Redux, Redux and Redux

Watching “Apocalypse Now” and “Fitzcarraldo” in a theatre were incredible experiences, though i did think the longer Redux was not as focused as the original. And yeah, Conrad nailed a real truth in the white men going gaga in the jungles and on the people there. Your search of other jungle movies is a good one - of course there is the original Lord of the Flies, which is white children going gaga in the jungle, or The Emerald Forest by director John Boorman, based on a true story of a white man’s kid kidnapped by South American natives, and an old 1932 movie with Walter Huston as a cruel dictator in Kongo.

Well, you might enjoy the Nicholas Roeg film of Heart of Darkness, with Tim Roth and John Malkovich as Kurtz. I haven’t seen it.

I have seen Hearts of Darkness (note: plural!), which is about the making of Apocalypse Now, and eminently qualifies.

I think Harrison Ford did one of these (as well as a bit part in Apocalypse Now, hmm)… The Mosquito Coast?

Heart of Darkness is a terrific book, though not a light read. But I don’t think Conrad’s great truth was about white men and jungles–the darkness, I think, is in humans’ own hearts, not the jungle.

(Hey, Chris, why doesn’t your blog render the cite tag as italics?)

second that emotion on Mosquito Coast with Harrison Ford and River Phoenix. Oh, and of course, there is “Anaconda”.

I think Harrison Ford did one of these (as well as a bit part in Apocalypse Now, hmm)… The Mosquito Coast?

That was one of the movies she linked to..

(Hey, Chris, why doesn’t your blog render the cite tag as italics?)

Should be working now..

Deliverence. “This is the weekend they didn’t play golf.”

My first thought was Falling Down. My next thought was African Queen but I’m not sure that counts as truly going crazy.

Falling Down – heh. White man goes crazy in the urban jungle.

I had never put those three movies together in my brain before, but I do like all three. Maybe I’d best stay out of the jungle myself.

If you love Fitzcarraldo like I do, make sure to see Les Blank’s “making of” documentary, Burden of Dreams. You’ll see Kinski wasn’t “acting” crazy and Werner Herzog is extremely messed up too. Much fun!

La Vallée, http://www.imdb.com/title/t… . Soundtrack by Pink Floyd.

“A Far Off Place” although techincally it wasnt a jungle movie but it was set in africa and its still one of may favorites

There’s a meta-example, the documentary “Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski” which you can rent from Netflix as “My Best Fiend, Klaus Kinski. It’s a Werner Herzog documentary about making films with Kinski, including Aguirre and Fitzcaraldo which fall into your genre. Kinski’s off-camera insanity makes the on-screen stuff look tame by comparision and Herzog’s narrative is hillarious. I very highly recommend it.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Man you guys are literal. I mean, wasn't it completely obvious that by saying I didn't want to talk about the things I rambled on about in the other 90% of the post, that THOSE WERE THE THINGS I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT? You guys really just don't get me.

So far Conrad has used the word nigger a few times. Context 1910 blah blah aside, is there some sort of jungle=non-european=bad thing going on here? I guess it seems it is either jungle=extreme environment=extremes of human experience=crazy or jungle=not European=extremes of no tea and crumpets=crazy.

Is the whole jungle/crazy thing a vestige of European colonial era racism/-ism or Axl Rose jungle badassery?

Is the whole jungle/crazy thing a vestige of European colonial era racism

Check. Do Stanley and Livingston qualify?

Oh, and another film: Walker.

Is the whole jungle/crazy thing a vestige of European colonial era racism? yes, and Imperialism too. i think the book captures the rape and pillaging of land, people, resources, etc by “western civilization” and the moral decay it brings to those who particpate in it. and also add a hearty must see to Burden of Dreams. Herzog was in that jungle for 5 or 6 years and the documentary shows his breakdown without flinching.

Do you think the average rank-and-file of had any sense of regret or responsibility? I guess I need to approach these questions from a more academic direction. Alright, new question: Anyone know any comprehensive discussions of the imperial era?

This is particularly interesting to me, because alot of what I read I guess would be considered 'post colonial literature' (by virtue of being written after the colonial era by people who live in former colonies) and it really seems true that regardless of the content of the story there is always this overt or covert recognition, that it is still something in the hearts and minds of people. That just seems incredibly powerful. Not that that is anything new socially or historically, but whereas I've engaged in academic discussions about, for example, the role that slavery still plays on black culture and experience, that this issue (for me at least) has went unexamined. And now I want to learn! Hallelujah!