A true story of survival... declassified.
In 1965, while bombing Laos in a classified mission, the plane of the German-American pilot Dieter Dengler is hit and crashes in the jungle. Dieter is arrested by the peasants, tortured and sent to a prisoner camp, where he meets five other mentally ill prisoners. He becomes close to Duane and organizes an escape plan; however, the unstable Gene opposes to Dieter's plan. When they discover that there is no more food due to the constant American bombings in the area and their guards intend to kill them, Dieter sets his plan in motion. However, an unexpected betrayal split the group and Dieter and Duane find that the jungle is their actual prison.
Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Biography, Drama, War
Runtime: 126 minutes
Rating: 7.6/10 (32,728 votes)
Release Date: 9 September 2006
Country: USA
Languages: English
Company: Gibraltar Films
Sound: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense war violence and torture.
Director(s): Werner Herzog
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Producer(s):
Freddy Braidy - executive producer
Elton Brand - producer
Jimmy de Brabant - executive producer (as Jimmy De Brabant)
Michael Dounaev - executive producer
Jeff Geoffray - associate producer
Gerald Green - executive producer
Walter Josten - associate producer
Robyn Klein - associate producer
Harry Knapp - producer
Steve Marlton - producer
Kami Naghdi - executive producer
Nick N. Raslan - executive producer (as Nick Raslan)
Adam W. Rosen - associate producer
Elie Samaha - executive producer
Writer(s):
Werner Herzog - written by
Cast:
Christian Bale - Dieter
Steve Zahn - Duane
Jeremy Davies - Gene
Zach Grenier - Squad Leader
Marshall Bell - Admiral
GQ - Farkas (as Gregory J. Qaiyum)
James Oliver - Jet Pilot
Brad Carr - U.S. Navy Pilot
Saichia Wongwiroj - Pathet Lao Guard
François Chau - Province Governor
Music: Klaus Badelt
Freddy Braidy - executive producer
Elton Brand - producer
Jimmy de Brabant - executive producer (as Jimmy De Brabant)
Michael Dounaev - executive producer
Jeff Geoffray - associate producer
Gerald Green - executive producer
Walter Josten - associate producer
Robyn Klein - associate producer
Harry Knapp - producer
Steve Marlton - producer
Kami Naghdi - executive producer
Nick N. Raslan - executive producer (as Nick Raslan)
Adam W. Rosen - associate producer
Elie Samaha - executive producer
Writer(s):
Werner Herzog - written by
Cast:
Christian Bale - Dieter
Steve Zahn - Duane
Jeremy Davies - Gene
Zach Grenier - Squad Leader
Marshall Bell - Admiral
GQ - Farkas (as Gregory J. Qaiyum)
James Oliver - Jet Pilot
Brad Carr - U.S. Navy Pilot
Saichia Wongwiroj - Pathet Lao Guard
François Chau - Province Governor
Music: Klaus Badelt
August 22nd, 2008
On his first foray into combat Fl Lt Dieter Dengler is shot down overLaos while on a top secret mission. He is captured by the Vietcong andheld captive in shocking conditions in a jungle hideaway. Denglerimmediately makes plans to escape with his fellow captives. The storyof Dieter Dengler is apparently based on a true story that hadpreviously been filmed as a docu-drama/reenactment style project,Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997) that was also directed by Herzog andstarred the real life Dengler. Dengler's story is a harrowing one butHerzog resists the urge to show the gory details. The jungle locationsare nothing short of stunning as you'd expect with a Herzog film andthe soundtrack is perfectly suited. The film as a whole is alwaysinteresting but lacks that magic spark to enliven this viewer. Bale asthe lead is fine, I like the guy a lot but this isn't one of his mostmemorable performances
August 29th, 2008
I saw this film the other night for the first time. I was reallylooking forward to it, having researched the background to the realstory of a truly remarkable man, Dieter Dengler. I've also travelledextensively throughout south-east Asia, particularly in Laos (where thefilm was set) and Thailand (where the film was shot). Sadly, the filmdidn't quite get there for me, although it is far from the worst filmI've ever seen.
The story follows the fortunes of a German-born US pilot who is shotdown over Loas during the so-called "police action" in Vietnam. Thatthe Americans were even in Laos was in direct conflict with the UnitedNations charter, of which they remain a permanent member of the UNsecurity council. That they were running guns and drugs in and out ofLaos is another story and can be seen in "Air America." Finding himselfa prisoner of the Pathet Lao, Dengler at first attempts to pass himselfoff as German, which I'm sure the real Dieter did. Having not heard asingle word of German uttered in the film, I was as unconvinced as hiscaptures about his nationality.
Enduring a range of hardships, torture and lack of food, Dieter ends upin a small camp at an unknown location where he finds he is not alone.The film depicts 5 other POW's, there were in fact 6 others -specifically 2 Americans, 3 Thais and a Chinese).
Not long after arriving in the camp, Dieter discusses the possibilityof escape, which is received negatively by one of the other AmericanPOW's. In reality, it was one of the Thais who was initially againstthe idea. When the escape does take place some time afterwards, Dieteris eventually rescued, having spent 2 months in the jungle and on therun.
The ending of the film was a real let-down, with important detailssimply left out. For example, Pisidhi Indradat, the Thai who initiallyopposed the escape was the only other survivor from the camp. He wasrecaptured, but later rescued by Laotian troops. The others were simplynot seen again. The director ends the film by giving in to a feebleattempt to placate paying viewers by providing a cheese-ball finale,then completely short-changes the viewer by failing to mention whathappened to Dieter following the events depicted in the film. He wasflown back to the States to recover, but did continue to fly for the USAir Force, was married 3 times, and died in 2001, aged in his early60's.
The acting by Christian Bale and others was good, although the bravadodisplayed by Bale was a bit misplaced. I also thought that the directormade a little too much of the weight loss endured by the cast. Therewere times when I felt that the actors were simply showing off to thecamera how much weight they had actually lost.
Overall, an okay film if you don't mind a few creative liberties beingtaken. Some good individual performances, but nothing special. Thetheme of the film itself may well be based on a true story, but wasreally nothing new in the seemingly over active imagination ofHollywood.
August 29th, 2008
I don't know why so many people like this film. Bale gave a belowaverage performance (though he is fantastic in "American Psycho") andnobody else is impressive. The biggest issue with the film is theillogical actions of the characters. After Bale's plane crashes in thebeginning, his first action is to throw away his Colt .45. He alterdoes the same thing with two other guns. Why? The sets for the film arevisually appealing and it has some funny lighthearted moments. Overall,this one is a dud. There are many better Vietnam films out there.
I give Rescue Dawn 3/10. Try "Platoon", "Full Metal Jacket" "Tigerland"and "Apocalypse Now if you want a Vietnam film. "The Great Escape" iswhat all POW movies should be.
September 17th, 2008
It's been quite a few years since Werner Herzog did a major fictivefilm. The last couple of decades has seen an increasing veer intodocumentaries and more experimental cinema. However, with 2007 film,Rescue Dawn, Herzog shows that the years have not taken their all tooinexorable toll on the visionary mind. While the film is not aninarguably great masterpiece along the lines of some of his classicfictive films from the 1970s, it is a terrific war film, but, more so,a terrific prison escape and action film, even as it wholly subvertsmany of those subgenre's worst banalities.
The film is sometimes an expansion, condensation, and retelling of thesame basic tale Herzog told in his classic 1997 documentary LittleDieter Needs To Fly. That film chronicled the life and capture, overLaos, of a German born U.S. Navy Pilot named Dieter Dengler, who spentsix months as a prisoner of war in Laos, before escaping with six othermen into the jungle. Only Dengler was known to have survived. RescueDawn details and condenses many aspects of the earlier film, and iswell acted by a stellar cast, well directed by Herzog, and brilliantlycinematographed by Peter Zeitlinger, who melds the stunning visuals ofThailand with Herzog's own classic 'eye level realism' to evoke some ofthe same sorts of jungle imagery that made films like Aguirre: TheWrath Of God and Fitzcarraldo so impressive. On top of that is thewonderful film scoring by Klaus Bedelt, which is very minimal yeteffective when employed; mixing the high and low forms of music Herzogis known for.
The plot is rather simple, and greatly condenses the tale the realDengler tells within the earlier film…. The acting, especially onBale's part, is outstanding. In each of his roles, Bale createscharacters wildly different from each other. Comic actor Steve Zahnalso shines as the timid Duane Martin, and Jeremy Davies makes for anexcellent counterpoint to Dengler's exuberance, whether true or not.And the film also benefits by its fast pace. Despite being 125 minutesin length, the film never has 'dead air'. It moves relentlessly fromscene to scene, often being cut just before a typical Hollywood momentwould arise in an action film. Thus, Herzog gives the viewer theirHollywood steak while not clogging their arteries with the mindlessfat.
Yet, despite all its excellent points, at its heart, this film, unlikethe documentary version of Dengler's life, is simply a deeper actionfilm (a sort of leaner, meaner The Bridge On The River Kwai); it lacksthe overall intellectual depth, probing, and agon that defines greatart and suffuses Herzog's fictive classics from earlier in his career,even as it is a significantly better work of art than such a similarlythemed and lauded film as The Deer Hunter. Rescue Dawn, however, anddespite its near miss at greatness, is certainly a must see for thosepeople who want to get a richer perspective on the Vietnam War, anddeserves its place alongside Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket asunique visions of that war. But, to get an even fuller sense of whatthe war and Dieter Dengler were all about, watch Little Dieter Needs ToFly right afterwards. It's called eating the cake whilst having it,too; but, more than that, one will find that the cake is alsosurprisingly healthy and enlivening. Keep cooking, Werner!
March 1st, 2009
I am a fan of war movies in general,Vietnam War Movies in particular,and Herzog as a Director, with "Fitzcarraldo" still one of the mostastonishing pieces of film making I have ever seen.So this film shouldhave been an obvious one for me to enjoy, but it wasn't.The productionvalues, unsurprisingly, are excellent, and Christian Bale takes thelead role well, but as an entity it failed for me.
Despite the efforts of Bale,as pilot Dietar Dengler, the running timeof 126 minutes feels long.The pre-capture scenes on the aircrtaftcarrier, and the post rescue scenes have the Patriotic,jingoistic feelof "Bat21" or "Mising in Action", which is fine, but the tone sits illat ease with the more reflective mood of the time in the jungle.
The UK 12 certification gives Herzog little room for manoeuvre inshowing the interrogation, torture and captivity of Dengler and othersin a realistic light.Unsurprisingly the film lifts in scenes whichcontain only the beautiful jungle, and an escaping Dengler, wheresurvival and rescue are paramount.But the long sequences wear thin andwithout the bravado of the "Bat21/MIA" ideology to sustain the momentumit starts to run a little flat.
Wholly overlooked is the sheer bravery and fortitude of the Laotianpeople, thrown into a secret war that was not of their choice.TheLaotian/NVA characters are largely cyphers with no substance, which isa shame.A noble hunter AND quarry always increases the dramaticpossibilities.
In summary this story tries to pander to too many tastes, and ends upshort in all genres.it is not gung ho enough for the "USA Defender ofRight" brigade,it is too sanitised for the "Vietnam sceptic" lobby.thebeginning and end will irritate the hell out of the "Herzog purist"fans
and genre specific afficianados will struggle to get satisfaction formthe incomplete elements of the several genres contained.
A good looking, but unsatisfying effort.
May 1st, 2010
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