Aguirre, the Wrath of God [VHS]

Aguirre, the Wrath of God [VHS]
by Werner Herzog

Aguirre, the Wrath of God [VHS]

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Product details

Actor: Del Negro, Helena Rojo, Klaus Kinski, Peter Berling, Ruy Guerra
Director: Werner Herzog
Edition: VHS Tape
Format: Color, NTSC, Subtitled
Release Date: 1998-01-01
Audience Rating: Unrated
Publisher: New Yorker Video
Studio: New Yorker Video

VHS Movie Reviews of Aguirre, the Wrath of God [VHS]

Movie Review: A journey into madness...
Summary: 5 Stars

"Aguirre" (1972) is directed by Werner Herzog (Fitzcarraldo) and was filmed on location in the Peruvian rain forest on the Amazon River. The movie is loosely based on Lope de Aguirre (Klaus Kinski) who was involved in a 1560 expedition that left Peru to find the city of El Dorado. Herzog combined this story with another Amazonian journey of Gonzalo Pizarro in 1541-1542. In real life Aguirre was a professional soldier who decided he could overthrow the Spanish rule of Peru with the 300 men on the journey. Aguirre murdered Ursua and proclaimed Guzman the "Prince of Peru", and eventually also murdered Guzman. As with many of Herzog's films the actors were pushed to the limits in the filming of this movie as they had to climb up mountains, hack through thick jungle, and ride river rapids on rafts built by natives. During the filming a storm flooded the river and subsequently buried the film sets and destroyed the rafts. This flooding was incorporated into the movie. The film has a hypnotic quality that takes one down the path of madness and hallucination. Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 film "Apocalypse Now" would be influenced by this film's visual style and narrative elements.

This particular version is in English or German, with English subtitles. The movie was originally filmed in English in mono, but the German soundtrack is considered superior in 5.1 Dolby Digital. This DVD's format is full screen 1.33:1 aspect ratio.

Movie Review: Hey, Kids, Let's Make a Movie!
Summary: 1 Stars

Oh, man, like I'm buuged. I mean, really bugged. I thought this movie was about Hank Aquirre, the 1950s relief pitcher for the Detroit Tigers.

And a damn good pitcher he was, ole Hnak-guy.

Couldn't hit worth a lick, but he sure mowed down them Yanks whenever he played against 'em.

Si I'm sittin', and I'm thinkin' -- where's the ballfield? The hot dogs? The popcorn? And where the heck is Hank? What's the dang-deal?

Meanwhile all I see is this cockamamie movie that looks like a half-dozen glue-sniffing seventh-graders filmed it.

Yes, I know this movie is the darling of the cinema intelligensia. Then again quite a few inhabitants of France think Jerry Lewis will soon rise into the heavens on a gold-encrusted whoppe cushion.

Critics rave about Klaus Kinski, who you'll immediately recognize in the movie -- he's the one who evidently *didn't* take the following advice: "Lay off the drugs, Klaus, baby! And, you know, *blink* once in a while, k?"

"oh, and they filmed this movie with a handheld camera! Oh, how wonderful! Oh, it's so exciting to see nature and natural nature at that!" ...

And they go on and on, these oversocialized film buffs.

Listen, filming a movie with a handheld camera does not automatically anoint a director "a genius." Nor does having actors haul a raft, a cannon, assorted dead bodies and two perfectly-coiffured mademoiselles through a jungle qualify you as Orson Welles.

In fact, here's what all the people who've given this movie 5 stars should do. ... Round up a dozen of your friends and haul a cannon, assorted dead bodies and two perfectly-coiffured mademoiselles through if not a jumgle then let's say downtown traffic at rush hour. Make sure you film what you're doing with a handheld camera, and make sure one of your friends is a certifable nut-case, a la Klaus Kinkyski.

Look, if I want to see people struggling with large objects, sweating and in need of a bath, a shampoo and a week at Actor's Studio, I'll go over to the projects and watch them deliver used refrigerators. ("Auteur! Auteur!")

Ok, sure it was hard to film "on location." But so is it hard to thread a needle when you're flat-on-your-ass drunk, schtup the Fat Lady at the circus and/or find parts for a '53 Nash Rambler.

But none dare call that art.

One reviewer here points out that the director, Werner Herzog, points out that

"most of the scenes were shot only once, that there was almost no money and very little time, that much of the action was determined nearly on the spur of the momen."

Noooo! You're kidding! Who'da thunk?

This is as much as a surprise to me as knowing that Joan Rivers has her plastic surgeon on speed dial.

Did it ever occurs to any of the reviewers who gave this movie such glowing praise that there was more than a little bit of *sadism* involved in shooting this turkey? I mean, driving actors to trudge through the jungle -- overacting, nearly drowning, break their backs, running, jumping, spritzing - who is this nut-boy Werner Herzog and why don't fifty million Frenchmen worship at his feet?

[...]

Movie Review: The aspect ratio on the DVD is the correct one
Summary: 5 Stars

This is just a note about specs for the DVD of this wonderful film. It has a 4:3 (1:1.33) aspect ratio because that's how Werner Herzog shot the film and released it. (See his official website [...] for details). This is not a pan-and-scan release but the original theatrical presentation. Don't be put off because the DVD is full-frame, there never was any other version.

Movie Review: The Iberian Conquest of the Americas
Summary: 5 Stars

The film accurately depicts important motives for the Iberian conquest and the behavior of many conquistadores. I recommend the film particularly for those who study and teach 16th- and 17th-century literature and/or history of the Early Modern Period of Spain.

Movie Review: Astounding
Summary: 5 Stars

This film is a hypnotic tale that follows a brigade of conquistadors set in the mid sixteenth century. Their expedition has brought them to the dense forests surrounding the Amazon. Their mission is to reach the famed city of El Dorado and spread the word of Christianity. The campaign, thrust by Aguirre, is plagued by native indians, mutiny, starvation, greed, and the harsh wilderness that surrounds them.

Herzog has created a riveting film whose focus is much more than that of the expedition itself. Daring cinematography and location help generate an authentic feel, while the brilliant use of light musical tones inflect a mesmerizing quality that's uncharacteristic for such a storyline. This is not only a heavyweight for the new German film movement, but also for the entire realm of world cinema.

Write your own review

Summary of Aguirre, the Wrath of God [VHS]

Quite simply a great movie, one whose implacable portrait of ruthless greed and insane ambition becomes more pertinent every year. The astonishing Klaus Kinski plays Don Lope de Aguirre, a brutal conquistador who leads his soldiers into the Amazon jungle in an obsessive quest for gold. The story is of the expedition's relentless degeneration into brutality and despair, but the movie is much more than its plot. Director Werner Herzog strove, whenever possible, to replicate the historical circumstances of the conquistadors, and the sheer human effort of traveling through the dense mountains and valleys of Brazil in armor creates a palpable sense of struggle and derangement. This sense of reality, combined with Kinski's intensely furious performance, makes Aguirre, the Wrath of God a riveting film. Its unique emotional power is matched only by other Herzog-Kinski collaborations like Fitzcarraldo and Woyzek. --Bret Fetzer

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