Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
Directed by Werner Herzog
A few decades after the destruction of the Inca Empire, a Spanish expedition led by the infamous Aguirre leaves the mountains of Peru and goes down the Amazon River in search of the lost city of El Dorado. When great difficulties arise, Aguirre’s men start to wonder whether their quest will lead them to prosperity or certain death.
18 connections found
View:
18 connections, in both directions
What critics compared Aguirre, the Wrath of God to
Roger Ebert, who considers this film one of the best ever made, calls it "foolhardy", and compares it to other mad masterworks like Erich von Stroheim's Greed (1924) and Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979).
There’s a whole list of cinematic inspirations, really, which would surprisingly include Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid .
In fact, one could also make the argument that it’s more indebted to Humphrey Bogart’s The African Queen and Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God than to the ride.
Aguirre was a real person, a cruel and vile human, who most modern viewers probably know from Werner Herzog’s magnificent Aguirre, the Wrath of God, with an unhinged Klaus Kinski starring as the titular terror.
Movie fans may remember Aguirre from Werner Herzog's masterpiece Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), wherein he searched the Amazon for the lost city of gold, El Dorado (he was also a real person).
Unimpressed, Taiwan’s post-war generation, including Yang himself deserted film in the 70s—had he not found himself heavily inspired by Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God, perhaps Taiwan would never have experienced the beauty of the auteur’s work.
It would be far too easy to dismiss The Lost City Of Z as simply mimicking films such as Aguirre, The Wrath Of God (Herzog, 1972), or even Apocalypse Now (Coppola, 1979); however the film is a genuinely touching story about fighting for what you believe in.
Though visually resembling Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo and Aguirre, the Wrath of God, with hallucinatory night-time jungle scenes recalling Apocalypse Now, Gray’s exploration into a driven individual’s morality more resembles Lawrence of Arabia in tone, and he largely succeeds in managing the same coupling of lush, lyrically expressive imagery with rich emotional resonance.
Drawing comparisons to Apocalypse Now and Aguirre, the Wrath of God, The Lost City of Z has been crafted by a filmmaker who knows and respects his film history.
When Herzog sent an unhinged Kinski into the jungle for the filming of Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), he elegantly illustrated the futility of Human ambition in the face of indifferent Nature.
Advertisement
Though his classical style still owes a sizable debt to Scandinavian film legends like Ingmar Bergman and Carl Theodor Dreyer, The Northman feels most like Eggers’ faithful tribute to Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God , imbuing landscapes with a sinister presence that justifies the spiraling mental states of those foolhardy enough to try to tame them.
Roger Ebert, who considers this film one of the best ever made, calls it "foolhardy", and compares it to other mad masterworks like Erich von Stroheim's Greed (1924) and Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979).
Seven years before Apocalypse Now , young Bavarian director Werner Herzog embarked on his own journey into the heart of darkness.
Only a handful of modern films share the audacity of his vision; I think of “ 2001: A Space Odyssey ” and “ Apocalypse Now .”
Francis Ford Coppola was clearly influenced by this film when he made “Apocalypse Now” several years later.
And the film is also a precursor to Coppola's Apocalypse Now as the rafts drift silently down the Amazon with its unseen enemies, muddled motivations and ill-defined destination.
With gaping eyes and perpetual apprehensiveness, the boy functions like one of the sidelined women in Aguirre, the Wrath of God, a film that Valhalla Rising rather baldly imitates, but with less consistent brio or verve.
Invoking The New World, Aguirre, the Wrath of God, and the "Dawn of Man"sequence in 2001, Bronson director Nicolas Winding Refn's mesmerizing 12th-century odyssey into the heart of darkness stars a mute Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale's villain) as One Eye, a brooding Norse warrior-slave who slaughters his pagan captors and leads a boatload of Christian Vikings to the Holy Land.
Lord of the Flies, Apocalypse Now, and Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo are touchstones on the path of Landes’ astonishing and utterly immersive movie, but Monos casts its own wholly unique spell.
Advertisement
There are strong echoes of Richard III in Aguirre's power-mad quest, especially when he sets up the expedition's token royal (Berling) as Emperor of El Dorado.
It’s very possible that many people’s first encounter with Werner Herzog’s 1972 German epic Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (Aguirre, the Wrath of God) will be through the cinephilic references in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.