History Film / AguirreTheWrathOfGod

''Aguirre, the Wrath of God'' (''Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes'') is one of Creator/WernerHerzog’s first films, released in 1972. It deals with the voyage of 16th century Spanish conquerors to South America, in which a separate group is formed by Don Pedro de Urzúa, Don Lope de Aguirre (Creator/KlausKinski) and others. Of course, [[RiverOfInsanity being alone in the jungle starts driving the people mad]].

''Aguirre, the Wrath of God'' (''Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes'') is one of Creator/WernerHerzog’s first films. It deals with the voyage of Spanish conquerors to South America, in which a separate group is formed by Don Pedro de Urzúa, Don Lope de Aguirre (Creator/KlausKinski) and others. Of course, [[RiverOfInsanity being alone in the jungle starts driving the people mad]].

[[quoteright:3050:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aguirre.jpg]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aguirre_the_wrath_of_god.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[MisaimedFandom When the going gets tough, the tough get going. No matter what, never give up!]]]]

--> '''Lope de Aguirre:''' I am the great traitor. There must be no other. Anyone who even thinks of deserting this mission will be hacked into [[LudicrousPrecision 198 pieces]]. Those pieces will be trampled until what is left can be used only to paint walls. Whoever takes one grain of corn or one drop of water more than his ration will be locked up for 155 years. If I, Aguirre, want the birds to drop dead from the trees... then the birds will drop dead from the trees. I am [[TitleDrop the wrath of God]]. The earth I pass will see me and tremble. But whoever follows me and the river will win untold riches.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Don Fernando de Guzmán introduction scene has Gonzalo Pizarro bring up Guzmán nobility and accomplishments as we see Guzmán mindlessly munching down on food. This shows us that Guzmán is a bumbling buffoon that isn't fit to lead anything.

* AnyoneCanDie:[[spoiler: Really in this case, everyone will die. By the end of the movie the only characters that aren't dead are Aguirre, Inés, and Urzúa's right hand man. The Latter two's fate are more ambiguous and with both them alone in the jungle, it's debatable if they will survive. Likewise Aguirre is last seen on a the raft that has been attack by the natives multiple times and the real life Aguirre was ultimately dismembered.]]

* SceneryPorn

* PyrrhicVillainy: Aguirre and his henchmen triumph over the good guys, only to meet their own doom.

The film kickstarted Herzog’s career and was the first of several collaborations with Kinski. [[TroubledProduction The filming was said to be a nightmare]]. For example, according to legend, Herzog directed Kinski at gunpoint when the actor refused to follow his commands. Herzog insists that the story is apocryphal, and that he [[SarcasmMode merely]] threatened to shoot both Kinski and himself should the actor choose to quit the film. Creator/RogerEbert regularly listed it on his top ten movies of all time.

* CityOfGold: El Dorado. [[spoiler:Averted.]]

* DwindlingParty
* EstablishingCharacterMoment:Don Fernando de Guzmán introduction scene has Gonzalo Pizarro bring up Guzmán nobility and accomplishments as we see Guzmán mindlessly munching down on food. This shows us that Guzmán is a bumbling buffoon that isn't fit to lead anything.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Aguirre loves his daughter. Maybe even too much...

* IncestIsRelative: When Aguirre finally loses it, he states what he plans to do with his daughter, [[spoiler:whom he fails to remember is already dead.]]
--> '''Lope de Aguirre:''' I, the wrath of God, will marry my own daughter and with her I'll found the purest dynasty the earth has ever seen.

* MacGuffin: The city of El Dorado.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed
* OpeningScroll
* ParentalIncest: After his crew is all killed Aguirre declares that he'll found a new dynasty with his daughter.

[[quoteright:280:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/KlausKinski_Aguirre_5544.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:280:[[MisaimedFandom When the going gets tough, the tough get going. No matter what, never give up!]]]]

* {{Shout Out}}:

* AnyoneCanDie:[[spoiler: Really in this case, everyone will die. By the end of the movie the only characters that aren't dead are Aguirre, Inés, and Urzúa's right hand man. The Latter two's fate are more ambiguous and with both them alone in the jungle, it's debatable if they will survive. Likewise Aguirre is last seen on a the raft that has been attack by the natives multiple times and the real life Aguirre was ultimately dismember.]]

* {{Determinator}}: Aguirre will never ever give up.

''Aguirre, the Wrath of God'' (''Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes'') is one of Creator/WernerHerzog’s first films. It deals with the voyage of Spanish conquerors to South America, in which a separate group is formed by Don Pedro de Urzúa, Don Lope de Aguirre (KlausKinski) and others. Of course, [[RiverOfInsanity being alone in the jungle starts driving the people mad]].

** When attacking a native village, Carvajal at least is scene rushing to an injured soldier's side, trying to help him.

* PetTheDog: Aguirre's interactions with his daughter.

* FatBastard: Don Fernando de Guzmán.

* LosingYourHead: Taking a rest after the storming of an Indian village, Aguirre notices two soldiers sitting somewhat apart discussing desertion. One of them says that he has counted the river bends they passed. He draws a map into the sand and is counting out the river bends to his companion as Peruchio approaches quietly from behind with a machete. When the man is at 'nine', Peruchio swipes his head off, and we get a shot of the head lying on the ground, counting 'ten'.

* LosingYourHead: Aguirre beheads a man when he talks of turning back. [[MindScrew The head keeps talking]].
-->'''Aguirre:''' "That man is a head taller than me. [[ImpliedDeathThreat That may change]]."

* GenreDeconstruction: ''Aguirre'' can be watched as a genre deconstruction of the 'jungle adventure' movie genre. A group of (mostly) white explorers ventures into an unknown land in pursuit of a fabled city of gold -- but there is no lost city, no treasures to be won, no battles to be fought, no secrets to be discovered. The good guys perish together with the bad guys, and nobody learns anything from it.

* DownerEnding

The film kickstarted Herzog’s career and was the first of several collaborations with Kinski. [[TroubledProduction The filming was said to be a nightmare]]. For example, according to legend, Herzog directed Kinski at gunpoint when the actor refused to follow his commands. Herzog insists that the story is apocryphal, and that he [[SarcasmMode merely]] threatened to shoot both Kinski and himself should the actor choose to quit the film. RogerEbert regularly listed it on his top ten movies of all time.

** Aguirre's line "What is a throne but a plank red with velvet?" is an authentic quote from NapoleonBonaparte.