once the money was rolling in, they would have bought further ships and kept at least one one on each river system. The produce could be brought over the mountain on Fitzcarraldo's railway tracks or through a tunnel
shareThe boat that was pulled over the mountain would have operated between the rapids and the mountain. It would have taken the rubber to the mountain, at which point it would be unloaded, carried over the mountain pass to a second boat to take the cargo to the town.
sharesecond boat??? what film did you watch? The boat was going to be pulled back over the mountain after it had collected the rubber. As fitz explains in the film.
shareWhy would they keep pulling the boat over the hill back and forth? It was hard enough the first time! If it was that easy why doesn't he just go back and pull the boat over the hill again?!
The plan was to move the rubber over the hill, and then use a second boat to take it back to the town. As Fitz explains in the film.
No, in the film Kinski says that they would haul the boat over the mountain, collect the rubber, haul it back over, and take it back to town. With the profits they would buy more boats/construct a railway or tunnel to expedite the process. They only had one boat, so it would have been impossible to go back up the river to get another boat after the boat was hauled into the other river. Also, they didn't believe the boat could survive the rapids.
shareHere is the dialogue:
Fitz: So, first we went up the Amazon...and then up the Pachitea. We are here right now...and we'll drag the ship over this mountain. Exactly there. From here to here we'll operate the ship to collect rubber from thousands of workers.
Captain: Why didn't we move up the Ucayali?
Fitz: Because of the Pongo das Mortes. Nobody will ever make it through those rapids.
Captain: Yes, but how do you get the rubber to Iquitos? We need another ship.
Fitz: We'll carry it back over the mountain and build a settlement there. Soon we'll be so rich we'll have all the ships we need to take it to Iquitos.
The confusion seems to be what you believe the word 'it' to represent: the boat or the rubber. It seems pretty clear to me that he's talking about the rubber.
Fitz's plan is to keep the boat on the Ucayali, using it to transport the rubber to the point of land they crossed ("From here to here we'll operate the ship..."). The rubber will then be transported across the land, where a settlement with a port will be built. Initally, someone will have to go back to Iquitos by land to hire another ship to transport the rubber back down the Pachitea. This is entirely possible as the crew left the boat halfway through the journey and would have had to go back on foot.
The alternative scenario is that Fitz plans to harvest the rubber, drag the (fully laden) boat back across the mountain, go to Iquitos, then come back and drag the boat back to the Ucayali a third time to continue operation. It's clear from the film that dragging the boat over the mountain in the first place was a highly risky and borderline mad plan concocted by the daring Fitz, which results in several deaths and almost fails. Clearly he does not mean to repeat this endeavour as a routine part of his overall vision - not even he is that mad!
You're exactly right.
Also, while those are the subtitles, if you listen to the actual dialogue on the English audiotrack (which is after all the way it was filmed), he actually does say "rubber", not "it":
"We carry *the rubber* back over the mountain and build a settlement here. Soon we'll be so rich we'll have all the ships we need to take it to Iquitos."
I don't know if the German dub has the same meaning, but it's pretty clear that Kinski at least thinks Fitzcarraldo plans to leave the boat on the Ucayali and carry the rubber over the mountain for transport by other ships, to be acquired soon.
It's hard to catch because the plot seems focussed so tightly on the monumental problem of getting the ship over the mountain, and this is really the only mention of his broader plan. It's not a "get rich in one shot" type thing; he's setting up a rubber harvesting operation which will continue for some time, at least until he's made enough money to build the opera house.
That's also my interpretation, and it is supported by the dubbed German version of the film which I just saw. Since the German word for the rubber Fitzcarraldo wants to collect has a different grammatical gender compared to the word for ship or boat, it becomes quite evident in the German version that he wants to haul the rubber across the mountain, not the ship loaded with rubber.
I agree that leaves it open what to do during the first few cycles, before he makes enough money to buy a second ship, allowing him to operate one on each river system. Presumably he would send someone to Iquitos to charter a ship there, which is certainly burdensome - but much less burdensome than hauling the entire ship, together with a cargo of rubber, across the mountain another time. But the dialogue in German is actually rather clear that Fitzcarraldo's intention is to carry the rubber across the mounatin, not the ship with the rubber. And since the film was - despite being shot in English - a German production, with the screenplay written in German, I guess it's fair to assume that this is the understanding intended by the writers.
NO. When Fitz draws his little hand drawing of the Amazon, the Uyuquale and the Pichetea, he clearly indicates his intention of operating two or more vessels, the first ship, would operate as the previous poster stated, between Pondo the Muertos and the mountain pass, as indicated in the drawing by a square in that area. Rubber would be trekked across to onwaiting vessels on the river Pichetea back to the Amazon.
Rubber is not collected 'once', it would be a very unprofitable adventure. Rubber is collected continuously over the years, each ship making enless trips.
***So I've seen 4 movies/wk in theatre for a 1/4 century, call me crazy?**
To add my two cents to the argument, he said they were gonna haul the ship back over the mountain, then it seems with the profit they made from the rubber they would then bring a second boat into the mix.
shareNot the boat...just the rubber...to a second boat...he didn't need to explain the obvious.
shareOnce he had the rubber collected and hauled back over the mountain it would have been easy to hire another boat to bring the rubber to town.
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