Stan has recommended Werner Herzog's West German film "Aguirre: The Wrath of God" (1972).
Description:
Aguirre, a ruthless Conquistador, vies for power during an expedition descending from Peru into the Amazon in order to find El Dorado, a rumored city made of gold. After overthrowing the expedition's leader, Aguirre leads the group further into the perils of the Amazon as, in parallel, he himself descends into insanity.
Where to Watch:
Free on Kanopy with Library Card (German dub with English subtitles):
https://www.kanopy.com/en/video/653252
Free with ads (English dub):
https://tubitv.com/movies/268891
https://watch.plex.tv/movie/aguirre-the-wrath-of-god
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/0J3SER6CK8SR7QYMJ0UJWRUD6A/
Related Films:
After seeing the film you may enjoy this documentary in which Herzog discuss his decades-long volatile relationship with the star Klaus Kinski (played Aguirre), including visits to locations where they made various films together:
https://tubitv.com/movies/268902/my-best-fiend
Another famous film they made together is also currently available free:
https://tubitv.com/movies/269877/fitzcarraldo
Where to chat:
Discussion 8pm on September 1st at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2272006912 Meeting ID: 227 200 6912
Historical Notes: (with plot spoilers; read after watching film)
The film is fiction but amazingly many of the people existed and most of the events in the film really happened. The details were combined by Herzog into a composite story using details from two different real life Spanish expeditions:
In 1540, Gonzalo Pizarro sent Franscisco Orellana over the Andes from Peru into the Amazon to find the land of Cinnamon. On that real life expedition, the Dominican friar Gaspar de Carvajal (portrayed in the movie) kept a famous diary which contributed a variety of incidents described in the film, including a group of 50 men leaving the group and traveling downriver to find provisions and never returning. That expedition ended with them following the Amazon to the Atlantic ocean, arriving in 1542. The Carvajal diary described large sophisticated cities deep in the Amazon jungle. Recent radar studies have revealed those cities, long thought to be fabrications by Carvajal, were real. ( https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04780-4 )
Aguirre, his daughter Florés, Ursúa, his mistress Doña Inez, and Don Fernando were all real people who participated in a 1560 expedition of 300 people sent by Peru's governor to travel down the Amazon river to find El Dorado. The incidents with Aguirre rebelling against the Spanish government, murdering Ursúa, declaring Fernando "The Prince of Peru", and calling himself "The Wrath of God" were all true historical events, as were his plans to conquer Panama and invade Peru, and his murders of all who challenged his plans. The survivors made it to the Atlantic and conquered a small island before their rebellion was put down by Spanish authorities.