Rating: 
Summary: The Wrath Of Film
Review: Absolutley beautiful. Every shot from the opening to the last is absolute genius. Without a doubt one of the most heartbreaking films I have ever seen. It is almost impossible to describe. If you've ever felt that you were floating through this world alone and without direction then this might be the film for you. On the surface it is the story of a mad Spanish conquistador who takes command of an already mad expedition in South America to find El Dorado, the lost City of Gold. Obviously the Spaniards are doomed to float down some nameless river until they die of the flu or native arrows. Why are they obviously doomed? Because we all know there is no City of Gold. Some say that this film is one big metaphor for Hitler and how he lead Germany to ruin. Maybe it is but I interpret it on a much more personal level. I feel that this film is telling me that whether we are leaders or followers we are all on a frivolous quest that will end in nothingness. I am probably wrong since I drew this conclusion simply from how this film made me feel. Don't get me wrong, I am not a nihilist but this film brings out those emotions in certain people. I am a major film buff who has seen everything from the most well known classics to the most obscure art films. Stating this I can honestly say that there are few moments in film history that can compare to the very last shot in this film. I have to say that I am shocked at the emotions that it brought out in me. Klaus Kinski and Werner Herzog are both geniuses and they would never be better than at this point in their careers. I highly recommend this film to people with lots of patience and open-mindedness.
Rating:
Summary: Kinski and Herzog at their maniacal best
Review: In this mesmerizing bizarre film, Herzog transports us to the jungles of South America where we participate in an unfolding nightmare. Kinski portrays Aguirre with gusto and authenticity. This is no Hollywood river cruise as we see in Apocalypse Now. This is simply the real thing. People were almost killed making this film and the commentary that Herzog added to the DVD makes this a worthy purchase for all fans of this masterful director.
Rating:
Summary: Insane
Review: Klaus Kinski is insane, and if Werner Herzog's "My Best Fiend" has not convinced you, this is where you should start. Aquirre, their first great common effort. Herzog and Kinski, Kinski and Herzog. I was born too late to see Herzog's premieres, and his films are far from commercial, so without a large video-rental company it used to be impossible to lay one's hands on the movies. In Europe they are aired from time to time, but not in the US. By the way, can anyone imagine Herzog in US TV? Aguirre does not stand apart from Herzog's other movies in terms of main theme it explores. Madness seems to be the first idea that comes to mind, but there is more to that, I guess. It's curved, bumped and interlaced path that the brain is set to follow. Some of us just make better shortcuts or maybe have a better lighting system and appear to make so called rational choices easier. Not all of us do and this is where common cinematography apparently ends and where Herzog begins. Bravely indeed, immediately in his career he set off to create visual journeys through a burning brain (to paraphrase). When an introvert and highly intelligent individual (iii - in short) founds himself in difficult circumstances, something seems to drive this individual's behavior. Whereas other directors concentrate on action or at least causal relationships to show why the iii has done this or that, Herzog makes a different choice. Namely, his camera swirls around the hero, we observe him in a close-up for most of the time. Action is reduced to minimum. We observe faces, feelings expressed and those intentionally muted. All in close view. We have to use OUR IMAGINATION to complement Herzog's screen language. He tries to hypnotize us along with his best fiend/friend, Kinski. I claim that Herzog's movies, and Aguirre in particular, require active, though also hypnotic or stoned participation in the performance. Have you happened to notice that if the dialogues had been deleted from the movie, probably we wouldn't have seen the difference. What matters is monologue, monologue and monologue only. Either speech, or contextual expressions that are brought on by Kinski with such force. Needless to say, without Kinski Herzog would not have achieved the effect he wanted. FOR AMERICANS: "Aguirre" requires attention. A lot of attention. This is nothing you have seen so far, unless you have been interested in European cinema. Herzog is not only a specific European director with his own style. He's completely unique - unlike any other before and after. It's not for everyone. Do not miss this amazing DVD opportunity! Herzog on DVD - and I though that would have never happened...
Rating:
Summary: don't know if I'll see it, now that I've been told the end
Review: Myles Lucien's review should have at least a warning that it's a spoiler, telling you the ending. I would have stopped reading. This is not what I read reviews for.
Rating: 
Summary: Poetic license vs. plain old licentiosness
Review: Lovely, yes, but pointlessly abtruse, and needlessly fictionalized. Herzog takes a relatively obscure but important story of power and independence, engrossing and compelling in its own right, and turns it into just another nicely photographed travleogue with violence. The complex and contary Aguirre is reduced to your average tinpot dictator with too much blood on his hands. Skip the movie, and read Stephen Minta's book Aguirre to find the real story, and why it's important and meaningful, in the age of the militia men and Wacos large and small. Just some facts: 1. Aguirre stabbed his daughter Elvira to death, to prevent her from becoming "a mere matress for the unworthy," shortly before his own death, allegedly at the hands of two of his own soldiers, on October 27, 1561, in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. 2. Since Aguirre was a Basque (a vital consideration in this story) and her mother was probably an Indian woman, Elvira most likely looked as much like Natasha Kinski as Klaus Kinski looked like Aguirre. 3. The Pizarros, Francisco and Gonzalo, were lond dead by the time of Ursua's expedition. Francisco expired in 1541, and Gonzalo's execution in 1548 essentially ended the Conquest and ushered in the Colonial period. 4. Ursua was appointed as commander as a reward for his ruthless crushing of a black slave revolt in Panama. He extorted a priest to finance the expedition. Aguirre enslaved Indians, allegedly killed a magistrate, and fought on Gonzalo's side during that Pizarro's rebellion. These men have a long unsaintly history that is vital to the story that Herzog has needlessly and dangerously excised. 5. As always, never trust a German.
Rating:
Summary: what a film!
Review: l don't want to add another long review to Aguirre. the lasttwo ones, esp. the last one give a much better guide to this masterpiece than l could ever. anyhow, if you have not seen this film don't even bother to call yourself a fan of film. this is an essential, any Herzog for that matter. everything from Kinski's powerful and dominating performance to the incredible soundtrack and the amazing cinematography make Aguirre in my file one of the best films that l've ever watched. recently I watched the documentary "My Best Fiend" on IFC and I've so much more respect for Herzog as an artist and mostly as a human beign from the intense passion that he has. enough said. watch this film. dump your girlfriend if you have to. it's worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Herzog's best film!
Review: Oh boy oh boy! I just read that this film, Aguirre: the Wrath of God, is coming to DVD. I can't wait! This is probably Herzog's greatest film and a classic of recent German cinema. For those unfamiliar with Herzog's work, he also directed "Fitzcarraldo" and "Nosferatu" (a modern retelling of the classic vampire tale). "Aguirre" is based on a true story of a band of Spanish conquistadors searching for El Dorado. The actual expedition was ill-fated, and so, the film inevitably ends in a gloomy fashion. But what a fascinating film it is! The film follows Aguirre, one of the conquistadors, who eventually assumes control of the expedition and who slowly descends into madness as the expedition runs into disaster after disaster. Along the way, we are presented with a multitude of astounding, almost hallucinatory, images. For instance, the film opens with an incredible shot of a long line of soldiers and their caravan/bearers as they weave through the thick forests; the camera pulls back in a single take and we suddenly realize that the trail must contain perhaps hundreds of people along this dangerous footing. The effect is quite similar to that at the beginning of Charlie Chaplin's "Gold Rush" where we see a never-ending line of hundreds of Klondike prospectors along a snowy path. It's quite astounding, especially when you consider this was all shot on location; the difficulties and dangers portrayed on film were actually encountered by the actors and filmmakers. No special effects, here. I would highly recommend this film to anyone interested in German cinema and one of the greatest of the recent German directors. Five stars!
Rating:
Summary: Perfect Film about Blind Obsession
Review: Truly a great masterpiece- a blend of pristine visuals, enriched by acting that is all pure, raw emotion. Kinski was never better. As Aguirre, the mad leader of a Spanish expidition in search of gold in the Amazon, he seems on the verge tearing everyone to pieces, including himself. Yet, his obsession is great enough to domineer and consume everyone on his grand, insane quest through the heart of the violent jungle. A disturbing, lethargic tragedy of delusion and madness, by a master film maker in his prime.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining but eerie.
Review: This film has always been a sentimental favorite of mine, although it is definitely not a mainstream movie with mass appeal. It chronicles the eerie, haunting, and morbid journey of a group of fifteenth century Spanish conquistadores who break off from Pizzaro's group and head into the deepest parts of the Amazon jungle in search of gold. They are swallowed up, one by one, by unseen natural forces in the jungle, and also by the paranoia and insanity of their leader Aguirre (Kinski). It is well deserving of its reputation as a cult classic, and it is one of Kinski's signature pieces. Showcasing his ability to create a bizzare, twisted and disturbing persona. Since the conquistadores are eventually lead to destruction by Aguirres lust for power and riches it is almost a metaphore of the entire history of the Spanish conquests of South America. The film is actually shot in several languages (including English), then DUBBED into GERMAN, and then SUBTITLED back into English again; which gives the whole thing a rather strange appearance. Kinski's daughter Nastashia is also in the film, playing Aguirre's daughter. Her character is not well developed, and she is only there to show that there IS actually something in the world that Aguirre cares about besides gold. Nevertheless, it is a novelty to see her in her movie debut, before she became famous in her own right. I recommend the movie to those who like offbeat 'artistic' films, and cult classics, but not to those who are looking for light entertainment or an adventure movie.
Rating:
Summary: horrifying
Review: this film horrifies me. it is typical caucasian film of exploitation of the natives and native lands. stereotypes abound in this film. i hear that herzog made actors and crew work in slave-like conditions and it wouldn't surprise if the natives worked on this film against their will. i stay repulsed
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