Trivia

According to Michael F. Brown, professor of anthropology at Williams College, Werner Herzog was on initially good terms with the Aguaruna people. Some were hired as construction workers and extras. Relations deteriorated when Herzog began to build a village on tribal land, failed to consult the tribal council, and tried to obtain protection from a local militia. The Aguaruna are the most politically unified indigenous group in the Amazon, with a strong, often militant tribal council that has reacted quickly to outsiders who tried to take without giving back in return, or even asking first. Some members of the council were jailed. The film crew almost drowned a German aid-worker who had been helping the Aguaruna plant rice. In December 1979, Aguaruna men burned down the film set and bundled the crew and equipment into three canoes. It took Herzog 13 months to find a new location for the jungle camp. Filming began January 1981 and lasted until November. See more