Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)

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

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writer:

Werner Herzog

Stars:

Klaus Kinski, Ruy Guerra, Helena Rojo

5 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Klaus Kinski	...	Don Lope de Aguirre
Helena Rojo	...	Inez de Atienza
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
Alexandra Cheves	...	(as Alejandro Chavez)
Armando Polanah	...	Armando
Daniel Farfán
Julio E. Martínez	...	(as Julio Martinez)
Alejandro Repullés	...	Gonzalo Pizarro
Indianern der Kooperative Lauramarca

Storyline

A few decades after the destruction of the Inca empire, a Spanish expedition leaves the mountains of Peru and goes down the Amazon river in search of gold and wealth. Soon, they come across great difficulties and don Lope de Aguirre, a ruthless man who cares only about riches, becomes their leader. But will his quest lead them to "the golden city", or to certain destruction?

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Plot Keywords:

el dorado | spanish | river | conquistador | amazon river | 

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Taglines:

A breathtaking journey into the heart of darkness.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski threatened to abandon the film entirely at one point during the shooting over Herzog's refusal to fire a sound assistant. Herzog says he threatened to kill Kinski and then turn the gun on himself if Kinski left - and later declared he was quite prepared to do so, knowing that the authorities would write it off as a hunting accident. Kinski stated in interviews that Herzog wielded a pistol to emphasize the threat, but Herzog denies this.

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Goofs

The raft caught in the whirlpool circles continuously during the first day. On the second day, it stands still.

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Quotes

Don Fernando de Guzman: It won't be much longer. El Dorado could be only a few days away. No more rust on the cannon. We shall shoot our enemies with golden bullets. And you, Okello, will serve food on golden platters.
Okello: All of us will get something out of this. Governorships, provinces, women. And perhaps I'll even be free.
Brother Gaspar de Carvajal: Let us not forget the most important part of our mission. To spread the Word of God to these savages.
Don Fernando de Guzman: I'm sure you'd like a golden cross encrusted with jewels instead of the silver one you lost.

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Alternate Versions

The original released version is spoken in German. The actors spoke a variety of languages on set (including English), and the lines had to be re-recorded in post-production in the final language.

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Connections

Featured in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)

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Soundtracks

Aguirre, Der Zorn Gottes (Lacrime Di Re)
Written by Florian Fricke
Performed by Popol Vuh
Published by Edition Intro Meisel
Courtesy of Gammarock Music

User Reviews

Director Herzog is not a cheerleader for humans.

"Aguirre, the Wrath of God": Werner Herzog is one of my all-time favorite film makers, and this is one of my favorite films by him. Actually taken from the diary of the priest who accompanied Pizarro's expedition in 1560, Herzog recreates the pretentious and self-deluded search for the "Lost City of Gold - Eldorado".

Herzog likes true stories...ones that are bizarre in their own right, but with his direction and personal vision, they become profound (and never optimistic). The camera work is always interesting (he single-handedly "patented" camera shots that don't sweep - they ("you") stare and stare - and stare - at a thing or person or place until it becomes abstract, intense, beautiful, threatening, profound), the scoring is always appropriate yet never expected, and his casting, often using the unique talents of the late Klaus Kinski, guarantee nothing less than an intense experience...even in a film like "Aguirre", which SLOWLY claws and slogs it's way along each and every slippery, dangerous, foreign mile of jungle.

It is clear Herzog 'focuses' on the ridiculously high beliefs humans create for and hold of themselves - that they could actually "own" anything, "conquer" anything, outwit that which they do not understand, and by sheer Will cause anything they deem important, to exist. Herzog is NOT a cheerleader for the history of humans, but he is a ponderer... and we are fortunate he does it on film.

Details

Country:

West Germany Mexico Peru

Language:

German Quechua Spanish

Release Date:

3 April 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Aguirre, the Wrath of God

Filming Locations:

Huayna Picchu, Peru

Box Office

Budget:

$370,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$37,041

Company Credits

Production Co:

Werner Herzog Filmproduktion, Hessischer Rundfunk (HR)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1