Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes

Aguirre, the Wrath of God (German: Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes) is a 1972 West German adventure film written and directed by Werner Herzog. Klaus Kinski stars in the title role. The story follows the travels of Spanish soldier Lope de Aguirre, who leads a group of conquistadores down the Amazon River in South America in search of the legendary city of gold, El Dorado. Using a minimalist story and dialogue, the film creates a vision of madness and fo... more

Aguirre, the Wrath of God (German: Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes) is a 1972 West German adventure film written and directed by Werner Herzog. Klaus Kinski stars in the title role. The story follows the travels of Spanish soldier Lope de Aguirre, who leads a group of conquistadores down the Amazon River in South America in search of the legendary city of gold, El Dorado. Using a minimalist story and dialogue, the film creates a vision of madness and folly, counterpointed by the lush but unforgiving Amazonian jungle. Although based loosely on what is known of the historical figure of Aguirre, the film's story line is, as Herzog acknowledged years after the film's release, a work of imagination. Some of the people and situations may have been inspired by Gaspar de Carvajal's account of an earlier Amazonian expedition, although Carvajal was not present on the historical voyage represented in the film. Aguirre was the first of five filmic collaborations between Herzog and the volatile Kinski.... less