Cobra Verde (1987)

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writers:

Bruce Chatwin (novel)
Werner Herzog (writer)

Release Date:

3 December 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

The slaves will sell their masters and grow wings...

Plot:

The feared bandit Cobra Verde (Klaus Kinski) is hired by a plantation owner to supervise his slaves...

Plot Keywords:

Corporal Punishment | Dahomey Africa | Pillory | Flogging | Whipping

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Klaus Kinski	...	Francisco Manoel da Silva aka Cobra Verde
King Ampaw	...	Taparica
José Lewgoy	...	Don Octavio Coutinho
Salvatore Basile	...	Captain Fraternidade
Peter Berling	...	Bernabé
Guillermo Coronel	...	Euclides the Bar Owner
Nana Agyefi Kwame II	...	King Bossa Ahadee (as His Royal Highness Nana Agyefi Kwame II of Nsein)
Nana Fedu Abodo	...	Yovogan
Kofi Yerenkyi	...	Bakoko
Kwesi Fase	...	Kankpé
Benito Stefanelli	...	Captain Pedro Vicente
Kofi Bryan
Carlos Mayolo	...	Governor
Pedro Oliveira
A. Kwesi Compson

Also Known As:

Slave Coast

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

Ghana | West Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Spain:13 | Denmark:11 | Australia:PG | Portugal:M/12 (video) | Sweden:15 | Finland:K-11 | Norway:16 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Bahia, Brazil

Company:

Werner Herzog Filmproduktion

Trivia:

The fifth and last of the Werner Herzog/Klaus Kinski collaborations, the other four being: Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1972), Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979), Woyzeck (1979) & Fitzcarraldo (1982).

Quotes:

[da silva pours some champagne into their glasses]
Captain Pedro Vincente: To slavery! The greatest misunderstanding in the history of mankind.
Francisco Manoel da Silva: It was no misunderstanding. It was a crime...
Francisco Manoel da Silva: [drinks the champagne, refills the glass] Slavery is an element of the human heart.
Francisco Manoel da Silva: To our ruin!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Location Africa (1987) (TV)

Hey, wanna see Kinski act crazy in a Herzog film

Sarcastic humor for fans of the darkside: Surprise surprise. Herzog makes a film about a man consumed by his dreams and destroyed by the conspiracies of world he lives in. And in a complete reversal from his usual light hearted comedy roles, Klaus Kinski protrays a madman getting madder.

If you liked Agirre or Fitzcaraldo, and would have liked a larger cast including Amazon warrior girls from Africa and National Geo graphic dancing then by all means see this. Warning: no light hearted romance, cute chimps or talking to the animals here. Surreal, dark, morality story with great acting and the best one liner in Herzog's repertoire while watching amazonian spear dancing (are you listening Joe Bob Briggs?)

Who are these women? They are our future murderesses.