Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972) Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (original title)

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writer:

Werner Herzog (written by)

Release Date:

3 April 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History

Tagline:

On this river, God never finished his creation.

Plot:

In the 16th century, the ruthless and insane Aguirre leads a Spanish expedition in search of El Dorado.

Plot Keywords:

River | Expedition | Spanish | Amazon | 16th Century

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Klaus Kinski	...	Don Lope de Aguirre
Helena Rojo	...	Inez
Del Negro	...	Brother Gaspar de Carvajal
Ruy Guerra	...	Don Pedro de Ursua
Peter Berling	...	Don Fernando de Guzman
Cecilia Rivera	...	Flores
Daniel Ades	...	Perucho
Edward Roland	...	Okello
Alejandro Chavez
Armando Polanah	...	Armando
Daniel Farfán
Julio E. Martínez		(as Julio Martinez)
Alejandro Repullés	...	Gonzalo Pizarro
Indianern der Kooperative Lauramarca
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Claus Biederstaedt	...	Brother Gaspar de Carvajal (voice) (uncredited)
Lothar Blumhagen	...	Don Pedro de Ursua (voice) (uncredited)
Heinz Theo Branding	...	Don Fernando de Guzman (voice) (uncredited)
Christian Brückner	...	Balthasar (voice) (uncredited)
Michael Chevalier	...	Conqueror Being Beheaded (voice) (uncredited)
Norbert Gescher	...	Conqueror (voice) (uncredited)
Justo González	...	González (uncredited)
Uta Hallant	...	Flores and Inez (voice) (uncredited)
Manfred Lehmann	...	Conqueror (voice) (uncredited)
Antonio Marquez	...	(uncredited)
Gerd Martienzen	...	Don Lope de Aguirre (voice) (uncredited)
Edgar Ott	...	Gonzalo Pizarro (voice) (uncredited)
Uwe Paulsen	...	Okello (voice) (uncredited)
Dieter Ranspach	...	Perucho (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Werner Herzog

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Werner Herzog		written by

Produced by
Daniel Camino	....	co-producer
Werner Herzog	....	producer
Hans Prescher	....	producer
Lucki Stipetic	....	line producer

Original Music by
Popol Vuh

Cinematography by
Thomas Mauch

Film Editing by
Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus

Production Management
Gustavo Cerff Abulu	....	unit manager (as Gustavo Cerff Arbulú)
Walter Saxer	....	production manager
Lucki Stipetic	....	production manager

Sound Department
Bob Oliver	....	synchronisation
Herbert Prasch	....	sound

Special Effects by
Juvenal Herrera	....	special effects
Miguel Vázquez	....	special effects (as Miguel Vazquez)

Camera and Electrical Department
Francisco Joán	....	second cinematographer
Orlando Macchiavello	....	second cinematographer
Ovidio Ore	....	assistant camera

Other crew
Ina Fritsche	....	co-worker
Martje Grohmann	....	production assistant
Georg Hagmüller	....	co-worker (as Dr. Georg Hagmüller)
René Lechleitner	....	co-worker
Gerd Martienzen	....	voice dubbing: Klaus Kinski (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Werner Herzog Filmproduktion
• Hessischer Rundfunk (HR) (co-production)

Distributors

• Filmverlag der Autoren (1972) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• New Yorker Films (1977) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Národní Filmový Archiv (NFA) (2007) (Czech Republic) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Applause Productions Inc.
• Ingram International Films
• New Yorker Films (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Palace Video (1982) (UK) (VHS)
• Palace Video (1982) (UK) (video) (Betamax)
• Ripley's Home Video (2005) (Italy) (DVD) (boxed set)
• StudioCanal (2012) (Germany) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes" - West Germany (original title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German | Quechua

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:18 | Australia:M (cable rating) | Australia:PG (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1991) | West Germany:12 | South Korea:15 | South Korea:12 (2002) | Singapore:PG | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Aguaruna Lands, Peru

Company:

Werner Herzog Filmproduktion

Trivia:

Werner Herzog did not storyboard a single frame of the film. All of it was shot and framed spontaneously.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In one shot where the camera moves around the rafts, you can see the crew's living arrangements (a bunch of rafts with huts on them) near the bank of the river.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Don Lope de Aguirre:I am the wrath of God. Who else is with me?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The South Bank Show: Werner Herzog (#5.25)" (1982)

Soundtrack:

Aguirre, Der Zorn Gottes (Lacrime Di Re)

Staggering

One of the reasons I go to the movies is to experience a place that I would otherwise not get to see. In Werner Herzog's astonishing "Aguirre: The Wrath of God" we are taken into the Andes region of the Middle and South Americas in the mid-16th century and are exposed to incredible images and faces. It's a haunting masterpiece that seems ageless.

At first sight, the costumes and effects seem amaturish, but quickly we realize that this makes the film superior to what it would have been if it had been made with a larger budget; it adds to the film's artistry and authenticity. Film is a visual medium and it works best when the images we see are not tied down to strictly suit the plot; this film is a feast for the eyes.

The plot, what little there is, is very simple: a crew aboard a raft are attempting to get to the City of Gold, El Dorado. Much like Coppola's "Apocalypse Now," we are taken on a mesmerizing journey into the depths of madness with the focus being primarily on mood, setting, atmosphere and images.

Klaus Kinski, in one of the best performances I've seen, embodies the insanity that comes with the quest for power. The physicality of Kinski's performance is startlingly effective - he seems drunk on his own sense of power and recalls Brando, Dean, and a young De Niro or Pacino at their most absorbed.

The music in the film inspires a sense of awe and wonder that, along with the lush landscape and vistas, succeeds in taking us to another place. These are the kinds of films I love: a director so obsessed with achieving a sensation of marvel, so ambitious in his scope that we are free to wander within the film's world as we watch the characters journey into the mysterious unknown of their mind.

There are many good, very good and great films - too many to list, in fact. What I am hoping to do is label each film I see fit as a "masterwork".

This film is a masterwork.

****