Six: Kinski and Brando in Dusseldorf

“Every grey hair on my head I call Kinski”

When Werner Herzog finished the script for 'Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes' or 'Aguirre, the Wrath of God', he immediately sent it to Klaus Kinski, with whom he had never worked before, although they had lived in the same boarding house when Herzog was a child, and Kinski a little older. Herzog said of their meeting, “At that moment I knew it was my destiny to make films, and his to act in them.” Later, Herzog said he did not know the dialogue he was going to shoot in Aguirre until almost the moment the camera rolled: “The shoot was very tough, and every day, Kinski could see the problems I was having. Yet, he continued to throw tantrums, create scandals, or simply scream if a mosquito appeared.” Herzog conceded that Kinski was “probably the most difficult actor in the world to deal with. Working with Marlon Brando must have been like kindergarten compared to Kinski.” He would shriek at the cinematographer to keep the camera only on him. “We had mutual respect for each other, even as we both planned each other’s murder.” It is rumoured that Herzog threatened to kill Kinski during the filming of Aguirre. Herzog confirmed that Kinski’s habit of walking off shoots made the threat necessary. “The press later wrote that I directed Kinski from behind the camera with a loaded gun, a beautiful image. Sure, the man was a complete pestilence and a nightmare to work with, but who cares? What is important is the films we made together.(Herzog
on Kinski, director's audio track, DVD 'Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes')

Sorry about the long intro, but it explains the significance of the otherwise rather dull photograph I took in Dusseldorf recently. Walking along, I stumbled first upon a portrait of Kinski hanging in the window, followed by one of Brando. As a fan of both, I took a quick snapshot and thought no more of it. Flash forward about a month and here I am, perusing some of my scribblings for a lecture on the film Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes, when I find to my surprise both Kinski and Brando being mentioned in one sentence by the movie's director Herzog. Isn't life just full of serendipitous coincidence?

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