Epic film in big budget produced by great producer Andres Vicente Gomez and well directed by Carlos Saura . It deals with an expedition under command of Pedro Ursua (Lambert Wilson) with various officers (Patxi Bisquert , Eusebio Poncela , Feodor Atkine , Jose Sancho , among others) . The travelers who are over-dressed for the heat in their old world clothes and armour must survive the crises of jungle life and human badness . The river , jungle scenery and several dangers dominate the motley characters in the risked journey . But later on , Lope De Aguirre (Omero Antonutti) takes over the explorers .
Historical and interesting film that contains thrills , intrigue , sword-play , double-crosses and wonderful scenarios . The picture is overlong , 142 minutes long , and has been criticized for its plodding argument , with brief moments of tension when the travelers must survive the risks of jungle life and human frailty . Good performances from Omero Antonutti , who plays this actual historical character with quiet , understated menace , plus : Lambert Wilson , Jose Sancho , Francisco Algora , Francisco Merino and many others . Furthermore , Ines Sastre film debut . Colorful and glimmer cinematography by Teo Escamilla . Evocative score by Alejandro Masso based on Renaissance music and 'Tristan and Isolda' by Richard Wagner . Because of a similarity in plot and characters, the movie suffers by comparison with ¨1972's Aguirre, the Wrath of God¨ , by Werner Herzog but stands on its own as a less fantastic version of the same travel of obsessed adventurers .
The motion picture is well directed by Carlos Saura who also wrote the screenplay , he is a good Spanish movies director. He began working in cinema in 1959 when he filmed ¨Los Golfos ¨(1962) dealing with juvenile delinquency and similarly long time after ¨Deprisa , Deprisa¨ . Saura is a well recognized filmmaker both nationally and internationally, and in proof of it he won many prizes among which there are the following ones: Silver Bear in the Berlin Festival for ¨ La Caza or The Chase¨ (1966) his most successful film , and for ¨Peppermint Frappé¨ (1967), in 1967 . Special Jury Awards in Cannes for ¨La Prima Angélica¨ (1974), in 1973, and for ¨Cría Cuervos¨ (1976), in 1975 . Also, the Award-wining Saura filmed ¨Mamá Cumple Cien Años¨ (1979) and got an Oscar nomination in 1979 as the best foreign film, and it also won the Special Jury Award at the San Sebastian Festival. Saura made several films just a few years before and after the end of Francisco Franco's dictatorship , thus the search for political themes and symbols is mandatory for all . In 1990, he won two Goya , The Spanish Oscar , as best adapted screenplay writer and best director for ¡Ay Carmela! . Saura became an expert on Iberian musical adaptations as ¨Carmen¨ , ¨Amor Brujo¨ , ¨Bodas De Sangre¨ , ¨Sevillanas¨ , ¨Iberia¨ , ¨Salome¨ , ¨Fado¨, ¨Flamenco¨ and even recently Opera as ¨Io , Don Giovanni¨
The picture is based on real incidents , these are the followings : Lope De Aguirre together with his daughter joined the 1560 expedition of Pedro De Ursúa down the Marañón and Amazon Rivers with 300 Spaniards and hundreds of natives ; the actual goal of Ursúa was to send veterans from the former Peruvian civil wars away, to keep them from troublemaking, using the Eldorado myth as a lure . A year later, he participated in the overthrow and killing of Ursúa and his successor, Fernando De Guzmán, whom he ultimately succeeded. He and his men reached the Atlantic , probably by the Orinoco River , destroying native villages on the way. On March 23, 1561, Aguirre urged 186 captains and soldiers to sign an act which would proclaim him as prince of Peru, Tierra Firma and Chile. He is reputed to have said in 1561: I am the Wrath of God, the Prince of Freedom, Lord of Tierra Firme and the Provinces of Chile In 1561, he seized Isla Margarita and brutally suppressed any opposition to his reign, killing many innocent people. When he crossed to the mainland in an attempt to take Panama, his open rebellion against the Spanish crown came to an end. He was surrounded at Barquisimeto, Venezuela, where he murdered his own daughter, Elvira, "because someone that I loved so much should not come to be bedded by uncouth people". He also killed several followers who intended to capture him. He was eventually captured and shot to death. Aguirre's body was cut into quarters and sent to various cities across Venezuela.
Historical and interesting film that contains thrills , intrigue , sword-play , double-crosses and wonderful scenarios . The picture is overlong , 142 minutes long , and has been criticized for its plodding argument , with brief moments of tension when the travelers must survive the risks of jungle life and human frailty . Good performances from Omero Antonutti , who plays this actual historical character with quiet , understated menace , plus : Lambert Wilson , Jose Sancho , Francisco Algora , Francisco Merino and many others . Furthermore , Ines Sastre film debut . Colorful and glimmer cinematography by Teo Escamilla . Evocative score by Alejandro Masso based on Renaissance music and 'Tristan and Isolda' by Richard Wagner . Because of a similarity in plot and characters, the movie suffers by comparison with ¨1972's Aguirre, the Wrath of God¨ , by Werner Herzog but stands on its own as a less fantastic version of the same travel of obsessed adventurers .
The motion picture is well directed by Carlos Saura who also wrote the screenplay , he is a good Spanish movies director. He began working in cinema in 1959 when he filmed ¨Los Golfos ¨(1962) dealing with juvenile delinquency and similarly long time after ¨Deprisa , Deprisa¨ . Saura is a well recognized filmmaker both nationally and internationally, and in proof of it he won many prizes among which there are the following ones: Silver Bear in the Berlin Festival for ¨ La Caza or The Chase¨ (1966) his most successful film , and for ¨Peppermint Frappé¨ (1967), in 1967 . Special Jury Awards in Cannes for ¨La Prima Angélica¨ (1974), in 1973, and for ¨Cría Cuervos¨ (1976), in 1975 . Also, the Award-wining Saura filmed ¨Mamá Cumple Cien Años¨ (1979) and got an Oscar nomination in 1979 as the best foreign film, and it also won the Special Jury Award at the San Sebastian Festival. Saura made several films just a few years before and after the end of Francisco Franco's dictatorship , thus the search for political themes and symbols is mandatory for all . In 1990, he won two Goya , The Spanish Oscar , as best adapted screenplay writer and best director for ¡Ay Carmela! . Saura became an expert on Iberian musical adaptations as ¨Carmen¨ , ¨Amor Brujo¨ , ¨Bodas De Sangre¨ , ¨Sevillanas¨ , ¨Iberia¨ , ¨Salome¨ , ¨Fado¨, ¨Flamenco¨ and even recently Opera as ¨Io , Don Giovanni¨
The picture is based on real incidents , these are the followings : Lope De Aguirre together with his daughter joined the 1560 expedition of Pedro De Ursúa down the Marañón and Amazon Rivers with 300 Spaniards and hundreds of natives ; the actual goal of Ursúa was to send veterans from the former Peruvian civil wars away, to keep them from troublemaking, using the Eldorado myth as a lure . A year later, he participated in the overthrow and killing of Ursúa and his successor, Fernando De Guzmán, whom he ultimately succeeded. He and his men reached the Atlantic , probably by the Orinoco River , destroying native villages on the way. On March 23, 1561, Aguirre urged 186 captains and soldiers to sign an act which would proclaim him as prince of Peru, Tierra Firma and Chile. He is reputed to have said in 1561: I am the Wrath of God, the Prince of Freedom, Lord of Tierra Firme and the Provinces of Chile In 1561, he seized Isla Margarita and brutally suppressed any opposition to his reign, killing many innocent people. When he crossed to the mainland in an attempt to take Panama, his open rebellion against the Spanish crown came to an end. He was surrounded at Barquisimeto, Venezuela, where he murdered his own daughter, Elvira, "because someone that I loved so much should not come to be bedded by uncouth people". He also killed several followers who intended to capture him. He was eventually captured and shot to death. Aguirre's body was cut into quarters and sent to various cities across Venezuela.