Aguirre, Wrath of God Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Aguirre, Wrath of God Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 11, 2014

Werner Herzog's "Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes" a.k.a. "Aguirre, Wrath of God" (1972) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; stills gallery; new restorations of teh German director's early films "The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreuz" (1967), "Last Words" (1968), "Precautions Against Fanatics" (1969), and "Fata Morgana" (1971); and audio commentary with Werner Herzog and Norman Hill. The release also arrives with 20-page illustrated booklet featuring a new essay by Laurie Johnson, full film credits, and on-set photographs. In German or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Don Lope de Aguirre

After the fall of the Inca Empire a large group of Spanish explorers led by Gonzalo Pizarro enter the Peruvian sierras and then head towards the Amazon River. The men are seeking El Dorado: the mythical city of gold.

Exhausted and frustrated, Pizarro dispatches a band of soldiers on a reconnaissance mission up the river. If they fail to locate El Dorado in a week, he will abandon the expedition and return home. The band is led by Don Pedro de Ursua (Ruy Guerra) and his right-hand man Don Lope de Aguirre (Klaus Kinski, Jack the Ripper). Accompanying Ursua are his beautiful mistress Dona Ises de Atienza (Helena Rojo, Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary), Aguirre’s daughter Flores (Cecilia Rivera), the priest Gaspar de Carvajal (Del Negro, Joy House), a black slave named Okello (Edward Roland), and the cowardly Don Fernando de Guzman (Peter Berling, Veronika Voss).

When a raft is lost and a few soldiers are killed by Indians, Ursua announces that it is time to head back to Pizarro. But Aguirre stages a mutiny and then declares Guzman the new King of El Dorado, knowing well that he can easily manipulate the spineless nobleman.

The explorers continue their journey, but the heat and humidity quickly erode their morale. More men die, but the delusional Aguirre continues to insist that it is only a matter of time before they reach El Dorado and are handsomely rewarded for their courage and perseverance.

Shot under notoriously difficult conditions, Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, Wrath of God has the rough look of a low-budget documentary. The camera spends a great deal of time studying the faces of men and women who frequently seem completely unaware that they are being filmed or marveling the beauty of an exotic land where time seems to have stopped.

As the explorers move further up the river, the film becomes quite surreal. Some of the men begin collapsing, first mentally then physically, while others suddenly become unresponsive. Kinski, in particular, undergoes an incredible (and now legendary) character transformation. What is truly bizarre here is that this dramatic behavioral shift looks entirely authentic.

There are some obvious similarities between Herzog’s Aguirre, Wrath of God and Spanish master Carlos Saura’s El Dorado. They are equally brilliantly shot and unpredictable. Also, in both films the cold breath of death is incredibly easy to feel. In Aguirre, Wrath of God, however, there comes a point where it becomes absolutely impossible to tell if the actors are in fact acting.

Herzog shot Aguirre, Wrath of God with a single 35mm camera together with cinematographer Thomas Mauch. Herzog and Mauch also collaborated on the equally challenging and surreal Fitzcarraldo. (There is a notorious sequence in Fitzcarraldo in which a group of men drag a 320-ton steamship over a hill. Like Aguirre, Wrath of God, Fitzcarraldo was also shot on location in South America).

The film’s remarkably atmospheric soundtrack was created by Florian Fricke. The music was performed by the legendary Krautrock/Progressive Rock band Popol Vuh, which was founded by Fricke.

Aguirre, Wrath of God Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Werner Herzog's Aguirre, Wrath of God arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"The film was scanned at 2K from the original 35mm negative and remastered by Alpha-Omega Digital GmbH in Germany. The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreuz appears in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with original mono audio. Due to the loss of the original negative, the film was scanned at 2K from the best available 35mm print held in the archives of Werner Herzog Film GmbH, and remastered by Alpha-Omega Digital GmbH in Germany.

Last Words, Precautions Against Fanatics and Fata Morgana all appear in their original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with original mono audio. The films were scanned at 2K from original 35mm negatives, and remastered by Alpha-Omega Digital GmbH in Germany.

Head of production: Thomas Bakels (Alpha-Omega Digital GmbH).
Thanks to: Lucki Stipetic (Werner Herzog Film GmbH)."

The screencaptures included with our review appear in the following order:

1. Screencaptures #1-19: Aguirre, Wrath of God
2. Screencaptures #21-24: SteelBook/Packaging
3. Screencaptures #25-28: The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreuz
4. Screencaptures #29-31: Last Words
5. Screencaotures #32-34: Precautions Against Fanatics
6. Screencaptures #35-39: Fata Morgana

The high-definition transfer is beautiful. Despite the unusual shooting conditions, clarity and especially image depth are consistently very pleasing. The numerous close-ups, in particular, look spectacular (see screencaptures #1, 4 and 17). The larger panoramic shots boast excellent fluidity (see how well balanced the image is in screencaptures #2 and 5). Furthermore, there are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening corrections. Unsurprisingly, there is a light layer of beautifully resolved grain throughout the entire film. Color reproduction is equally pleasing -- there is an excellent range of lush and very healthy browns, blues, greens, grays, and blacks. There are no serious stability issues. Large debris, cuts, stains, damage marks, or warps are nowhere to be seen. Lastly, there are no encoding anomalies to report in this review. All in all, this is an excellent technical presentation of the recently restored Aguirre, Wrath of God which will undoubtedly please its fans as well as those who will experience the film for the first time on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Aguirre, Wrath of God Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0 (English version), German LPCM 1.0, and German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, the British Film Institute has provided optional English subtitles for the German version. (The subtitles can be used for the English-language version of the film, but they do not march what is said).

The lossless English track has very pleasing depth. Clarity is also very good, but there are some minor inherited fluctuations. There are some minor inconsistencies in terms of dynamic intensity, but they are also directly related to the manner in which the film was shot -- Herzog allowed organic sounds and noises to interfere with the action. The dialog is clear, clean, and easy to follow. There are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in this review.

Aguirre, Wrath of God Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Stills Gallery - a collection of stills from the shooting of Aguirre, Wrath of God. With music. (3 min).

• Theatrical Trailer - original English-language trailer for Aguirre, Wrath of God. (4 min).

• Audio Commentary with Werner Herzog and Norman Hill - in this audio commentary, director Werner Herzog explains in detail how Aguirre, Wrath of God came to exist and how some of the most dangerous sequences were shot, and discusses his relationship with Klaus Kinski, the film's visual style, etc. Absolutely fantastic commentary.

• The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreuz - Werner Herzog's third short film follows four strangers as they enter an abandoned castle in Deutschkreuz, Austria. The short was completed in 1967. B&W. In German, with optional English subtitles. (16 min).

• Last Words - Werner Herzog's fourth short film is about a man who used to live on the island of Spinalonga, which was used as a leper colony. The short was completed in 1968. B&W. In Greek, with optional English subtitles (14 min).

• Precautions Against Fanatics - Werner Herzog's first color film is about a harness racing track near Munich and some of the men that work there. The short was completed in 1969. Color. In German, with optional English subtitles (12 min).

• Fata Morgana - Werner Herzog's experimental documentary is presented with two audio tracks: German narration with English subtitles (German LPCM 1.0) and English narration (English LPCM 1.0). Also included is an audio cometary with Werner Herzog and Crispin Glover. In English. The film was completed in 1971. Color. (77 min).

• Booklet - 20-page illustrated booklet featuring a new essay by Laurie Johnson, full film credits, and on-set photographs.

Aguirre, Wrath of God Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I have nothing but great things to say about BFI's Blu-ray release of Werner Herzog's legendary film Aguirre, Wrath of God. Recently restored in 2K by Alpha-Omega Digital GmbH in Germany, the film looks simply magnificent in high-definition. Also included with this release are four of the German director's early films, also recently restored, as well as a terrific audio commentary (which has appeared on previous home video releases of Aguirre, Wrath of God). VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.