Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Armand a Herzog film. same rules, same message, same Kinski. but different for the manner to explore levels of solitude. for the African frame. maybe, for splendid end. the key is deep science of Kinski to use character possibilities. to create , step by step, not an image but symbol of soul desert. the mixture of art and craziness, the passion, the look, the inspired science of Herzog to transform each scene in part of an ash circle, the large and stormy touches who transforms the plot in heart of a parable, the hero, out of classic definition, the atmosphere, all represents not exactly ingredients/parts/virtues of film but resurrection of a gray romanticism and its marks for define solitude, fall and search of existence sense who exit from artistic formulas.

MartinHafer While I can respect all the work that Werner Herzog and his crew went through to make "Cobra Verde", to me the film is flawed because the main character (played by Klaus Kinski) is too one-dimensional. Once the movie is finished, you really know almost nothing about the guy--he is that big a cypher.The film begins in South America. Francisco Manoel da Silva (Kinski) is a bandit so feared that when he enters towns, just about everyone runs in terror. Despite this, he manages to obtain a job with a Brazilian slave plantation owner. But, Francisco impregnates ALL of the boss' daughters and as punishment is sent to Africa to buy slaves--because the boss figures that the king in Dahomey (today known as Benin) will kill Francisco like he'd done to all the other recent white traders. However, instead, the king welcomes him and Francisco is allowed to renew the slave trade. But, when there is a revolt, Francisco leads an odd army of bare-chested women and he conquers the kingdom. Now he imagines incredible wealth and things look wonderful for the newly christened 'Cobra Verde'. Unfortunately, this was not to be. See the film and see what I mean.This film looks great. As usual, Werner Herzog is willing to go to the most far off places in order to get the look just right. Like several of the previous Herzog-Kinski projects, this one must have been hellishly difficult to make. Unfortunately, like so many other Herzog films, the leading man seems VERY one-dimensional and difficult to accept or relate to because of this lack of depth. Francisco was a bad guy but his motivations, likes, dislikes, and even personality are all lacking. Because of this, although the film is interesting and lovely locales are used, I am only mildly encouraging you to watch it. This film is clearly NOT a film that the average person would enjoy, though I did like the ending in the surf--a fascinating scene and nice ending.

Atdheu90 Watching a Herzog (or Kurosawa or Tarkovkiy among others) movie, gives you the feeling that awards and the critics reception don't mean a thing and the evidence or the reason why i start my review with these words is Herzog's "Cobra Verde" (1987). Francisco Manoel da Silva (Klaus Kinski) is a debauched Brazilian rancher who reluctantly goes to work at a gold mining company after his ranch is ruined by drought. When he discovers that he is being financially exploited, he murders his boss and goes on the lam to pursue a career as an outlaw. He becomes the notorious Cobra Verde (Green Snake), the most vicious bandit of the "sertao".The 5th of the five collaborations between HERZOG-KINSKI which by all means are on the same level as KUROSAWA - MIFUNE, MARTY - DE NIRO, HITCHCOCK - STEWART, FINCHER - PITT to mention some, is one of the finest and most underrated movie i've seen from the 80's."Master" HERZOG does his thing as we're used to his "freestyle story development" and style, while Klaus Kinski as Cobra Verde (Manoel da Silva) delivers a superb performance, to put it in a more conventional way, in this movie you'll meet the peak of KINSKI's acting.Cobra Verde is a controversial movie about slavery, perjury, madness, immorale etc. etc. This one belongs more on the group of Herzog's "FITZCARALDO", "AGUIRRE: THE WRATH OF GODS", "STORSZEK" than let's say "NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE" OR "VOYZECK" just to mention some. It's composed by a rich group of element starting from cinematography (The original cinematographer THOMAS MAUCH, had to walk out of the project due to KINSKI clashes) great acting by Kinski, great direction, the screenplay is on a level, but frankly it doesn't matter on a Herzog movie. It is really a misfortune that this movie went on unnoticed by the awards and it didn't end up where it belonged.It wasn't liked by Critics when it was released, probably due to its controversial subject (REMEMBER A 1969 MOVIE CALLED "BURN ! a.k.a. QUEIMADA starring the GREAT Marlon Brando).I HOPE that MORE PEOPLE WILL WATCH THIS movie AND NOT ONLY HERZOG OR KINSKI FANS.

zetes Herzog's final movie with Klaus Kinski. Like many, perhaps all of Herzog's films, there doesn't seem to have been much of a plan going into the picture. It's a story about a white bandit in Brazil who is hired by a sugar plantation owner as an overseer because of his ballsiness. Well, ballsiness has its drawbacks, too: he ends up impregnating all three of the plantation owner's daughters! The plantation owner and his powerful buddies don't want to kill him outright, so they send Kinski to Africa to get slaves from a certain king whom they believe will surely murder him on the spot. Fortunately for Kinski, he gets caught up in a revolution and is freed by a usurper to the throne. This film is often considered to be the least of the Herzog/Kinski collaborations, but I quite liked it. Sure, the story kind of meanders (I think almost all of Herzog's films do with a few exceptions, like Fitzcarraldo, where I think he just got lucky), but Herzog really comes up with some outstanding images. The film is simply beautiful to watch. I loved the soundtrack, too. The score was composed by Popol Vuh, frequent Herzog collaborators, and there's also some great African music (a singing troupe that appears near the end of the picture is particularly hypnotic). And Kinski is pretty awesome. Mostly, it's just his presence, but he has some memorable freakout moments that are every bit as fun as they were in Aguirre the Wrath of God.