Cobra Verde (1987)

The feared bandit Cobra Verde (Klaus Kinski) is hired by a plantation owner to supervise his slaves. After the owner suspects Cobra Verde of consorting with his young daughters, the owner ... See full summary »

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writers:

Bruce Chatwin (novel), Werner Herzog

Stars:

Klaus Kinski, King Ampaw, José Lewgoy

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Klaus Kinski	...	Francisco Manoel da Silva / Cobra Verde
King Ampaw	...	Taparica
José Lewgoy	...	Don Octavio Coutinho
Salvatore Basile	...	Captain Fraternidade
Peter Berling	...	Bernabé
Guillermo Coronel	...	Euclides
Nana Agyefi Kwame II	...	Bossa Ahadee (as His Royal Highness Nana Agyefi Kwame II of Nsein)
Nana Fedu Abodo	...	Yovogan
Kofi Yerenkyi	...	Bakoko
Kwesi Fase	...	Kankpe
Benito Stefanelli	...	Pedro Vicente
Kofi Bryan
Carlos Mayolo	...	Governor of Bahia
Pedro Oliveira
A. Kwesi Compson

Storyline

The feared bandit Cobra Verde (Klaus Kinski) is hired by a plantation owner to supervise his slaves. After the owner suspects Cobra Verde of consorting with his young daughters, the owner wishes him gone. Rather than kill him,the owner sends Cobra Verde to Africa. The only white man in the area, Cobra Verde finds himself the victim of torture and humiliation. Later, he trains soldiers in a rebel army. Far from home, Cobra Verde is on the edge of madness.

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Plot Keywords:

slave | bandit | africa | plantation | sugar | 

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Taglines:

The slaves will sell their masters and grow wings...

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Details

Country:

West Germany Ghana

Language:

German Ewe Portuguese

Release Date:

3 December 1987 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Slave Coast

Filming Locations:

Bahia, Brazil

Company Credits

Production Co:

Werner Herzog Filmproduktion, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF), Ghana Film Industry Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The fifth and last of the Werner Herzog/Klaus Kinski collaborations, the other four being: Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Nosferatu the Vampyre, Woyzeck & Fitzcarraldo.

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Quotes

[da silva pours some champagne into their glasses]
Captain Pedro Vincente: To slavery! The greatest misunderstanding in the history of mankind.
Francisco Manoel da Silva: It was no misunderstanding. It was a crime...
Francisco Manoel da Silva: [drinks the champagne, refills the glass] Slavery is an element of the human heart.
Francisco Manoel da Silva: To our ruin!

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Connections

Referenced in Testament (1988)

User Reviews

Hey, wanna see Kinski act crazy in a Herzog film

Sarcastic humor for fans of the darkside: Surprise surprise. Herzog makes a film about a man consumed by his dreams and destroyed by the conspiracies of world he lives in. And in a complete reversal from his usual light hearted comedy roles, Klaus Kinski protrays a madman getting madder.

If you liked Agirre or Fitzcaraldo, and would have liked a larger cast including Amazon warrior girls from Africa and National Geo graphic dancing then by all means see this. Warning: no light hearted romance, cute chimps or talking to the animals here. Surreal, dark, morality story with great acting and the best one liner in Herzog's repertoire while watching amazonian spear dancing (are you listening Joe Bob Briggs?)

Who are these women? They are our future murderesses.