Even with it's flaws in focus (and it really does suffer as a whole in that respect), there were no less than three separate instances where I was almost in tears (It could just be the subject matter, but I've seen other films dealing with the same things, and never had that type of reaction). Very powerful, and extra credit is due for making a doc that doesn't tell you which way you should lean, and just presents the different points of view.

If a documentary is supposed to answer the Who, What, Why, When and How, then Herzog bats a 4 out of 5. But in his flat-out refusal to - really - answer the Why, you realize any documented response would be disingenuous, trite, and a red-herring to the permenance of fractured, broken lives that festers beneath any heinous crime. How Herzog is able to get these people to open up so genuinely without any coddling is a wonderful mystery.

Yet another great documentary from Herzog, who has moved almost seamlessly from fiction to non-fiction thanks to an almost otherworldly mix of empathy, intelligence and razor-sharp wit. He's one of the best interviewers ever at turns condemning and comforting everyone in his orbit, while coming across as genuine and allowing his own beliefs to shine through without clouding the issues of death penalty, penance, retribution and the American - and specifically Texan - way of life.

Surprisingly shallow documentary, considering it was made by herr Werner Herzog. Retelling of the crime takes a big part of it, and it is not an interesting part. Then it seems that Herzog chose to try and make us sorry for people condemned to die with emotionally moving poetic words instead of telling why it is wrong in an intellectual way. Some oddities along the way too. WTF is wrong with that pregnant lady's head?

While Into The Abyss has moments of tremendous power it never feels like it goes deep enough into the subject matter. We get a sense of how people are affected by crime but the brutality of their actions never really comes to life through this documentary. It certainly makes the case that the truth is clearly subjected and some of the subjects are lying but maybe that's the point. How can someone be executed if you don't really know what happened?

I officially declare Werner Herzog as my intelectual idol. I love his way of lookin at the most extreme forms of human existence.As if wearing the most efficient emphaty disturbance filter glass.

Pretty "Herzogy" but definitely one of his sloppier efforts...

If 'Into the Abyss' proves anything, it's that Herzog may be too interested in people. It's a trait you'd not only expect, but admire in a documentarian. The problem with Herzog and this doc is that he gets sidetracked too often. What's supposed to be a film about inmates on death row has stream-of-consciousness chit-chat that would be cut out of tighter films. To it's credit, even though Herzog is against Capital Punishment, he lets the film speak for itself - when it manages to stay on topic.

The arbitrary nature of capital punishment comes forth when we realize that almost every person involved in this documentary has either been in prison, or has a relative who has. No one is innocent in this film, and misery is all around. It's the flip of a coin. One man shies away from a fight, another introduces his little brother to his killers, while an inmate father experiences utter humiliation and failure as he celebrates thanksgiving in prison with his two incarcerated sons.

Death row is a much used subject for documentaries, and even from Herzog's quirky and nuanced perspective, there's little new light shed here. The real crime is the scattershot approach to the subject, that may show many sides of the tragedy, but fails to truly engage. It ends up being just another story from the flip side of America.

Perhaps it started out too slow (by fully explaining the event), but it captivated my interest nonetheless. Call me biased, but there's not much that Werner Herzog does wrong...

Unfortunately a bit uneven and seems to have been put together with little regard for structure. I also had a a hard time remembering the details of the crime, despite a (commendably) long part of the film dedicated to it. That said, it had me in tears more than once - Herzog has an ability to bring out something incredible in his interview subjects, making each one seem like the most interesting thing you could currently be occupied with. I think I'd watch anyone be interviewed by that man.

I really like the way Herzog portrays the whole thing from all angles. From families on each side, from villain to hero. But strikingly, I found the part with the systematic walk-through of what happens on a day in the life of a death sentence captain, the most impressive. It was harder to sit through hearing how you follow a death row inmate for the last 8 hours of his life, than hearing how two drunk idiots killed three innocents. Underlining how strong this movie is.

Inspiring quote: Live your 'dash'

Doesn't really get it's teeth into any particular area of the murders, victims, families or the killers - so feels like a general overview of the whole senario rather than an insight to anything particular. He has a good interview style but didn't really ask any questions that rocked the boat. Interesting but nothing cutting edge.

A nice study on an issue that Werner Herzog has an obvious stance on, but me and so many others just aren't sure. The former captain of the wall unit fit the stereotype of someone that would promote capital punishment, but his revelations were pretty shocking. These were some important conversations, but not Herzog's best.

A beautifully constructed documentary from Herzog. I love Herzog's style of questioning; "tell me about those squirrels?" 'Into the Abyss' never quite manages to delve deep enough to any facet of its make-up, but there are undeniably some poignant, dark and fascinating moments here.

A grim film, tempered by some funny asides (the guy who's exaggerating is hilarious). Herzog is a brilliant interviewer. He knows exactly what to ask his subjects, and how. At times his film feels exploitative and a bit all over the place, but the purpose/message is clear.

I really don't care about the *crimes.* If we had been saved from the 30-40 minute description of events, maybe we could have got into the meat of the matter. Or maybe not. Anyways, it seemed a little shallow for Herzog. I was expecting a little more about the meaning of life and death rather than robotic recitations of events and procedures.

Welp, Herzog sure likes to get down to the sheer horribleness of things without imposing too much judgment, which is probably why he's the best at what he does.

heartbreaking, soul crushing stuff. i'm almost not sure i ever wanna see it again.

I found this film inept and shallow, especially compared to Herzog's better works. It tries to cast mystery and depth onto the mundane in manipulative ways. In doing so, it neglects logic and becomes anti-intellectual. It seems patronizing to some of the interview candidates, largely due to Herzog's poor interviewing methods, both in terms of the discussion and how the interviews are shot. It overstays its welcome, and it is edited like a TV special report. Certainly weak by Herzog's standards.

I was expecting this to be a documentary about whether or not we should allow the death penalty but it wasn't really even touched on, other than for a brief moment by Herzog himself, towards the end of the film. Instead it remained objective and allowed the viewer to formulate their own opinions of the offenders and the victims. The case itself was pretty cut and dry. The interviews were kind of mediocre, but there was definitely something there that stuck out, which is why Herzog is the man.

Herzog makes his opinions on capital punishment clear, but that's beside the point. He presents a clear-headed and even-handed story here, without politicizing or preaching. Interviews with the victims are just as sensitive, regretful, and nauseating as the interviews with people who have hands-on experience with executions.

Had some great moments but overall it was pretty dull.

Herzog-hypnothis from hell to heaven.

Herzog is an interesting interviewer and asks good questions. Most interviews are good, and Michael Perry is pretty disturbing

Excellent work from Herzog. Most significantly, the film illustrates the abject brokenness that comes from violence and death. This brokenness comes to every single person involved: victims, perpetrators, families, police, chaplains, and guards. No one is untouched. Further, while the survivors and support personnel are grappling with the tragedy, the inmates (including the loony wife) rest on a false hope that refuses to acknowledge their own role in the murders. Tragedy of the highest order.

Herzog portrays great individual stories but the documentary suffers without an overarching theme or message. Documentaries need to add a deeper message beyond the surface stories for the audience to benefit from the content.

cover's life, death & the occurrences between. each of the people in this film are incarcerated in their own way, having been pushed into the situation they find themselves by a force beyond their control. from the unborn child in for a life i don't much envy to the pale inmate with mere days left in his life. this film could be more about the capability we have to veer a life in a direction on a whim, in this case, entirely negative rather than a discussion about capital punishment specific.

A bit uneven, the film sometimes came across as blatant or disjointed, but other times left me on the verge of tears purely through its portrayal of raw truth. Herzog's message came across clearly, but most impressively came across honestly.

Herzog missed his mark. It feels like he's on automatic and not really interested in the subject matter. Even some of his questions I find misleading and obnoxious. There's always a certain edge to Herzog's work, but unfortunately it's missing here.

While the idea of showing all aspects of one event is a good one, Herzog fails to bring a strong sense of significance to any of his interviews and some lost direction. Some shots were meaningful, but others made me think he didn't spend enough time editing. As an American, I feel disgusted to be associated with the demographic portrayed in the film. As a supporter of capital punishment, the walkthrough of their last day was powerful and thought-provoking. Overall, not something I'd recommend.

Interesting documentary but I'm not a huge fan of Herzog. I know he generally goes with unstructured formats, but if this one did have some structure to it it could have been much better.