Available on UHD and Blu-ray, the BFI’s first 4K release from the Werner Herzog film collection stars Klaus Kinski in the first of their five film collaborations.
A visceral, ambitious exploration of megalomania and savage beauty, with Klaus Kinski in one of his greatest and most acclaimed roles, Aguirre, The Wrath of God – now newly restored in 4K – remains one of Werner Herzog’s most brilliant achievements and one of German cinema’s totemic masterpieces.
This legendary production established Herzog as one of the key directors in the New German Cinema movement, and today (25 August, 2025) it comes to both UHD and Blu-ray formats, released by the BFI with numerous special features including an audio commentary and a new film essay.
Shot entirely on location in the wild Amazonian jungle near Machu Picchu, the films stars the legendarily volatile Kinski (Nosferatu the Vampyre) as Don Lope de Aguirre, a power-crazed 16th-century explorer who leads a troupe of conquistadors on a doomed expedition in search of El Dorado, the fabled City of Gold.
Special features
❉ UHD version: Restored 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
❉ Blu-ray version: Newly restored in 4K and presented in High Definition
❉ Audio commentary with Werner Herzog on Aguirre, The Wrath of God and with Herzog and actor and filmmaker Crispin Glover on Fata Morgana
❉ Mark Kermode introduces Aguirre, The Wrath of God (2024, 3 mins): the critic provides his personal introduction to Herzog’s film
❉ A Raft of Troubles: Herzog, Kinski and the Art of Darkness (2025, 19 mins): film historian Nic Wassell considers truth, fiction, myth, spectacle and the palpable sense of danger exuded by Aguirre
❉ The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreuz (1967, 16 mins): symbolic drama in which four young men prepare to face an imagined enemy
❉ Last Words (1968, 13 mins): a film about the last man to leave a former leper colony
❉ Precautions Against Fanatics (1969, 11 mins): satire about horse-racing enthusiasts
❉ Fata Morgana (1971, 77 mins): hallucinatory film exploring mirages and the Mayan creation myth
❉ Original theatrical trailer
❉ Image gallery
❉ Original mono audio (German and English)
❉ Alternative 5.1 surround audio (German)
❉ **FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Illustrated booklet featuring new writing on the film by Geoff Andrew, together with archival essays by Laurie Johnson, Kim Heaney, and Richard Combs, notes on the special features and credits
Product details
❉ UHD: RRP: £27.99 / Cat. no. BFIU0019 / PG
Germany / 1972 / colour / 93 minutes / German language with optional English subtitles; English language / original aspect ratio 1.33:1 / UHD100: 2160p, 23.98fps, PCM 1.0 mono audio (48kHz/24-bit) and 5.1 DTS-HD MA
❉ Blu-ray: RRP: £19.99 / Cat. no. BFIB1548 / PG
Germany / 1972 / colour / 93 minutes / German language with optional English subtitles; English language / original aspect ratio 1.33:1 BD50: 1080p, 23.98fps, PCM 1.0 mono audio (48kHz/24-bit) and 5.1 DTS-HD MA
❉ AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD (1972) released 25 August on 4K UHD and Blu-ray. All BFI UHD and Blu-ray releases are available from usual home entertainment retailers and in person from the BFI Shop at BFI Southbank.
❉ News source: BFI Publicity.
❉ We Are Cult is not responsible for the content of this news release.
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