Cobra Verde DVD 1987 Slave Coast / Directed by Werner Herzog / Starring: Klaus Kinski, King Ampaw, José Lewgoy

UPC 4006680030470

MADE IN EU

REGION 2 PAL DVD

AUDIO: English 2.0, German 5.1

Subtitles: English

TOTAL RUNTIME: 106 MINUTES

CONDITION OF THIS DVD IS USED - VERY GOOD!!!

English Summary:

German drama film directed by Werner Herzog and starring Klaus Kinski, in their fifth and final collaboration. It was based upon Bruce Chatwin's 1980 novel The Viceroy of Ouidah. The film depicts the life of a fictional slave trader. It was filmed on location in Brazil, Colombia and Ghana.

In 1880s, Francisco Manoel da Silva (Klaus Kinski) is a debauched Brazilian rancher who has reluctantly gone 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 sertão.

In a visit to town, da Silva encounters and subdues by force of character an escaping slave, an act that impresses wealthy sugar baron Dom Octávio Coutinho (José Lewgoy). Dom Coutinho, unaware that he is dealing with the legendary bandit, hires da Silva to oversee the slaves on his sugar plantation. When da Silva subsequently impregnates all three of the Dom's daughters, the sugar baron is furious, but the situation becomes even more complicated when he discovers that da Silva is none other than the infamous Cobra Verde.

As punishment, rather than kill him or have him prosecuted, Dom Coutinho decides to send da Silva on the impossible mission of re-opening the slave trade with Western Africa. The bandit is aware he is likely to be killed in Africa, but accepts anyway. He travels by sea to Dahomey, West Africa (present-day Benin), where he must negotiate with the fearsome King Bossa Ahadee of Dahomey (played by His Honour the Omanhene Nana Agyefi Kwame II of Nsein, a village north of the city of Axim, Ghana).

German Summary:

Grundlage des Films ist das Buch Der Vizekönig von Ouidah des Schriftstellers Bruce Chatwin, der sich wiederum von einem Reisebericht aus dem 19. Jahrhundert inspirieren ließ. Ein Desperado namens Da Silva wird in Brasilien zu einem gefürchteten Banditen, den man allgemein Cobra Verde nennt. Sein bestimmendes, respekteinflößendes Verhalten fällt einem Zuckerbaron auf, der ihn zum Aufseher über seine Plantagensklaven ernennt. Nachdem Da Silva dessen drei minderjährige Töchter geschwängert hat, wird er auf eine Reise nach Afrika geschickt, wo er neue Sklaven eintauschen soll. Diese Reise, von der der Ruhestörer nicht zurückkehren soll, wird allerdings zu einem Erfolg, da es Da Silva gelingt, durch selbstbewusstes Auftreten die Lokalautoritäten zu beeindrucken und Sklaven für seine Auftraggeber nach Brasilien einzuschiffen.

Cast / Besetzung:

• Klaus Kinski - Francisco Manoel da Silva
• King Ampaw - Taparica
• José Lewgoy - Don Octavio Coutinho
• Salvatore Basile - Captain Fraternidade
• Peter Berling - Bernabé