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Plot

Director Werner Herzog, as usual, has spared no one -- especially himself -- in bringing this story of 19th-century African slave trading to the screen. Klaus Kinski plays an enterprising young Brazilian who after impregnating the three daughters of his plantation-owning employer, is sent to West Africa to round up slaves. Kinski goes to great lengths to befriend the very people he hopes to enslave and he eventually manages to overthrow a mad monarch and set himself up as king. As the years pass, Kinski grows wealthy -- and careless. However, despite enslaving the tribe, he does show some signs of humanitarian benevolence. This fifth and final collaboration between director Herzog and Kinski is considered the weakest of the five features. Though the title translates literally as Green Cobra, Cobra Verde was released in the U.S. as Slave Coast.
MPAA Rating:
Not Yet Rated
Genre(s):
Action
Run Time:
110min.
Theatrical Release Date:
12/26/2005
DVD Release Date:
10/24/2000
Distributor(s):
Union Generale Cinematographique
Director(s):
Werner Herzog
Starring:
Klaus Kinski , King Ampaw , Jose Lewgoy , Salvatore Basile , Nana Agyefi Kwame II
Themes:
Culture Clash,Social Injustice,Colonialism
Tone:
Angry,Atmospheric,Confrontational,Sweeping
Keywords:
baron [nobility],monarch,overthrow,plantation,slave-trader,slavery,social-injustice
Language:
German