Pushing the Boundaries: Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) 4K Restoration
Director: Werner Herzog Run Time: 95 min. Rating: NR Release Year: 1972
Starring: Del Negro, Helena Rojo, Klaus Kinski, Peter Berling, Ruy Guerra
Country: West Germany, Mexico
Language: German, Quechua, Spanish
The 1970s: Pushing the Boundaries
A Film Center retrospective on the most groundbreaking films to come out of the 1970s.
See more Pushing the BoundariesAbout the film:
Nominated for the César Award for Best Foreign Film in 1976.
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.
“One of the great haunting visions of the cinema.”
—Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
About the filmmaker:
Werner Herzog is a German writer, actor, and director from Munich, Germany. He grew up in a remote mountain village in Bavaria and studied History and German Literature in Munich and Pittsburgh. At the age of 19, Herzog directed his first short film, Herakles (1962). Since then, he has produced, written, and directed more than sixty features and documentary films, such as Nosferatu the Vampyre (1978), Fitzcarraldo (1982), Lessons of Darkness (1992), and Invincible (2001). Herzog’s film Aguirre, The Wrath of God (1972) is widely regarded as one of the most haunting historical dramas of all time. The film marked Herzog’s first of five collaboration with the band Popol Vuh and actor Klaus Kinski and was nominated for the César Award for Best Foreign Film in 1976.
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