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.
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Credits: TheMovieDb.
Film Cast:
- Don Lope de Aguirre: Klaus Kinski
- Inés de Atienza: Helena Rojo
- Brother Gaspar de Carvajal: Del Negro
- Don Pedro de Ursúa: Ruy Guerra
- Don Fernando de Guzmán: Peter Berling
- Flores, Aguirre’s Daughter: Cecilia Rivera
- Perucho: Daniel Ades
- Okello: Edward Roland
- …: Alexandra Cheves
- Armando: Armando Polanah
- …: Daniel Farfán
- …: Julio E. Martínez
- Gonzalo Pizarro: Alejandro Repullés
- Brother Gaspar de Carvajal (voice) (uncredited): Claus Biederstaedt
- Don Pedro de Ursúa (voice) (uncredited): Lothar Blumhagen
- Don Fernando de Guzmán (voice) (uncredited): Heinz Theo Branding
- Balthasar (voice) (uncredited): Christian Brückner
- Conqueror Being Beheaded (voice) (uncredited): Michael Chevalier
- Conqueror (voice) (uncredited): Norbert Gescher
- González (uncredited): Justo González
- Inés / Flores (voice) (uncredited): Uta Hallant
- Conqueror (voice) (uncredited): Manfred Lehmann
- (uncredited): Antonio Marquez
- Don Lope de Aguirre (voice) (uncredited): Gerd Martienzen
- Gonzalo Pizarro (voice) (uncredited): Edgar Ott
- Okello (voice) (uncredited): Uwe Paulsen
- Perucho (voice) (uncredited): Dieter Ranspach
Film Crew:
- Writer: Werner Herzog
- Original Music Composer: Popol Vuh
- Director of Photography: Thomas Mauch
- Editor: Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus
- Sound Designer: Herbert Prasch
- Production Manager: Walter Saxer
- Production Assistant: Martje Grohmann
- Line Producer: Lucki Stipetić
- Producer: Hans Prescher
- Second Unit Cinematographer: Francisco Joán
- Special Effects: Miguel Vázquez
- Sound Recordist: Bob Oliver
- Assistant Director: Gustavo Cerff Arbulú
- Camera Operator: Ovidio Ore
- Second Unit Cinematographer: Orlando Macchiavello
- Production Assistant: Georg Hagmüller
- Production Assistant: Ina Fritsche
- Production Assistant: René Lechleitner
- Co-Producer: Daniel Camino
- Special Effects: Juvenal Herrera
- Production Manager: Wolf Stipetić
Movie Reviews:
- Wuchak: _**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-