Detailed item info | Movie description | Incomparable director Werner Herzog takes another strange turn in his eclectic career with RESCUE DAWN--a major studio picture starring Christian Bale (BATMAN BEGINS). The film is an adaptation of Herzog's 1997 documentary LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY, which focused on Dieter Dengler, a pilot who was imprisoned by enemy forces during the Vietnam war. Dengler escaped and his incredible reminisces about this period in his life spilled onto the screen in Herzog's documentary. Here, Bale plays Dengler, while Herzog constructs a dark masterpiece around him, inviting his audience to observe a dramatic reconstruction of the events that beset the unfortunate soldier. Bale's Dengler is aided by fellow captive Duane (Steve Zahn), and a capable cast of characters who variously play prisoners and sadistic guards. The film is split into two parts, with the harrowing experiences of prison life taking the bulk of Herzog's screen time, followed by a desperate bid for survival in the jungle.
Bale really gets a chance to demonstrate his acting chops as RESCUE DAWN unravels, with the actor heading on a rapid downward spiral as the film progresses. Herzog rarely allows the tension to drop throughout, and while most audiences may expect some relief as Dengler escapes his confines, things get much worse as he heads into the perilous Vietnamese jungle. Herzog presents plenty of raw emotion and a rough, at times barely watchable, portrayal of the human spirit, as Dengler's sanity is severely tested, and often only held together by his companionship with Duane. RESCUE DAWN requires a strong stomach, but it's a rewarding trip, and another wonderful addition to the Herzog canon.
| | Credits | | Producer: | Harry Knapp | | Cast: | Jeremy Davies, Marshall Bell |
| | Details | | Edition: | Movie Cash |
| | Editorial reviews | "[With] dark Nietzschean insinuations and ferocious performances from Christian Bale and Steve Zahn."
Entertainment Weekly - Scott Brown (09/29/2006)
"Bale plays his character with much bravado..."
Box Office - Barbara Goslawski (11/01/2006)
"[W]ith an authenticity and eccentricity that's pure Herzog....Just as rousing and involving as any more conventional film of the sort you could name."
Premiere - Glenn Kenny (12/01/2006)
"Herzog builds incredible tension without losing sight of the toll war takes on what makes us human."
Rolling Stone - Peter Travers (05/31/2007)
"Zahn and Bale enact an enthralling masculine duet. Out of a harrowing story set in a foreign thicket, Herzog has found American beauty." -- Grade: A-
Entertainment Weekly - Lisa Schwarzbaum (07/13/2007)
"Bale turns in a mesmerizing performance....Steve Zahn, a fellow captive, shows he has the chops for serious drama."
USA Today - Scott Bowles (07/06/2007)
4 stars out of 5 -- "Christian Bale is phenomenal....Gripping, emotional and, oddly, gloriously optimistic."
Total Film - Nev Pierce (11/01/2007)
3 stars out of 5 -- "Echoes of Aguirre and Fitzcarraldo reverberate around Dengler's predicament."
Empire - Dan Jolin (10/19/2007)
3 stars out of 5 -- "Immensely watchable, gripping and thematically of a piece with the likes of AGUIRRE WRATH OF GOD..."
Uncut - Jonathan Romney (12/01/2007)
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