Wednesday, July 19, 2006

























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.

Any fan of Apocalypse Now! (1979) will see the deliberate parallels chosen from Aguirre by Francis Ford Coppola, working with a much larger budget. Unquestionably, Herzog achieved more bang for his buck, though both directors and their crews paid in blood to see their respective films through to completion.



Hasta La Vista!

6 comments:

  1. Erik,

    A 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.

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  2. AnonymousJuly 20, 2006

    Hey E,
    That Klaus is a nut! Great post!

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  3. 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!


    -----<--@ cheers! (its supposed to be a rose.... my pathetic attempt at one! hehe)

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  4. Thanks all, for the comments!
    Stepehen, 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!

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  5. AnonymousJuly 20, 2006

    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

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  6. Yeah, Brando's cool -- and totally bizarre. ~~Erik

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