10 Movie Scenes Shot For Real

Werner Herzog's 1982 masterpiece Fitzcarraldo stars Klaus Kinski as the title character who, with the aid of the Peruvian natives, has a 320-ton steamboat pulled over a large hill and into a neighbouring river.

A fine plot for a film, yet one which would absolutely necessitate the use of a soundstage or models - unless your name is Werner Herzog, that is.

Even for Herzog's practical predilections, this was an especially insane undertaking, and the director ultimately turned down funding from Fox due to their desire to shoot these scenes entirely with miniatures.

Instead, Herzog spent three years figuring out how to pull off the stunt for real, including building an actual steamer and hiring an indigenous crew to get the thing hauled over the hill.

Though there's an undeniable practical physicality to the film, the central feat is so extreme in its commitment to method that even Herzog die-hards might assume there was some technical sleight-of-hand at play.

Astoundingly, the director got it done the hard way, and promptly dubbed himself, "Conquistador of the Useless."