Aguirre, the Wrath of God

Product Description

In the mid-16th century, after annihilating the Incan empire Gonzalo Pizarro (Allejandro Repulles) leads his army of conquistadors over the Andes into the heart of the most savage environment on Earth in search of the fabled City of Gold, El Dorado. As the soldiers battle starvation, Indians, the forces of nature , and each other, Don Lope de Aguirre (Klaus Kinski), The Wrath Of God, is consumed with visions of conquering all of South America and revolts, leading his own army down a treacherous river on a doomed quest into oblivion. Featuring a seething, controlled performance from Kinski, this masterpiece from director Werner Herzog is an unforgettable portrait of madness and power.

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Starring: Klaus Kinski, Helena Rojo, Ruy Guerra
Director: Werner Herzog
Producer: Werner Herzog
Running Time: 94 Min.

Format: DVD MOVIE

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Quite simply a great movie, one whose implacable portrait of ruthless greed and insane ambition becomes more pertinent every year. The astonishing Klaus Kinski plays Don Lope de Aguirre, a brutal conquistador who leads his soldiers into the Amazon jungle in an obsessive quest for gold. The story is of the expedition's relentless degeneration into brutality and despair, but the movie is much more than its plot. Director Werner Herzog strove, whenever possible, to replicate the historical circumstances of the conquistadors, and the sheer human effort of traveling through the dense mountains and valleys of Brazil in armor creates a palpable sense of struggle and derangement. This sense of reality, combined with Kinski's intensely furious performance, makes Aguirre, the Wrath of God a riveting film. Its unique emotional power is matched only by other Herzog-Kinski collaborations like Fitzcarraldo and Woyzek. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

A Simple Story that's Far From Simple.......2007-09-08

From the moment the film begins with its haunting dirge-like music by Popol Vuh, we know we're in the hands of a master. Director Werner Herzog (b. 1942) takes the viewer through the doomed allegory of crazed warrior Aguirre, played by Klaus Kinski (1926-91), who infuses the character with his piercing blue-eyed gaze and incredible dancer's stance. Like Don Quixote, another man possessed, he actually tilts.

Loosely based on the real South American conquistador and rebel, Aguirre, this film relates the well-known tale of pursuing an impossible dream: a quest for golden El Dorado. It's fleshed out against breathtaking Peru. Unforgettable scenes, akin to John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, include the climb down treacherous hills, slugging through knee-deep water, and sloshing through sucking mud.

Kinski's face bookends the opening and closing of this 100-minute film. In several scenes, Kinski holds some of the delightful and terrifying jungle creatures, his tenderness in contrast to his bloodthirsty brutality. We also get to know the cruelty and cleverness of the indigenous Indians who predicted the coming of the Golden Man but were powerless to stop him. As in real life, the characters on the journey are layered and complex.

In a curious way, the film reminded me of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales gone terribly wrong, as one man's greed and egomania echo the disastrous warring times in which Herzog grew up. The mark of a great director is his ability to allow the viewer to forget he's watching a movie with people dressed in costumes. The film is staggeringly real with faces that will haunt you for hours afterward.

Beating the dead horse..........2007-08-08

I didn't know anything about this film when I started watching it. I was disappointed that the film completely lost its moral ambiguity near the end. Taking cheap shots at colonialism had become utterly commonplace and meaningless long before this film was made in the early 70s. This film is so politically correct and bound up in its time that it's difficult to see any depths in it. Aguirre, whose name might as well be Arian, tries to find a land he can claim as his own, and where he can start a new, purer race. Surprise, surprise, the film shows us that Aguirre is rather a madman whom you can't really expect to do anything except sail to his fitting doom. Three stars for the unostentatious, seemingly effortless style, as well as for the poignant boat-in-the-tree scene near the end. If you've seen Herzog's documentaries, or his other films for that matter, the style in this one is quite similar. When all is said, you're much better off watching this than most anything coming out of Hollywood.

Aguirre, the Wrath of God.......2007-07-03

Lyrical and mesmerizing, this astonishing tale of megalomania and greed, told from the perspective of 16th-century monk Carvajal (Del Negro), is the ultimate Herzog-Kinski collaboration. Filmed on location in Peru under the very conditions it emulates, "Aguirre" has a dreamlike feel amplified by Thomas Mauch's exemplary cinematography and Popol Vuh's haunting score. Kinski truly savored the role of Aguirre, delivering a brilliantly intense, even frightening performance not far removed from his real-life persona. Fascinating for its hallucinatory opening and closing shots alone, "Aguirre" is a deranged journey to the heart of darkness you won't want to miss.

Genius.......2007-06-27

Werner Herzog has been called a madman, a dreamer and a maverick of cinema. An eccentric and driven filmmaker, his drive and eccentricity often crossed the border into obsession. Not surprisingly, his films have often been seen as explorations of the depths of obsession, and his masterpiece of masterpieces, Aguirre, the Wrath of God, is no exception.

Aguirre is a fairly accessible film, considering its pedigre, and one that eschews the temporally disjointed structures and arcane avant-garde-isms more typical of earlier German art cinema (including Herzog's own previous work). Instead, Herzog relies on simple narrative filmmaking to tell a story that is on one level a chronicle of a Quixotic yet doomed quest, on a second level, a meditation on the descent into madness and death, and on yet another level, a scathing rebuke of the cultural zeitgeist of Herzog's age.

Aguirre, the Wrath of God begins with one of the most visually stunning shots in cinematic history (and ends with another), as conquistadors under the command of Gonzalo Pizzaro (brother of the conqueror of the Inca), guided by Indian slaves, pick their way through the fog down an impossibly steep mountain terrace toward the jungle below. Soon, a small force leaves this main body to scout down a river in the search of the fabled city of El Dorado.

The rest of the film follows the course of this scouting party as it floats to its inevitable doom, done in by starvation, disease, the decidedly unfriendly attentions of the natives, and, most of all, by the madness and boundless ambition of the expedition's second-in-command, Don Lope de Aguirre (the incomparable Klaus Kinski).

In telling this story, Herzog makes use of a minimalistic cinematic style in which both dialogue and action are sparsely distributed. Instead, the plot unfolds primarily through a series of visual metaphors - the descent into the jungle, the river, a fully rigged sailing vessel somehow stranded in the forest canopy - which, combined with the brilliant soundtrack by ambient music pioneers Popol Vuh, help to create the trancelike dreamscapes for which Herzog is justifiably famous.

One of the highlights of Aguirre, the Wrath of God is the simply stunning cinematography of Thomas Mauch. The fluid, languid movements of Mauch's camera mirrors to the agonizingly slow progress of the expedition (shown to particularly brilliant effect in the film's opening shots), and serves to lend an epic sensibility to a film that clocks in at a spare 94 minutes. The supersaturated colors of the jungle backgrounds become at once beautiful and suffocating - a choking, endless emerald sea, swallowing all human presence and endeavor, rendering them futile and meaningless.

Special attention should also be paid to the Klaus Kinski's performance in the title role, which is not only magnificent, but must be counted among the greatest performances in film history. For a lesser actor, the sparseness of dialogue and plotting in Herzog's largely improvised script could have presented an insurmountable obstacle, but in the hands of a master like Kinski, that very lack of dialogue and action becomes an opportunity to fill the empty space with the edges of a character created from the fragments of gesture. Kinski renders the madness of Aguirre all the more frightening by cloaking it in mystery and only allowing us to view glimpses of the beast within. Instead, we are left to intuit his insanity from subtle cues of movement and expression: his curiously bent walk; the inhuman detachment he shows in the face of the suffering and fear of his men; the way he simply materializes in front of the camera, drifting in like fog (a feat he contrived through a contorted sort of pirouette); the calculating silence into which he frequently falls. That his madness is only hinted at makes the unnervingly whispered moments of rage even more terrifying.

On the surface, Aguirre is an exploration of the romance of the Impossible Dream, yet another sign of his obsession with obsessions, perhaps the central concern of Herzog's art. On a deeper level, it is perhaps best understood as a blistering critique of the 1960s counterculture. The Enlightenment conceit of the 'noble savage' which the hippie movement adopted as its central tenet is ruthlessly dissected, and the hollowness made manifest by the Summer of Love, Altamont and the Manson Family is given concrete expression in the form of the Indians. These, far from being the peaceful sages of hippie lore, appear in Aguirre as faceless demons of fear, invisible except for their handiwork, which is no less than death itself.

Herzog's Jungle, his emblem of Nature, reinforces this critique: Herzog's Jungle is not the counterculture's garden of delights, it is Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Here, the hippies' peaceful paradise is consumed by Kipling's 'nature, red in tooth and claw.' Though the Jungle teems with life and beauty, it is in the end a cradle of madness, and the triumph of the Jungle is a meditation on the triumph of Death.

But it is in the character of Aguirre himself that Herzog's critique of the counterculture achieves its most complete form, for Don Lope de Aguirre can be fruitfully read as the film's hippie stand-in (he conveniently even sports long hair). It is Aguirre, conquistador, and ex officio, agent of civilization, who descends into the Jungle (and into madness), stripping away the last vestigial remnants of his own civilized veneer in his pursuit of the Impossible Dream of El Dorado. What emerges is, in a sense, the Natural Man. But the Natural Man is not a man at peace and harmony with other men and nature, but a man reduced to a state of madness and endless, unquenchable desire. In Aguirre, the great lie of the Enlightenment and counterculture is made manifest: divorced from any civilized impulse, he is only a savage, vicious, ruthless and subject only to his own impulses and wishes. Instead of Rousseau's Noble Savage, the Natural Man stands revealed as nothing more (or less) than Hobbes' Leviathan.

Cinematic Marvel.......2007-05-24

There are some movies that reach you in ways most others don't. "Aguirre. the Wrath of God" is one of those movies. The plot and acting are certainly interesting but the amazing thing about the movie is how it was ever made in the first place. The opening scene of an endless line of soldiers, porters, animals, etc coming single-file down a mountain path is, initially, secondary to the sheer beauty of the scenery. As the camera stays focussed on that shot, we gradually change our focus to the long line of people trekking along steep inclines and narrow paths. How on earth did anyone get all of these people up there to shoot this scene in the first place? I learned from watching "Fitzcaraldo" that Werner Herzog is a director not afraid to shoot long takes on any given scene he deems worthwhile. This opening shot is emblematic of what Makes "Aguirre" such a marvelous film. The combination of stunning scenery, cinematography, and pristine locations makes watching this tale of MacBeth in the New World such an adventure.

As the story unfolds, the conquistadores come to the river that they will travel to find their quest; the city of gold. Herzog gives us another one of his extended scenes of the churning white-water rapids in this forboding river. As the shot continues, it becomes slightly out of focus with the effect of making its' chaotic appearance all the more menacing. In another one of those "how did he do that?" sequences, we follow four rafts down a slightly less challenging stretch of the river. This film looked dangerous to be a part of. Even as the river widens into a slow-moving flood plain, we are still amazed at the limitations that the actors and crew members must be contending with to put this movie together.

As for the plot and the acting, it evolves into a tale of intrigue with the main culprit being Klaus Kinski as Aguirre. His quest for fortune and fame leads him to abandon all moral and logical sense with the sole purpose to become ruler of his corner of the world. The contrast between man's immorality and nature's purity serves to enhance our awareness of both.

The expedition descends deeper into depravity and greed to where we realize that there will be no happy ending. Thus, when the movie does come to a close, it is not with a bang but with a whimper and appropriately so. Nature has been violated but man has been subdued.

Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski: A Film Legacy

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Kinski, One Of The Greatest Actors Of His Generation?
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Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski: A Film Legacy
Starring: Herzog , and Kinski
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Release Date: 2004-02-10

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The six-film Herzog/Kinski boxed set is a sleek compilation of a visionary cinematic collaboration. The history of cinema is dotted with great directors who have found an actor whose face, voice, and style capture that director's point of view: Josef Von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich; John Ford and John Wayne; Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro. In 1972, the German director Werner Herzog cast Polish actor Klaus Kinski in Aguirre, the Wrath of God--the result was perhaps the definitive film for both. Kinski had previously made almost 100 films, but his malevolent role--as a Spanish conquistador obsessed with finding gold--shot him into international stardom. Though Herzog and the volatile Kinski were at each other's throats through much of the filming, seven years later the director cast Kinski as the tortured vampire of Nosferatu, Phantom of the Night (a color remake of the silent horror classic) and the title character of Woyzeck, based on the classic expressionistic German play about a jealous, unstable soldier who murders his lover. Both films continued the Herzog-Kinski trademark of intense unflinching emotion and the palpable presence of the raw physical world.

In 1982, Fitzcarraldo carried this ethos to new heights as Kinski portrayed a man who, in order to bring grand opera to the depths of Peru, has a huge steamship hauled over a mountainside using ropes, pulleys, and human endurance. The mad ambition of the film matched that of its hero as Herzog repeatedly placed crew and actors at risk of their lives. Nonetheless, the love-hate relationship between the director and his star carried them into one last film, the uneven but still remarkable Cobra Verde, about a Brazilian bandit sent to Africa to reopen the slave trade. After Kinski's death in 1991, Herzog made a documentary, My Best Fiend, about their decades of collaboration; the result rivals their previous work as a testament to human extremity. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

WOW!.......2007-05-18

The quality of the DVDs is among the best. Picture and sound is great. I had only ever seen "Nosferatu" before getting the set. "Fitzcaraldo" has become one of my favorite all time movies since getting the set. The documentary "My Best Fiend" is wonderful.

Good Value.......2007-02-23

I already had two of the films in this set, "Nosferatu" and "Aguirre", so I looked into buying the others separately. Buying the set was less expensive, so that's what I did and gave the duplicates to the local library. I compared the disks before giving them away, and the ones in set were the same as the individual editions. Highly recommended for Herzog and Kinski fans.

BUY THIS!.......2006-03-03

I can't help but add my voice to the chorus of positive reviews for this set. It is without a doubt the most well put together dvd box set I have ever seen. Even the packaging is awesome. Whoever is responsible for the physical look of this collection should win a product design award or something. All the movies (except Woyzeck) have very entertaining and insightful herzog commentary and most of the movies have english tracks aswell. I'm not sure what restoration was done on these movies but they all look great! I would say that if you are thinking of buying any of these movies alone on DVD just go ahead and opt for the box set. Chances are, if you like and understand the Herzog aesthetic, you will love all of these movies! Cobra Verde, which I once thought was the weakest of the Herzog/Kinski efforts, has become my favorite upon multiple viewings. Could not have a higher possible recommendation!

Kinski, One Of The Greatest Actors Of His Generation?.......2006-03-03

I think that he is, his on screen presence is as powerful as any actor I have ever seen. From the dark ferocity, burning evil of Kinskis portrayal of 'Nosferatu'; without question he is the greatest 'vampire' to have ever graced cinema. To the manic depressive/shockingly haunting eyes of his portrayal of 'Woyzeck' his character in the films name-sake; indeed one of the most troubled yet somehow believeable characters seen on film.

Woyzeck versus Travis Bickle?....that would be an interesting answer.

Outstanding.

A Match Made In Hell.......2005-09-14

It is said that all drama stems from conflict and there was certainly no shortage of it between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski. Their relationship reminds me of a troubled romance that is doomed to eventually fall apart, but ignites with such passion when the two are together that it's more than worth the grief. One would expect an arrangement of this nature to result in one or two films before the rift became so great between director and actor that they could no longer tolerate one another. Yet, there exists an undeniable sense of brotherhood between these cinematic legends that underlies their artistic struggle.

I can't tell you how pleased I am to have this set after all these years. Including "My Best Fiend" in this set is absolutely essential for a complete appreciation of the unique relationship Herzog and Kinski shared. As has been mentioned before regarding the documentary, there is a sense of one-sided storytelling as Herzog lays out Kinski's many flaws. And, yes, one has to wonder just which man had the larger ego after hearing some of Herzog's rather polished explanations. While it would have been nice to have Kinski there to argue his side of the story, it's still a unique and fascinating look into the creative lives of two very different sort of men.

Of the films themselves, I'm most fond of Nosferatu and Woyzeck, but Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo are truly magnificent epics. I just have to find myself in a particular mood to watch the latter, where the former always hold my attention. In my opinion, Woyzeck is the most overlooked of the Herzog/Kinski collaborations. Certainly Cobra Verde is an inferior film, but it at least has a reputation. Considering Woyzeck was finished in just 18 days with only 27 cuts, I like to think of it as a little miracle.

I've seen Kinski in other films and I've seen works by Herzog without Kinski and it's clear to me that, with a few exceptions, their best work came when they worked together. So, do yourself a favor and pick up this set, then settle in for some intense viewing. And, whatever you do, don't pass on the documentary!

Aguirre, the Wrath of God [Non-US Format, PAL, Region 2, Import]

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Aguirre, the Wrath of God [Non-US Format, PAL, Region 2, Import]

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A Simple Story that's Far From Simple
Beating the dead horse...
Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Genius
Cinematic Marvel

Aguirre: The Wrath of God
Starring: Klaus Kinski , Helena Rojo , Del Negro , Ruy Guerra , and Peter Berling
Director: Werner Herzog
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Customer Reviews:

A Simple Story that's Far From Simple.......2007-09-08

Beating the dead horse..........2007-08-08

Aguirre, the Wrath of God.......2007-07-03

Genius.......2007-06-27

Cinematic Marvel.......2007-05-24

Aguirre - The Wrath Of God / Fitzcarraldo / Little Dieter Needs to Fly (Werner Herzog 3 Pack)

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Aguirre - The Wrath Of God / Fitzcarraldo / Little Dieter Needs to Fly (Werner Herzog 3 Pack)

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Werner Herzog: Director. Writer. Producer. Has studied history, literature and theatre, but hasn't finished it. Founded his own production company in 1963. Has staged several operas, besides others in Bayreuth, Germany, and at the Milan Scala in Italy. Herzog has won numerous national and international awards for his films.

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KlausKinski.45Minutes

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ASIN: B000QRIL6C
Release Date: 2007-05-14

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a rare, candid interview with Klaus Kinski while he was on location in Rome.

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