Werner Herzog's AGUIRRE, WRATH OF GOD (1972): Madness, monkeys and prog-rock in the jungle 

I joined the OFH Patreon last week and the commentaries are a blast. They talk about everything from “dirtbag voodoo” to (gah) poor Anne Heche’s exposed booty hole. If anyone is currently on the fence about joining, I say hop on in and take the ride. For a bit of scratch it’s definitely worth the trip.

Another great episode. Getting turned on to some great movies through your show. You guys fckn rock🤘

The Popol Vuh soundtrack is fucking brilliant.

Been waiting for this particular podcast for months. At least. 😉 Well done.

Watched the movie last night. Amazing film. But I wonder if Kinski was really acting. 😉

Awesome episode! Loving it .. salutations from Bogotá Colombia

"Is he worth it?!" . .. well, he is a pretty DISTINCTIVE screen presence (unique physical appearance, voice, brooding demeanor). And therefore probably not an easy one to simply replace with another actor. I was hoping you'd comment on the COUNT TO TEN scene in THIS flick.

Great and very entertaining discussion 😀 I will definitely check out more of your videos! I am German, and Werner Herzog is one of my favorite directors ever, and "Aguirre" is a fantastic movie! But how many of Herzog's movies have been made, would be material for great movies as well. Herzog's accomplishments are miraculous, and you supplied me with new informations about Herzog 😊 As to Klaus Kinski: I think that he is an absolutely essential ingredient of the five movies he made with Herzog! He IS Aguirre! And I really don't think that "Fitzcarraldo" would've been as powerful as it is, if Herzog would've been able to hold onto his initial far more famous choice Jason Robards, who got sick and had to drop out of the production. Mick Jagger was also cast as Fitzcarraldo's helper, but when Jason Robards was gone, Jagger didn't have time anymore for all the re-shoots, and he dropped out as well. Maybe, Jagger simply didn't want to work with Klaus Kinski 😉 However, Claudia Cardinale said only good things about Kinski. He seems to have treated his leading ladies much better than the rest of the crew. Btw, you missed one of the more famous anecdotes featuring Klaus Kinski: it happened in the rain forest on the set of "Fitzcarraldo": Kinski's rages were as bad as ever - and the Native American extras were truly afraid of him because this kind of behavior was something they didn't know, and they had a hard time to understand what was going on. They also could not understand why Herzog always remained so quiet. That scared them even more. And after another one of Kinski's terrible outbursts they approached Herzog and offered, that they would kill Kinski for him and they would take care that Kinski's body would just vanish without a trace in the rainforest! Herzog said that the extras were very sincere, and he contemplated for a few moments if he should accept the gracious offer. But he still needed Kinski for a few scenes, and Herzog thanked the Native Americans and explained that he wasn't finished with Kinski just yet. In many ways Herzog is as crazy as Kinski, and that is probably the reason why Herzog could harness him. But Herzog is also warm and human, while Kinski was in many ways a psychopath. We know now that he regularly abused his older daughter sexually over many years - which makes his Aguirre even creepier! Herzog has been approached and asked to distance himself from the five movies he made with Kinski. Herzog has answered that he might not have cast Kinski if he had known about the abuse. But he also said that these movies have more important ingredients than just Kinski, and many folks worked very hard for these movies. Therefore he wouldn't distance himself from these movies.

I love films where people descend into madness. Last night I watched Mandy, so this fits snugly in that wheelhouse.

Thumbs up before actually listening! Cant wait to listen to this..

Klaus Kinski’s career demonstrates that people with incredible bone structure can get away with murder in the film industry, or at least attempted murder. (I believe there is a corollary anecdote to the Herzog/Kinski Winchester rifle drama wherein one of elders of the tribe who were playing extras offered to murder Kinski, more or less as a favor to Herzog. Herzog dissuaded them, and Kinski continued to misbehave, apparently without knowing how badly the rest of the cast wanted to see him dead)

Recently watched the Blu-ray having previously seen it on VHS and DVD but not yet on the big screen. Absolutely crazy film and all the better for it. Good work guys!

42:32 Herzog was once referring to the fact that the original english audio track had been lost, which I doubt. I think it's the same one we hear in the short clip at 42:47 . Audio for this is available in many DVDs. I think YT and other providers also have this (original?) English audio track. Its lip sync is not perfect, but slightly better than in the German version so I always listen to that track. 🙂🍻

Excellent film and discussion. Great job gentleman

In his own right he was a fantastic actor as he was a maniac in his own right. Was Brando worth all the whoohhaa? Btw , I am a HUGE Ridley Scott fan and the upcoming Napoleon with the Great Joacquin Phoenix. Cant wait to see that.

If you guys haven’t checked out Letzte tags Letzte nacht and Hosianna Mantra by Popol Vuh, they’re some excellent non-soundtrack albums.

that flute song is called, 'how I blow'

You guys are good but Kinski and Herzog did not meet when "they" were teenagers. Herzog was, Kinski was already in his late 20ties. He rented from a lady in Berlin and Herzog and his Mom lived there. I met Kinski twice in my childhood. My father was a famous entertainer in Germany back then. (Vico Torriani - you can look it up) but even back then I would have not dared to start any argument with this guy, he was mentally ill yet a brilliant mind, just in the wrong directiion.

I'd just add a few observations about your review. 1. Not much in the way of actual historical context by way of introducing the characters of the film you're about to spend 1 hour discussing. 2. Herzog's film is, in fact, a very loose retelling of only a small part of Aguirre's actual journey (although I think you guys did intimate this) - it also wanders substantively from history's recorded events. I'm not sure what Herzog wanted to tell us about Aguirre. What didn't come through at all in his film was how much of an absolute psychopath (a committed serial killer) history tells us Aguirre was. The man was clinically insane; completely out of control and a very real danger to just about everyone he came into contact with. Eventually, Spanish authorities had to mobilise its forces to eradicate him, such was the trail of murder, rape and robbery he left in his wake across Spanish colonies. None of this was communicated by the film - which remained firmly in the realms of fantasy, even at times idealising this monster.

What is the title of the rock song in the beginning of this video?

I'm surprised no one busted out a Springsteen "BAHD-LAANDS!" come on, who does the best BROOS? " THESE BAAD LAAAANDS!" I'm going Scarface, I find that movie incredibly fun and maybe the closest thing to a guilty pleasure (because this man feels no guilt for pleasure.) Plus it's the movie that made a whole generation call their friends "Mang." JOO KNOW HER WOONG IS SO POLLOOTED MANG?! (chee can' have babies, mang.)

I was hoping for ''The Last Detail'' by one of the greatest (and I guess imo underrated) directors from the 1970s, Hal Ashby. But (besides the doc ''Manson'', which I've never seen, or let alone even heard of) it is a hard choice, ''Badlands'', Don't Look Now'' (though I would love 1 Fucking Hour of this incredible scary movie, that I saw at a very young age, 9 or 10 years old, and especially that ending haunted me for years), but I'll would go for ''The Long Goodbye'', probably my favorite Robert Altman movie (2nd ''McCabe & Mrs. Miller''). Again, I don't have Insta....hahahaha

i hope Requim is not picked so you guys won't have to torture yourselves; HOW-EVER (Fink Voice) maybe while watching you might realize Darren might have been on the cusp-CUSP-of something at the time. Good and Bad

godfather.