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I was never so successful in filming the landscapes and capturing the spirit of the continent. There are some shots in the film […] that illustrate the pain slavery has inflicted upon an entire continent. - Werner Herzog

Cobra Verde is the story of Francisco Manoel da Silva, a 19th Century Brazilian rancher-turned-bandit who adopts the moniker of 'Cobra Verde'. After being offered work at a slave plantation, he is quickly exiled to West Africa after impregnating the plantation owner's daughters. Once there, he soon becomes wrapped up in the strange politicking and horrific slave trade of his new home.

This was the final screen collaboration between Herzog and his ferocious and frequent lead actor Klaus Kinski, with the troubled shoot finally driving them both to a breaking point . In this appearance, Kinski is a raving force of nature – an unrelenting storm raging within a man's body. The film itself is a tale of depraved madness and megalomania. Herzog depicts humanity as consumed by the pursuits that lead to its own inevitable destruction, illustrated here through some of the director's most spectacular and unforgettable setpieces.