When director Werner Herzog pits man against nature you can safely bet on which side will win. In this round we find 16th century Spanish conquistadors on a doomed mission in the Amazon jungle. (A setting and theme used just as effectively a few years later in Fitzcarraldo.) From the beginning of the film the heavily-armored and burdened soldiers are already weary victims of the unforgiving terrain. As nobleman Don Pedro de Ursua leads his men on a search for the fabled gold city of El Dorado you can sense his slaves snickering at his gullibility. Klaus Kinski plays Aguirre, a barely-sane lieutenant plotting to take charge of the expedition. The overwrought men are easy to convince and soon Aguirre is holy leader of an imaginary kingdom. This coup is short-won as the soldiers are picked off and turn on each other, but the power-mad Aguirre is oblivious. Even when his own sister is killed with the last of his men he refuses to accept that the futile quest is anything but a victory. In a film of incredible sights, the final scene stands out as one of the most memorable I've watched: Aguirre circling helplessly on a tiny raft while chattering monkeys mirror his mad bellowing.

This is the first pairing of Herzog and Kinski, the start of a famously turbulent relationship. Stories circulate about Kinski's violent outbursts and Herzog's questionable methods of motivation (a gun to the head, for example). The actors struggled with their awkward costumes and inhospitable trek just as their characters do, a trend repeated in Fitzcarraldo. Considering the conditions faced by cast and crew it's amazing that either film was even completed. The punishment is effectively channeled through Kinski's unbalanced portrayal of the animalistic Aguirre, a poster boy for egomaniacal leaders everywhere.

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