Aguirre was filmed in English but dubbed in German. I believe it was done to make communication easier. The German version is superior with better clarity.
Thanks
I thought it was filmed in a variety of languages, common for international productions…I seemed to remember different performances syncing up correctly for different languages over the course of the film, but it’s been 5 years since I’ve watched the English language version. Both English and German language versions were dubbed after the fact, so it’s not a matter of one performance being more authentically culled from the actual moment of filming.
I find the German performance and wording better (some lines are in fact different, not just as a matter of subtitle translation).
So there is no “original” audio remaining? They are all dubbed in all languages?
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The history of the soundtrack is all much more accurately discussed than I ever could in the wikipedia entry for AGUIRRE…I trust wik on this one, though it’s still a little confusing.
I can’t decide which language version of the film should be seen. Any help?
(I heard Kinski didn’t do the German dub)
The actors all spoke their dialogue in English, because it was the only language the entirity of the multinational cast could speak (and also, perhaps, as a concession to international distribution). The German dialogue track was later post-synched. Apparently much of the direct sound they got during shooting was unusable because of the sound from the river rapids. . . so it’s not so much that it was “supposed to be watched in English,” than it is just a practical matter of the production. Herzog is on record as saying he prefers the German dub, so that’s good enough for me.
No matter what language you watch it in, its one hell of a movie!
Yeah, def watch the german version
I’ve seen both versions and really it doesn’t matter. The film is a masterpiece in any language.
Christopher
I have this DVD:
http://www.amazon.com/Aguirre-Wrath-God-Klaus-Kinski/dp/6305972761/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1259684248&sr=8-1
It automatically starts in German audio with English subtitles. I lent someone the dvd and they exclaimed “This movie is suppose to be watched in english, i switched it to English and the mouths sync up perfectly.”
Also, It is a NTSC Region 1 DVD so its not because its a different region..
Did Herzog originally film this in English or was it German?
Thanks.