Movies - Aguirre, the Wrath of God

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Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (Aguirre, the Wrath of God) is a 1972 German film written and directed by Werner Herzog. Klaus Kinski stars in the title role. Arguably the director's most famous film, it was given an extensive arthouse theatrical release in the United States in 1977.

The story follows the travels of Lope de Aguirre, who leads a group of conquistadores down the Amazon River in South America in search of a lost city of gold (El Dorado). The film is remarkably similar to Joseph Conrad's 1902 novella Heart of Darkness in that it mocks colonialism; also, the characters become more and more mentally unstable the deeper they go in to the jungle. Ironically, several critics have noted that Apocalypse Now
, the movie that was actually (loosely) based on the Conrad novella, was directly influenced by Aguirre since director Francis Ford Coppola seemed to deliberately "quote" specific imagery either in imitation of, or homage to, Herzog's film.

The film opens with a haunting combination of sound and image (a Herzog trademark - see Fitzcarraldo
and The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
). Using a minimalist story and dialogue and the powerful acting of Kinski, the film creates a compelling vision of madness and folly, counterpointed by the lush but unforgiving Amazonian jungle. The soundtrack is composed and performed by Popol Vuh, a German progressive/ethno band that has also contributed to other Herzog films.

Although reputedly based on a true occurrence, Herzog acknowledged years after the film's initial release that the story line was purely a work of his imagination, notwithstanding the fact that several of the film's lead characters — such as Aguirre and Francisco Pizarro — were historical figures. Additionally, there are a number of persons and situations which may have been inspired by Gaspar de Carvajal's account of an earlier Amazonian expedition.

Production

The film was made for just $370,000, and filmed on location in the Peruvian jungle, just below Macchu Picchu. On one occasion, irritated by the noise from a hut where cast and crew were playing cards, the explosive Klaus Kinski fired three shots at it, blowing the top joint off one extra's finger. Subsequently, Kinski started leaving the jungle location (over Herzog's refusal to fire a sound assistant), only changing his mind after Herzog threatened to shoot first Kinski and then himself. The latter incident has given rise to the legend that Herzog made Kinski act for him at gunpoint. However, Herzog has repeatedly rubbished the claim during interviews, explaining he only verbally threatened Kinski in the heat of the moment, in a desperate attempt to keep him from leaving the set. The famous incident is parodied in Incident at Loch Ness, which Herzog co-wrote.

According to the director's audio commentary provided on the film's U.S. R1 DVD, the camera used to shoot the film was stolen by Herzog from a school he attended. In the commentary, Herzog also revealed how he obtained the monkeys utilized in the climactic sequence. He paid several locals to trap 400 monkeys -- he paid them half in advance and was to pay the other half on receipt. The trappers sold the monkeys to someone in Los Angeles or Miami, and Herzog came to the airport just as the monkeys were being loaded to be shipped out of the country. He pretended to be a veterinarian and claimed that the monkeys needed vaccinations before leaving the country. Abashedly, the handlers unloaded the monkeys, and Herzog loaded them into his jeep and drove away, used them in the shot they were required for, and released them afterwards into the jungle.

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