Aguirre, Wrath of God

Werner Herzog directs this study of megalomania, set in 16th Century Peru.

In the year 1560, a Spanish expedition crosses the Peruvian Sierras in search of the legendary Inca city of El Dorado.

A power struggle within the group leads to its deputy (Klaus Kinski) seizing control in bloody fashion, his desire to set up his own kingdom threatening to destroy them all.

Cast and crew apparently endured hardships comparable to those suffered by the screen explorers.