The turbulent final collaboration between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski during Cobra Verde (1987)

The relationship between filmmaker Werner Herzog and actor Klaus Kinski is widely regarded as one of the most intense and volatile partnerships in cinema history, reaching a particularly dramatic peak during the production of Cobra Verde (1987). This film marked their fifth and final collaboration after years of escalating conflict on set. According to accounts from the production, tensions between the two frequently escalated into both verbal and physical confrontations.

During the filming of Cobra Verde, Kinski allegedly engaged in multiple aggressive incidents, including holding a machete near Herzog’s throat in what was described as an attempt to heighten the realism of a scene. On other occasions, he was said to have attempted to attack the director with a rock and was even photographed appearing to physically assault him in front of extras. These repeated outbursts contributed to a highly unstable production environment.

The hostility also had broader consequences for the film crew. Cinematographer Thomas Mauch reportedly left the project due to Kinski’s behavior and was replaced by Viktor Růžička. Herzog himself is described as having adopted a calm, non-reactive approach to avoid escalating Kinski’s explosive temperament, though even this strategy could not fully stabilize the situation. Both men are reported to have expressed extreme hostility toward one another during the shoot, with disputes beginning in pre-production over creative and logistical decisions.

Kinski later criticized Herzog in highly inflammatory terms in his writings, while Herzog later reflected on their relationship in his documentary My Best Fiend (1999), which explored both their collaboration and mutual antagonism. The making of Cobra Verde and the Herzog-Kinski dynamic was also documented in the Swiss film Location Africa (1987), further cementing the production’s reputation as one of the most chaotic in film history.