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.

It's got even less of Herzog in it than Little Dieter Needs to Fly, which tells me that he was sucked totally into the subject and wanted the story to stand by itself, but it's like it overwhelmed him. The pacing is off and it's all got kind of a Discovery Channel feel.

Has its moments of brilliance but at times it moves painfully slow. The woman that married one of the inmates is insane and will make you sick. The interviews are well done and often interesting but don't be fooled into thinking this was an objective film - one of the most biased things I've seen, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The dad, who was also incarcerated (shocking), made a great point about how if he was there to raise his son then none of this probably would've happened. Yep

bir belgeselde olmasi gereken objektiflik sonuna kadar var ve film tarafsiz tutumuna ragmen olum cezasinin ne kadar kotu bir sey oldugunu cok guzel ortaya koyuyor.kurgu acisindan da belgsel estetigine katki yaptigi acik.

Herzog found a lot of people that had a lot to say...he put all of it in the film. While the film meanders, the content is rich and the stories are moving. I could listen to Herzog interview a rock and be entertained.

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.

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.

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.

Most everybody in the film has a moment where they talk about something they try to block out of their minds, as though the abstraction of such an unbelievably horrid crime and its aftermath forces them to create new perceptions of reality just so that they can get up in the morning. It's an emotional phenomenon that stands as a strong argument against the barbaric and cruel act of capital punishment. And here it's the most pointless instance of murder one can imagine to make Herzog's point.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

One of the better documentaries by Werner Herzog. I think it tries to stay objective, but ultimately leans a bit towards being against the death penalty. The movie sets up the story about this guy who killed three people just for a car, but when we actually see him, you still feel sorry for him, if you are to believe that he is guilty. If he is innocent then it is all the more sad. The various interviews are all interesting for the most part.

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.

Inspiring quote: Live your 'dash'

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...

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?

Had some great moments but overall it was pretty dull.

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.

Herzog-hypnothis from hell to heaven.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.