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

4 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited 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
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 Aguirres, 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 | conquistador | megalomaniac | 1560s | spanish | 

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Taglines:

On this river, God never finished his creation.

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Genres:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

English Quechua Spanish German

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)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The idea for the film began when Werner Herzog borrowed a book on historical adventurers from a friend. After reading a half-page devoted to Lope de Aguirre, the filmmaker became inspired and immediately devised the story. He fabricated most of the plot details and characters, although he did use some historical figures in purely fictitious ways.

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Goofs

In the first scene of the movie the characters was walking on Huayna Picchu on 1560, but this location was discovered only in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham.

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Quotes

Balthasar: I was a prince in this land. No one was allowed to look directly into my eyes. But now I'm in chains, like my people, and I must bow my head. Almost everything was taken from us. I can't do anything; I'm powerless. But I am also sorry for you, because I know there is no escape from this jungle.

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Connections

Referenced in Drácula Barcelona (2017)

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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.