Editing Aguirre, the Wrath of God (section)

==Reception==

===Critical response===
The film was produced in part by West German television station [[Hessischer Rundfunk]], which televised the film on the same day it opened in theatres. Herzog has blamed this for the relatively poor commercial reception of the film in Germany.<ref name="Herzog1" /> However, outside Germany the film became an "enormous cult favorite" in "such places as Mexico, Venezuela, and Algiers".<ref name="Peary">[[Danny Peary|Peary, Danny]]. ''[[Cult Movies (book)|Cult Movies]]'', Delta Books, 1981. {{ISBN|0-517-20185-2}}</ref> The film had a theatrical run of fifteen months in Paris.<ref name="Young">{{cite journal |last1=Young |first1=Vernon |title=Much Madness: Werner Herzog and Contemporary German Cinema |journal=The Hudson Review |date=1977 |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=409–414 |doi=10.2307/3850276 |jstor=3850276 }}</ref> ''Aguirre'' received a theatrical release in the United States in 1977 by [[New Yorker Films]]. It immediately became a cult film, and New Yorker Films reported four years after its initial release that it was the only film in its catalog that never went out of circulation.<ref name="Peary"/>

In Germany, the ''[[Süddeutsche Zeitung]]'' described the film as "a colour-drenched, violently physical moving painting".<ref name=Baumgardt>{{cite web | author=Baumgardt, Carsten| work=FilmStarts| url=http://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/37028-Aguirre-Der-Zorn-Gottes.html|title=Aguirre – Der Zorn Gottes (German language)| access-date = 2009-03-24| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090228195344/http://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/37028-Aguirre-Der-Zorn-Gottes.html| archive-date= 28 February 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> The ''[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]]'' described Kinski's acting as "too theatrical" to embody God's wrath.<ref name="Baumgardt" />

In the US and the UK the film received mostly positive critical notices upon release. [[Vincent Canby]], writing in ''[[The New York Times]]'', called it "[A]bsolutely stunning&nbsp;... Mr. Herzog views all the proceedings with fixed detachment. He remains cool. He takes no sides. He may even be slightly amused. Mainly he is a poet who constantly surprises us with unexpected juxtapositions&nbsp;... This is a splendid and haunting work."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF1739E762BC4C53DFB266838C669EDE |title= 'Aguirre, the Wrath of God' Haunting Film by Herzog |access-date=<!----2008-06-14----> |first=Vincent|last=Canby|work = The New York Times | date=April 4, 1977}}</ref>

In ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', [[Richard Schickel]] opined that "[Herzog] does the audience the honor of allowing it to discover the blindnesses and obsessions, the sober lunacies he quietly lays out on the screen. Well acted, most notably by Klaus Kinski in the title role, gloriously photographed by Thomas Mauch, ''Aguirre'' is, not to put too fine a point on it, a movie that makes a convincing claim to greatness."<ref>{{cite magazine| date=May 16, 1977 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918983,00.html?internalid=atm100 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070108063632/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918983,00.html?internalid=atm100 |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 January 2007 |title=Meditation on Madness|access-date=<!----2007-03-14----> |first=Richard|last=Schickel|magazine =[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |location=New York }}</ref> [[Time Out (company)|''Time Out's'']] [[Tony Rayns]] noted, "each scene and each detail is honed down to its salient features. On this level, the film effectively pre-empts analysis by analysing itself as it proceeds, admitting no ambiguity. Yet at the same time, Herzog's flair for charged explosive imagery has never had freer rein, and the film is rich in [[oneiric (film theory)|oneiric moments]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/77613/aguirre-wrath-of-god.html|title=Aguirre, Wrath of God|access-date=2007-03-14|first=Tony|last=Rayns|work =Time Out Film guide}}</ref>

===Legacy===
The film's reputation through the years has continued to grow. On the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], 96% of 54 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 9/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "A haunting journey of natural wonder and tangible danger, ''Aguirre'' transcends epic genre trappings and becomes mythological by its own right."<ref>{{cite Rotten Tomatoes|title= Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) |id=aguirre_the_wrath_of_god |type=m|accessdate=December 16, 2024}}</ref>

[[J. Hoberman]] has written that ''Aguirre'' "is not just a great movie but an essential one&nbsp;... Herzog's third feature&nbsp;... is both a landmark film and a magnificent social metaphor".<ref name="Hoberman">{{cite news|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0642,hoberman,74738,20.html |location=New York |title=Jungle Fevers |access-date=<!----2007-03-14----> |date=October 10, 2006 |first=J. |last=Hoberman |work=[[Village Voice]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070306012142/http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0642%2Choberman%2C74738%2C20.html |archive-date=6 March 2007 }}</ref> [[Danny Peary]] wrote, "To see ''Aguirre'' for the first time is to discover a genuine masterpiece. It is overwhelming, spellbinding; at first dreamlike, and then hallucinatory."<ref name="Peary" /> [[Roger Ebert]] has added it to his list of [[The Great Movies]],<ref name="Ebert"/> and in a 2002 ''[[Sight & Sound]]'' poll of critics and filmmakers on the best films ever made, Ebert listed it in his top ten.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/voter.php?forename=Roger&surname=Ebert |last=Ebert |first=Roger |title=How the Directors and Critics Voted: Roger Ebert |publisher=Sight&Sound/BFI |access-date=2007-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310213807/http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/voter.php?forename=Roger&surname=Ebert |archive-date=10 March 2007 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref> In the same poll, critic Nigel Andrews and director [[Santosh Sivan]] also placed it in their top ten list.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/voter.php?forename=Santosh&surname=Sivan |last=Sivan |first=Santosh |title=How the Directors and Critics Voted: Santosh Sivan |publisher=Sight&Sound/BFI |access-date=2007-11-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215005206/http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/voter.php?forename=Santosh&surname=Sivan |archive-date=15 December 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Martin Scorsese]] included it on a list of "39 Essential Foreign Films for a Young Filmmaker".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.openculture.com/2014/10/scorseses-list-of-39-essential-foreign-films.html |title=Martin Scorsese Creates a List of 39 Essential Foreign Films for a Young Filmmaker |publisher=Open Culture |date=15 October 2014 |access-date=1 February 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207201938/http://www.openculture.com/2014/10/scorseses-list-of-39-essential-foreign-films.html |archive-date=February 7, 2015 }}</ref>

In 1999, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' included the film on the magazine's "100 Maverick Movies of the Last 100 Years" list.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmsite.org/rstone2.html|title=Rolling Stone 100 Maverick Movies of the Last 100 Years |publisher=Filmsite.com|access-date=2007-12-28}}</ref> ''Aguirre'' was included in ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine's "All Time 100 Best Films", compiled by Richard Schickel and [[Richard Corliss]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2005/02/12/all-time-100-movies/slide/all/ |last1=Corliss |first1=Richard |last2=Schickel |first2=Richard |title=All-Time 100 Best Films |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=2024-03-15 |date=2005-02-12 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' named it the 46th greatest [[cult film]] ever made.<ref>[https://ew.com/article/2003/05/23/heres-rest-ews-top-cult-movies/ "The Top Cult Movies"], ''Entertainment Weekly''.</ref> The film was ranked #19 in ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.empireonline.com/features/100-greatest-world-cinema-films/default.asp?film=19 |title=The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema – Aguirre, the Wrath of God|magazine=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |access-date=2013-04-18}}</ref>

''Aguirre'' has won several prestigious film awards. In 1973 it won the [[Deutscher Filmpreis]] (German Film Award) for "Outstanding Individual Achievement: Cinematography".<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.deutsche-filmakademie.de/fpsuche.0.html?bstb=&search=aguirre&f_names=film 
 |title=Deutsche Filmpreise von 1951–2004 
 |language=de 
 |access-date=2007-08-13 
 |publisher=/www.deutsche-filmakademie.de 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927022124/http://www.deutsche-filmakademie.de/fpsuche.0.html?bstb=&search=aguirre&f_names=film 
 |archive-date=27 September 2007 
}}</ref> In 1976 it was voted the "Best Foreign Film" by the French Syndicate of Film Critics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.german-films.de/app/filmarchive/film_view.php?film_id=1095|title=Film Archive: Aguirre, The Wrath of God|access-date=2007-08-12|publisher=German Films|archive-date=23 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123025950/http://german-films.de/app/filmarchive/film_view.php?film_id=1095|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068182/awards|title=Awards for Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes|access-date=2007-05-06|publisher=[[Internet Movie Database]]}}</ref> In 1977 the [[National Society of Film Critics]] in the United States gave it their "Best Cinematography" Award.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://theenvelope.latimes.com/extras/lostmind/year/1977/1977nsfc.htm |title=Past Winners Database: 1977 12th National Society of Film Critics Awards |access-date=2007-08-13 |work=Los Angeles Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070816012540/http://theenvelope.latimes.com/extras/lostmind/year/1977/1977nsfc.htm |archive-date=16 August 2007 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref> It won the prestigious [[Grand Prix (Belgian Film Critics Association)|Grand Prix]] of the [[Belgian Film Critics Association]] in 1976 and was nominated for a "Best Film" [[César Award]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lescesarducinema.com/cesar/editions.html?cedition=81&x=3&y=13 |title=Anciennes Éditions |language=fr |access-date=2007-08-12 |publisher=www.lescesarducinema.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927121541/http://www.lescesarducinema.com/cesar/editions.html?cedition=81&x=3&y=13 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref>

===Influence===
[[Francis Ford Coppola]]'s 1979 film ''[[Apocalypse Now]]'', a film based on [[Joseph Conrad]]'s 1902 [[novella]] ''[[Heart of Darkness]]'', was also influenced by ''Aguirre'', containing seemingly deliberate visual "quotations" of Herzog's film.<ref name="Rubin">{{cite web|url=http://www.artic.edu/webspaces/siskelfilmcenter/2007/february/2.html |last=Rubin |first=Martin |title=Werner Herzog: Visionary at Large |publisher=[[Gene Siskel]] Film Center |access-date=2007-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224165959/http://www.artic.edu/webspaces/siskelfilmcenter/2007/february/2.html |archive-date=24 February 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=100264 |title=Aguirre, the Wrath of God|publisher=[[Channel 4]] Film|access-date=2007-03-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.davidsterritt.com/coppola.html|last=Sterritt|first=David|title=Coppola, 'Apocalypse Now,' and the Ambivalent 70's|publisher=DavidSterritt.com|access-date=2007-03-14}}</ref> Coppola himself has noted that "''Aguirre'', with its incredible imagery, was a very strong influence. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it."<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.geraldpeary.com/interviews/abc/coppola.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120525105000/http://www.geraldpeary.com/interviews/abc/coppola.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=25 May 2012|last=Peary|first=Gerald|title=Francis Ford Coppola, Interview with Gerald Peary|publisher=GeraldPeary.com|access-date=2007-03-14}}</ref>

Several critics have noted that ''Aguirre'' appears to have had a direct influence on several other films. Martin Rubin has written that "[a]mong the films strongly influenced by ''Aguirre'' are Coppola's ''Apocalypse Now'' and [[Terrence Malick]]'s ''[[The New World (2005 film)|The New World]]'' (2005)".<ref name="Rubin" /> J. Hoberman agreed, noting that Herzog's "[[sui generis]] Amazon fever dream" was "the influence Malick's over-inflated ''New World'' can't shake."<ref name="Hoberman" /> [[Channel 4]] opined "This is an astonishing, deceptively simple, pocket-sized epic whose influence, in terms of both style and narrative, is seen in films as diverse as ''Apocalypse Now'', ''[[The Mission (1986 film)|The Mission]]'', ''[[Predator (film)|Predator]]'', and ''[[The Blair Witch Project]]'' (1999)."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=100142|title=Aguirre The Wrath of God |access-date=13 August 2007|publisher=www.channel4.com| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070806132003/http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=100142| archive-date= 6 August 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref>