Aguirre, the Wrath of God, 1972

Herzog's second best film (next to Fitzcarraldo), "Aguirre" is more about Kinsky's performance than anything else, however, as usual, Man vs. the World is the theme here, pulled off with less zest than Fitzcarraldo but more than most active filmmakers could muster. The first 30 minutes or so suffer from an obvious lack of production budget and strenuous filming conditions, but as always, Herzog seems to have saved everything for the final moments. The final shot (which amazingly did NOT use a helicopter) is absolutely stunning. I own the movie and often put in the disc and watch just the last shot. Also, as seems to be a Herzog requirement, there is dangerous use of real live (barely supervised) animals that could probably harm the actors. Herzog's films are like mankind lifting art on it's shoulders, leaden with heavy stones. "Aguirre" is no exception.

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