Aguirre, the Wrath of God/Trivia

• Enforced Method Acting: Herzog wanted Aguirre to be the epitome of Tranquil Fury, but Kinski wanted to produce a raving madman (more akin to his personality). To get his wish, Herzog would intentionally provoke Kinski into unleashing all his fury off-camera. By the time shooting began, Kinski was exhausted, creating the performance that Herzog desired.
• Throw It In: A lot of scenes were improvised on the spot or were complete accidents. For example, the scene where the raft is destroyed was an accident captured on film.
• What Could Have Been: Herzog was traveling with a soccer team while writing the script, and one of them got drunk and vomited on the first several pages he'd done, rendering them illegible. To this day, he has no memory of what was on the lost pages.