
Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1972) is one of my favorite "outdoor films," a stunning work directed by Werner Herzog for approximately $380,000, proving irrevocably that movies do not need huge budgets to succeed artistically. The maniacal presence of Klaus Kinski, a primal force among actors, makes this a real treat.
Conflict ripples through the story line; the fact that Kinski and Herzog were at each others's throats during filming adds a scary authenticity to the whole thing. Kinski plays a deranged megalomaniacal conquistador hijacking a small expedition sent on its way to find El Dorado. He perfectly enacts the saga of Aguirre, a Pied Piper from Hell if there ever was one. One of the coolest scenes I've ever seen is Kinski on a twirling raft (Herzog's driverless circling motif again) surrounded by monkeys, proclaiming himself master of the world.

Hasta La Vista!
Erik,
ReplyDeleteA bit of trivia: both "Apocalypse Now" and "Aguirre: the Wrath of God" were based on Joseph Conrad's 1902 novel Heart of Darkness.
Wikipedia has a good article on the story at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_of_Darkness
Enjoy.
Hey E,
ReplyDeleteThat Klaus is a nut! Great post!
Great post. I can't believe how many films I never heard of until I read your posts! I'm going to have to check them out!
ReplyDelete-----<--@ cheers! (its supposed to be a rose.... my pathetic attempt at one! hehe)
Thanks all, for the comments!
ReplyDeleteStepehen, absolutely true on hte Conrad; what Coppola does is follow some of Herzog's imagery, more than the exact Conrad story line, though even there, some incidents are very similar in all three versions. Sheila, I tend to focus on lesser known movies/books for that reason, to "keep the dream alive" :-> It's a cute rose!
Loved "Heart of Darkness" and especially Brando's crazy performance in "Apocalypse Now." When summer's over, I'm gonna have to go through your blog again, and make a movie list for the winter! lol Cheers, R
ReplyDeleteYeah, Brando's cool -- and totally bizarre. ~~Erik
ReplyDelete