AGUIRRE, WRATH OF GOD

.



.


.


.
Aguirre, The Wrath of God (1972)
Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (original title)
German
Director: Werner Herzog


.


AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD

Rain that is
not rain
is not rain.

An arrow that is
not an arrow
can kill you.

A ship that is not
a ship
is actually a ship

adrift in a tall tree.

A bible is
the words of God
but does not speak.

Malaria and enemies
unseen, destroy
from without

and from within
all but Aguirre:
A horror film.

.


.




W.

Welcome to my first attempts to add MOVIE TRIVIA.

Quote from the film: Don Lope de Aguirre: "That man is a head taller than me. That may change."

Using minimalist story and dialogue, the story of Aguirre, the Wrath of God follows Lope de Aguirre, who leads a group of conquistadores down the Amazon River in search of the legendary city of gold, El Dorado. Some of the people and situations may have been inspired by Gaspar de Carvajal's account of an Amazonian expedition, but it is mostly a work of imagination and improvisation.

Aguirre was the first of five collaborations between Herzog and the volatile Kinski. The director and the actor clashed throughout the film. Kinski's tantrums terrorized both the crew and the natives.The production was shot entirely on location and was fraught with difficulties. Filming took place in the Peruvian rainforest and on the Amazon River during an arduous five-week period. Cast and crew climbed mountains, cut through jungle and rode treacherous river rapids on rafts.

Aguirre opened to widespread critical acclaim, and quickly developed a large international cult film following. It was given an extensive arthouse theatrical release in the United States in 1977, and remains one of the director's best known films. Several critics have declared the film a masterpiece, and it has appeared on Time magazine's list of "All Time 100 Best Films".

 

The film was made for US$370,000, on a stolen 35 mm camera, with one-third of the budget paying for Kinski's salary.^[