Rating: 
Summary: Fatalism beyond belief
Review: Werner Herzog was thirty years old when this film was released. So, while in his twenties, he decided it would be right to film the story of Aguirre, who plunged a cohort of men to their almost certain deaths in the depths of the Amazon in quest of a fame and fortune that was almost certainly illusory. Filmed in the most trying of locations and starring an actor of legendary obstinancy and unpredictability, 'Aguirre' stands as a work underpinned by the most uplifting optimism. To make such a work of art would require a drive and vision on a par with that of Aguirre himself. The story itself builds and builds, until one feels that the quest is one affronting the gods themselves, so that what might strike as ridiculous and arrogant to begin with, begins to resonate with universal and unnerving implication by journey's end. Herzog allows chance to invade the production of his film often with magical results (the final images being one such instance). Technically there are flaws, the soundtrack and the early pacing in particular not doing justice to the overall conception, and furthermore the digital transfer is less than ideal, but this remains a truly awesome filmic experience worth a hundred formulaic Hollywood productions at the barest reckoning. Don't die without seeing this one.
Rating:
Summary: Herzog's Best
Review: This is one of those films that will stay with you for a long time, beautiful and hallucianatory, the images will be burned into your brain. From the Opening sequence in the Andes to the last shot of Aguirre on the raft with his monkeys, this is a film to be seen. There are plenty of reviews here going over the story so I won't rehash it - but this is a must own DVD!
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: I recently had occasion to re-view "Aguirre" on a video that was a little distorted (I couldn't get it to track properly). It was a little frustrating but nonetheless a hauntingly beautiful film. I eagerly look forward to the day when I can see it in DVD format. The new German cinema of the 70s and 80s was particularly fascinating for me as a student of the language and culture. But at the time, I was simply excited at the prospect of seeing interesting films in a language that I was only beginning to master. I scarcely recogized "Aguirre" for the visionary masterpiece that it was. The insane lust for power at all costs seemed like a particularly appropriate theme for treatment by German filmmakers. I failed to see that there was so much more. But now, seeing it almost thirty years after the film's release, I am utterly astonished at its beauty and depth. It goes so much further beyond the pat themes one might at first attribute to it. Yes, of course, it's about madness and lust for power, and maybe about man's place in the universe as well. But, as other reviewers have noted, the true source of this film's power is its dreamlike imagery. Cinema, it's been said, speaks in the language of dreams, but only seldom do filmmakers prove that they truly know that language. Werner Herzog has mastered that language, as well or better than anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: sad
Review: I will get skewered mercilessly for what I have to say. I do see the good all the people see in this movie,I'm not a dumb audience, being an avid film maker I know my films very well and classics even more so. The film has some hypnotic images and some of the dialogue is first rate but in terms of anything else it is [poor]. Herzog goes for the documentary look for the film which doesnt take long to figure out, especially when quiet silences loom in the space. I was amazed to learn that this film is rated highly. As a story and study of descent into madness or something resembling Neitzche's superman who still keeps on going irregardless of failures it is excellent but as a piece of cinema it is [lacking something]. Never have i been ever so dissapointed by a film. ...
Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable images
Review: The story is familiar to anyone who has seen Treasure of the Sierra Madre, or the countless stories inspired by Frank Norris' McTeague: a group of adventurers goes looking for treasure in a hostile wilderness. One by one, they succumb to power-mad fantasies and kill each other, until there is only one left. He is mad by the end - stark, raving mad. Maybe he has the gold, maybe he doesn't. But he's far from home in every sense. Even if he could get back to civilization, he has snapped, broken from the reality of his former life. He is shattered. Aguirre, The Wrath of God presents a variation of this story, but one rooted in history. The Fred C. Dobbs character is the titular Aguirre, played to eerie perfection by Klaus Kinski. He is part of a 16th-century Spanish expedition to the Amazon River basin looking for El Dorado, the fabled city of gold. The first time I saw this film, I could guess where the story was inexorably leading. What I was not prepared for was the extraordinary power of its images, performances, and ideas. Stanley Kubrick once said that if you do your job well as a director, then it almost doesn't matter how you shoot a scene. Where you plant the camera, in other words, becomes less important than what is going on in front of it. Werner Herzog proves that point with every dream he commits to celluloid. One would think, for example, that a hand-held camera would seem jarring, out of place in the 16th-century. Historical dramas tend toward tripods, dolly and track, diffusion filters, and lush beauty lighting. But most of Aguirre, The Wrath of God is shot like a documentary - without affectation; searching for the shot and stumbling upon it. The camera - and therefore the viewer - becomes a participant in the story. The result is a series of arresting, yet organic images: a long line of European aristocrats and their native-born slaves traveling a narrow, misty trail in the side of a steep mountain; a raft full of doomed conquistadors helplessly drawn into an eddy near some rapids on the Amazon; a woman in a sumptuous gown drifting into the jungle in stately silence, never to be seen again; Aguirre alone on a raft full of corpses, expounding on his plans for conquest to an audience of a hundred chattering monkeys. These images, and more, burn themselves into the mind. That Werner Herzog achieves them with such apparent artlessness is astounding. Aguirre, The Wrath of God is ultimately a brutally simple film. Some of its least-adorned scenes reach more deeply than the most technically dazzling set pieces by the likes of Hitchcock, Welles, or DePalma. Young film-makers would do well to take heed.
Rating:
Summary: Herzog,The Wrath of Kinski.
Review: The best Werner Herzog/Klaus Kinski film. Totally consumed by visions of fabled gold,and conquering all of South America,Aguirre,Wrath of God. An Outstanding,memorable performance from Kinski. Anchor Bay have produced an excellent quality transfer for this DVD,correctly framed at 1.37:1,the picture does justice to the beautiful Cinematography. A must for Kinski/Herzog fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Five stars for the film
Review: This is a powerful, mesmerizing feature, and Klaus Kinski is the magnet holding it all together while his character, the deluded Aguirre tears everything apart. Megalomania, lust and seething rage send a doomed group of Spanish soldiers, a couple of women and an Incan noble into an abyss. Watch Kinski eat up the camera in every scene, and ponder the implications of Aguirre's actions. Great filmaking by Werner Herzog on location in another world!According to my source(s), Herzog wished the film to be presented full frame for this DVD presentation. Heaven knows why,if this is indeed true, because widescreen would be even better. The commentary track with the director almost makes up for the full frame presentation, and with it the docked star. Quibbles aside, this is a great, and haunting film. I need to see it again already!
Rating:
Summary: Aguirre Rocks!
Review: This film is mesmerizing. Klaus Kinski is one scary dude! The ending has more monkeys than you can shake a stick at. A classic for warped people just like me.
Rating:
Summary: Hey
Review: This movie is one of the most haunting experiences i have ever had.... jesus christ
Rating:
Summary: Dark odyssey
Review: A fascinating depiction of the horrendous folly of which man is capable. A party of Spanish conquistidores blunders through the South American jungle, driven by a megalomaniac, in search of a place that does not exist. Along the way, they brutalize the natives and each other as they sink ever deeper into a nightmare of starvation, terror and sickness. Obviously, this is not a feel-good film and some viewers may be bored by its slow pace. However, those who stay with it will be rewarded. (It did take a while for me to grow accustomed to German-speaking Spaniards, but that's nothing that Hollywood hasn't been getting away with for decades.)
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