A Hollywood hunk and genuine acting force, Brad Pitt is considered to be one of the most influential movie stars of all time. Working with the likes of Terry Gilliam, David Fincher, Ridley Scott, Spike Jonze, Steven Soderbergh, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Terrence Malick and Adam McKay, Pitt has teamed up with some of the finest filmmakers of contemporary cinema and has enjoyed many years at the very top of industry stardom.
Despite countless iconic performances ever since the 1980s, it wouldn’t be until 2021 that Pitt would receive an Academy Award for his contributions to acting, taking home an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for his role in the Quentin Tarantino masterpiece, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Playing a suave stuntman, Pitt gives a scintillating performance to become one of the most memorable aspects of Tarantino’s movie where he stars beside Margot Robbie, Leonardo DiCaprio and Margaret Qualley.
As well as an icon in front of the camera, Pitt is an acclaimed producer too, helping a multitude of classic movies to the big screen, including the 2013 Steve McQueen slave drama 12 Years a Slave. As a proficient creative behind the camera, it should come as no surprise that Pitt is an avid purveyor of quality cinema both classic and contemporary, entering Konbini’s video closet in a recent interview to discuss some of his favourites.
Surrounded by a bounty of classic movies from across the globe, Pitt picks out some of his all-time favourites, choosing Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Jackie Chan’s Police Story and Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained from the collection on offer.
Few films compare to Werner Herzog’s 1982 classic Fitzcarraldo, which Pitt calls, “one of my all-time favourites,” before delving into the behind-the-scenes facts behind the iconic drama.
“You seen the making of?” Pitt asks the camera crew on the tiny set, before flexing his knowledge by adding, “It has the prior cast, I think was Jason Robards…then they got shut down and came back with our man Klaus [Kinski] here and you see him and he’s just like in a rage about bringing opera, he’s manic, it was such an interesting colour, I would have never thought about it. That’s why this is one of my all-time favourites”.
Based on the extraordinary true story of the Peruvian rubber baron Carlos Fitzcarrald, a mad Irishman who attempted to create an opera house in the Amazon, Herzog’s 1982 film, has since become known as one of his most influential films, led on the frontline by his longtime collaborator in the eccentric Klaus Kinski.
An astonishing story of human endeavour, Herzog’s film tracks the true story of Fitzcarrald and his crew who hauled a disassembled steamboat over the Isthmus of Fitzcarrald, a bridge that connects the routes of Urubamba River and the Madre de Dios River in Peru.
The compelling true story was immortalised in Fitzcarraldo, with Herzog dedicated to recreating the extraordinary tale as best he could, ordering that his own ship in the film should be transported up the mountains of Peru just as Carlos Fitzcarrald had done in the 19th century.
Take a look at Brad Pitt discuss the classic film in the video, below.
