History of explorers has found themselves traveling every inch of land that is unknown and encountering various dangers that would be part of legend whether they lived or not. They have put their own lives at risk for the forwarding of mankind and its push to explore beyond the boundaries. Their stories have become the basis for many books and have inspired many films that go into these problematic regions. Some of the movies go deep inside and dare to go far with their production by filming on location which caused some problems. Here are some of those movies that took a trip into the wilderness.
Aguirre, Wrath of God (1972)
Werner Herzog created a fictional account of a Spanish expedition gone wrong with a maniacal soldier (Klaus Kinski) who leads a revolt in the search for El Dorado. In the middle of Peru, the longer they go, the more peril they face from nature and its inhabitants, yet the self-proclaimed “wrath of God” does not fear the arrows and raging rivers. The first of five collaborations between Herzog and Kinski made an explosive set with Herzog’s dangerous methods and Kinski’s explosive temper that terrorized everyone on set. The story showed the madness in the story and on-set with guerilla-style filmmaking which captured the feeling of the German New Wave.
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Francis Ford Coppola is in post-production of his long-awaited Megalopolis, but his modern adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s novel “Heart Of Darkness” was even darker around his Vietnam War-set film. Following a disillusioned Captain (Martin Sheen) who is ordered to find and “terminate with extreme prejudice” a rogue Colonel (Marlon Brando), it goes beyond fighting the Vietcong. It drives deep into human carnage on a river patrol boat full of young soldiers unaware of this unusual mission. Even the making of this film, as well as its long post-production, drove Coppola mad with problem after problem extending the shooting schedule and ballooning the budget. Yet, it comes out of the jungle with raw power not seen in any other film.
Fitzacarraldo (1982)
Ten years after Aguirre, Werner Herzog went back into the jungle for his adventure drama following the titular rubber baron looking to move his ship across an isthmus. Jason Robards and Mick Jagger were initially cast and shot forty percent of the film when Robards was medically evacuated after becoming ill. Unable to return and with Jagger having also to leave due to the lack of time, Herzog went to Klaus Kinski for their fourth collaboration. It was one where they were at each others’ throats due to Kinski’s rageaholic behavior toward others and Herzog was asked by a native chief if they should murder Kinski. Somehow, the film was completed and remains another achievement in the mad genius of Herzog and Kinski.
Predator (1987)
In one of the better action films of the decade, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers (with that iconic handshake), Bill Duke, and Jesse Ventura play a group of Green Berets that go into Central America for a daring rescue mission. When arriving, things are not what they seem as an alien hiding amongst them begins to take the group out one by one. It spawned the franchise that continues today with the prequel Prey being released in 2022, but none of it can top the original set deep in the jungle and that unmasking scene where Schwarzenegger remarks, “You’re an ugly motherf—er!”
Avatar/Avatar: The Way of Water (2009/2022)
There is the jungle and then there is a whole new world which James Cameron made from paper many years before shooting. It is Pandora and the native Na’vi when CGI broke new ground and Cameron, always the adventurer, established this jaw-dropping ride of a movie of a soldier (Sam Worthington) who is hired to help find new resources for Earth. But his love for the land and its inhabitants, plus the real motives of the military, leads to a change of heart in order to protect the planet from invasion and catastrophic extraction.
It certainly feels like a mirror to the exploitation of many third-world nations over oil, rubber, diamonds, gold, and other valuable resources that major first-world powers are guilty of. The following films currently being filmed will continue to play on those themes as the sequel expanded to other tribes and the oceans with it. How far Cameron will go in this adventure is still yet to be seen, but it has borne so much fruit (in the form of billions of dollars) that it is limitless as to where the saga of Pandora will end up.
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