Rescue Dawn (2006)
Genre: War / Biography
Duration: 126 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Werner Herzog
Stars: Christian Bale, Steve Zahn and Jeremy Davies
IMDb score:
7,2 (116.701)
Releasedate: 9 September 2006
Rescue Dawn plot
"A true story of survival... declassified."
The film is based on the 1997 documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly. The film tells the true story of the American fighter pilot Dieter Dengler (Bale), who is shot down over Laos during the Vietnam War and ends up in a prison camp. He then makes a daring escape attempt with a group of fellow inmates.
Actors and actresses
Dieter Dengler
Duane
Spook
Province Governor
Admiral
Gene
Norman
Jet Pilot
Pathet Lao Guard
U.S. Navy Pilot
Reviews & comments
filmfan0511
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- 1111 messages
- 1140 votes
strong. Undoubtedly one of Herzorg's most conventional films, but I still saw his hand fiercely and some scenes were characterized by his typical style, which here alternates between the surreal and documentary-like. But mostly conventional.
Vietman I have never found the most interesting war; after all, it's only such a culturally important conflict because America fought in it. But of course good and interesting movies have been made about it, and Rescue Dawn is definitely one of them. The war is not discussed here from a totally new angle (unless the fact that the real 'war' is not happening here yet), but it is all well portrayed, it never gets bogged down in unnecessary action scenes, the images of the sometimes almost mythical jungle are beautiful and the acting is strong across the board. I really have never seen Christian Bale deliver a bad performance; One of the best actors of his generation, without a doubt. He was just surpassed here by both Steve Zahn and Jeremy Davies. Both portray a traumatized prisoner of war extremely well. Davies in particular, who I recognized from Lost, steals every scene he appears in.
In the end, I found the middle section, in the prison camp, to be the best part of the movie, but at 120 minutes Herzog keeps it really tight and never gets boring. Only the last five minutes or so I found way too sweet. So exaggerated that it almost even seemed like a fever dream. As far as I'm concerned, Rescue Dawn would have been slightly better off if it ended a few minutes earlier. But bon, a flaw in an otherwise fine film.
4*
Translated from Dutch · View original
starbright boy (moderator films)
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- 22555 messages
- 5220 votes
Understandable why Herzog filmed this. But by Herzog standards quite conventional and even a bit slick. Not by Hollywood standards, but by Herzog. The highlight is the escape. More time is spent on the captivity, but it is too light-hearted and Herzog does too little with it. As a result, there is again too little time for the escape. Not a highlight in his oeuvre.
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