A few decades after the destruction of the Inca Empire, a Spanish expedition led by the infamous Aguirre leaves the mountains of Peru and goes down the Amazon River in search of the lost city of El Dorado. When great difficulties arise, Aguirre’s men start to wonder whether their quest will lead them to prosperity or certain death.
Klaus Kinski
Don Lope de Aguirre
Helena Rojo
Inés de Atienza
Del Negro
Brother Gaspar de Carvajal
Ruy Guerra
Don Pedro de Ursúa
Peter Berling
Don Fernando de Guzmán
Cecilia Rivera
Flores, Aguirre's Daughter
Daniel Ades
Perucho
Edward Roland
Okello
Alexandra Cheves
Armando Polanah
Armando
Daniel Farfán
Julio E. Martínez
Alejandro Repullés
Gonzalo Pizarro
Claus Biederstaedt
Brother Gaspar de Carvajal (voice) (uncredited)
Lothar Blumhagen
Don Pedro de Ursúa (voice) (uncredited)
Heinz Theo Branding
Don Fernando de Guzmán (voice) (uncredited)
Christian Brückner
Balthasar (voice) (uncredited)
Michael Chevalier
Conqueror Being Beheaded (voice) (uncredited)
Norbert Gescher
Conqueror (voice) (uncredited)
Justo González
González (uncredited)
Uta Hallant
Inés / Flores (voice) (uncredited)
Manfred Lehmann
Conqueror (voice) (uncredited)
Antonio Marquez
(uncredited)
Gerd Martienzen
Don Lope de Aguirre (voice) (uncredited)
Edgar Ott
Gonzalo Pizarro (voice) (uncredited)
Uwe Paulsen
Okello (voice) (uncredited)
Dieter Ranspach
Perucho (voice) (uncredited)
Director, Writer
Werner Herzog
September 12, 2020
6
_**Conquistador expedition travels down the Amazon to death and madness**_
After Pizarro’s conquest of the Inca Empire, a megalomaniacal Spanish soldier (Klaus Kinski) leads a group of conquistadores down the Amazon River in early 1561 in search of gold and more conquest.
Werner Herzog’s “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” (1972) mixes the 1541 expeditions of Gonzalo Pizarro & subordinate Francisco de Orellana with the 1560 expedition of the major characters of the film (Aguirre, Ursúa, Don Fernando, Inez and Flores), which left Peru to search for the fabled El Dorado.
This influenced superior movies like “Apocalypse Now” (1979) and “Black Robe” (1991), but “Aguirre” still packs a punch for those who can handle its unconventionality and remote jungle bleakness. It’s a polarizing picture with some loving it and others hating it. I’m in the middle.
I see its greatness: It’s artsy, realistic, haunting and there are potent, unforgettable moments, like the titular character skulking around with a menacing look. But it’s also not as effective as those two future films because it’s rather un-compelling and when the end credits start rolling the viewer is more likely to say “that was different” than be blown away.
The movie runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot in Peru.
GRADE: B-