Filming in South America, Herzog recreated the exploits of sixteenth-century Spanish explorer Aguirre, who searched with his retinue for El Dorado over mountains, through jungles, and down a great river. The film is at once documentary in style and deliriously lyrical: although it identifies with Aguirre’s obsessed and unbalanced state of mind, it maintains a critical and ironic distance on the whole adventure. Klaus Kinski’s performance in the title role is nothing shot of phenomenal.