10 Times Movie Directors Went Too Far To Get A Scene

German director Werner Herzog is known for his passion and dedication to filmmaking, often prioritising his art above everything else. He's not above staging scenarios while making his documentaries, and when it comes to feature films, he favours realism at all costs. The end always justify the means for Herzog.

But this approach has not been without its consequences. His 1982 adventure-drama Fitzcarraldo, filmed on location in South America, was notoriously difficult to shoot. The story follows the exploits of a rubber-baron during the early 1900s, who attempts to manoeuvre a vast steam ship through the Amazon jungle.

One particular scene, which sees the ship transported over a hill with nothing but man power alone, was attempted for real. Herzog employed hundreds of indigenous people to help with the task, which involved the use of ropes, pulleys, and wooded logs to roll the 320-ton ship up hill. Dozens of labourers were injured and several others were even killed attempting the operation.

If that wasn't bad enough, Herzog also pissed off the local populous by constructing part of a set on their land, without consulting them. Unsurprisingly, the locals burnt down the set in protest.