Period drama starring Klaus Kinski. Driven by necessity to banditry, Francisco Manoel da Silva becomes Cobra Verde (Green Cobra). His amorous adventures cost him the chance of a good life in Brazil, and he is sent to West Africa, ostensibly to revive the illegal slave trade.
Although again depicting the exploits of an obsessive outsider in an inhospitable environment, this is the least cohesive of the epic collaborations between Klaus Kinski and Werner Herzog. Filmed under typically arduous conditions in Ghana, the action follows the fortunes of an exiled Brazilian bandit whose attempts to revive the slave trade are dashed by the insane ruler of Dahomey. As ever, Herzog succeeds in anthropologically dissecting the civilisation under his gaze. However, even though he was working from Bruce Chatwin's novel, The Viceroy of Ouidah, his take on the evils of colonialism and the majesty of Africa is uninspired.
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Francisco Manoel da Silva | Klaus Kinski |
| King Ampaw | Taparica |
| Don Octavio Coutinho | José Lewgoy |
| Captain Fraternidade | Salvatore Basile |
| Kwame II of Nsein | Bossa Ahadee |
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Director | Werner Herzog |
