Aguirre, The Wrath Of God (Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes)

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(out of 5)

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Marvelous, exotic visuals of the lush jungles of South America highlight this fascinating tale of greed and power. Klaus Kinski gives a disturbing performance as a Spanish soldier who leads an expedition down the Amazon river in search of El Dorado, the fabled city of gold. The idea is to capture the city for his king, but lust for power overcomes him and he decides he wants the place for himself to build his own kingdom. As the dream becomes less of a reality, however, his dominance over his crew members and passengers becomes more cruel and insane. Werner Herzog tells this offbeat tale with energy and freshness, and would later be defeated by the jungle himself when he’d attempt to make the film Fitzcarraldo in the Amazon.

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Werner Herzog Filmproduktion, Hessischer Rundfunk

West Germany, 1973

Directed by Werner Herzog

Screenplay by Werner Herzog

Cinematography by Thomas Mauch

Produced by Werner Herzog, Hans Prescher

Music by Popol Vuh

Film Editing by Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus

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Cast Tags:  Alejandro Chavez, Alejandro Repullés, Armando Polanah, Cecilia Rivera, Daniel Ades, Daniel Farfán, Del Negro, Edward Roland, Helena Rojo, Indianern der Kooperative Lauramarca, Julio E. Martínez, Klaus Kinski, Peter Berling, Ruy Guerra

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National Society of Film Critics Award
Best Cinematography (Thomas Mauch)

Cesar Award Nomination
Best Foreign Film

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