| 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 | |||
| Yolanda García | ... | Dona Epiphania | |
| Stella Torgbede | |||
| Diobeth Guerra | |||
| Santiago García | |||
| Marcela Ampudia | ... | Bonita | |
| Maria Elvira Chavez Mejia | ... | Wanderleide | |
| Luz Marina Rodriguez Molina | ... | Valkyria | |
| León Bolaño | |||
| Josué Ángel | |||
| Mario Gomez Vignes | |||
| Maurizio Rodriguez | |||
| Maria Xilena Mantilla | |||
| Awudu Adama | |||
| Josephine Hudson-Odoi | |||
| Ho Ziavi' Zigi Cultural Troupe | ... | Dancing Choir | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Fred Maire | ... | Francisco Manoel da Silva (voice) (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Werner Herzog | |||
Writing credits(in alphabetical order) | ||
| Bruce Chatwin | novel "The Viceroy of Ouidah" | |
| Werner Herzog | ||
Produced by | |||
| Francis Annan | .... | co-producer: Ghana Film Industry Corp. | |
| Salvatore Basile | .... | co-executive producer | |
| Kofi Bryan | .... | co-producer: Ghana Film Industry Corp. | |
| Walter Saxer | .... | executive producer | |
| George Smith | .... | co-producer: Ghana Film Industry Corp. | |
| Lucki Stipetic | .... | producer | |
| Kofi Yerenkyi | .... | co-producer: Ghana Film Industry Corp. | |
Original Music by | |||
| Popol Vuh | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Viktor Ruzicka | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| Maximiliane Mainka | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Ulrich Bergfelder | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Gisela Storch | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Berthold Sack | .... | makeup artist | |
Production Management | |||
| Antonio Jordao Gomes da Costa | .... | unit manager: Ghana | |
| Diobeth Guerra | .... | unit manager: Brazil | |
| Pedro Jungmann | .... | unit manager: Brazil | |
| Jacqueline Lemaitre Basile | .... | unit manager: Colombia | |
| Ina Lüders | .... | unit manager: Ghana | |
| Fernando Umana | .... | unit manager: Colombia (as Fernando Umaña Pavolini) | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Salvatore Basile | .... | assistant director | |
| Christine Ebenberger | .... | assistant director | |
Art Department | |||
| Fabrizio Carola | .... | construction coordinator | |
| Bernd Grotzke | .... | property master | |
Sound Department | |||
| Milan Bor | .... | sound mixer | |
| Friedrich M. Dosch | .... | sound editor | |
| Ray Gillon | .... | stereo sound consultant: Dolby | |
| Rudolf Hellwig | .... | boom operator | |
| Haymo Heyder | .... | sound recordist: location recording (as Haymo Henry Heyder) | |
| Hans-Walter Kramski | .... | foley artist | |
| Jörn Poetzl | .... | foley artist (as Joern Poetzl) | |
| Silvana Zafosnik | .... | assistant sound editor | |
| Hans Zeiler | .... | sound editor | |
Stunts | |||
| Benito Stefanelli | .... | stunt coordinator | |
| Marco Stefanelli | .... | stunt coordinator | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Mahama Alhassan | .... | assistant camera | |
| Ben Allordeh | .... | assistant camera | |
| Carlos Congote | .... | assistant camera | |
| Hermann Fahr | .... | assistant camera | |
| Martin Gerbl | .... | gaffer | |
| Beat Presser | .... | still photographer | |
| Jorge Ruiz | .... | second camera operator | |
| William Sefa | .... | second camera operator | |
| Daniel Valencia | .... | assistant camera | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Silvia Grabowski | .... | assistant costume designer | |
| Rosario Lozano | .... | assistant costume designer | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Rainer Standke | .... | assistant editor | |
Music Department | |||
| Ralph Graf | .... | music recordist | |
Other crew | |||
| Gloria Saxer | .... | caterer | |
| Anja Schmidt-Zäringer | .... | script | |
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| Fellini Satyricon | The Four Feathers | 1900 | Aguirre: The Wrath of God | The Best of Youth |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Adventure section | IMDb West Germany section |
This movie is very absorbing: the cinematography is excellent, and the movie is full of eye-popping scenery and images, as well as intense exchanges of dialogue. One just doesn't find this combination at the movies very often.
Parts of the movie have such vivid but exotic imagery, that it seems surreal (the segment where the Amazon warriors are gathering for battle is a case in point!). Other parts seem almost operatic - especially the exchanges between Francisco Manoel da Silva (Klaus Kinski) and the mad African king, who has taken da Silva prisoner and plans to kill him.
Klaus Kinski is totally compelling in the lead role as Cobra Verde, a swashbuckling bandit-rogue who, partly through fate, partly through crooked machinations of those around him, gets sent off to a Brazilian slave fortress on the coast of West Africa to scout for slaves to bring back to Brazil. I had forgotten how old a man Mr. Kinski was, and was curious to find out his age when he made this film. I checked his stats, and to my astonishment I discovered that he was 62 years old when he made this film. His performance is truly amazing. Would that I have that much fire and energy when I am 62!
I heartily recommend this movie to anyone who is sick and tired of the usual pap that too often fills the screens these days. Though this film was made in 1988, nothing in it seems dated. Just based on its subject matter, it already has a built-in "timeless" quality to it. I think it will hold up well over the years. Go rent it!
By the way, for those of you who like these sorts of films, then another movie that I would recommend as a companion piece to this film is James Ivory's "Heat and Dust" (1982). Though much more "tranquil" and sans the fiery acting of a Klaus Kinski in the lead role, that film, set in India, too had excellent cinematography and a compelling, historically-based story with memorable images and characters.