The editing reveals some obviously orchestrated moments, but fly-on-the-wall documentaries have never been in Herzog's interest. It's interesting how objective Dengler is in recounting his story. Fantastic music choices and great use of archival footage.

It was kind of an unusual experience seeing 2006's Rescue Dawn before this film. I would say that Rescue Dawn is undoubtedly a superior film, but Dengler himself is much more interesting than one could ever dramatize on screen, which justifies the existence of this documentary. Again, I saw the films out of order, so make of that what you will. The various reenactments featuring Dengler himself stand out as truly great moments, the like of which I've never seen on film before.

It is possible for Herzog to be uninteresting? Even for five minutes? I've only seen a few of his films, but so far the answer appears to be "no". Dieter is another incredible tale of a man facing overwhelming odds -- a Herzog hallmark -- that cares to take enough time to examine how and why he was able to overcome. Dieter's story is amazing...nearly miraculous, and it's told by the man himself with such sharpness and lucidity that it's hard not to be captivated by him and his tale of survival.

Touching.

Pretty good, but it felt incomplete, especially at only 70ish minutes. Nice companion to Rescue Dawn.

It's an amazing story, but the movie didn't grab ahold of me the way I was expecting it to. Perhaps it's due to the fact that I saw Rescue Dawn first, which was full of so much more detail. I also felt a couple of the staged scenes in Vietnam were a little corny. Still a good movie, but I really prefer Rescue Dawn.

A very interesting documentary on Dieter Dengler, a man who was shot down and became a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Dengler, like director Herzog himself, is endearingly eccentric and and always interesting. A must-watch if you have seen Rescue Dawn, the film Herzog later directed based on Dieter's experiences.

Although it's one insane story that Dieter has to tell, Herzog's usual shenanigans, and his obsessive focus on the excentric Dieter makes both of them seem equally crazy, which is possibly what was intended, but comes at the penalty of a slight disenchantment with the subject at hand.

This film left me speechless. An amazing, touching and also terrifying story. I deeply respect Dieter Dengler, what an incredible man he was

Another fantastic Herzog offering.

You don't care about any film related stuff when Dieter Dengler is telling the most amazing story ever.

"Death did not want Dieter Dengler, whose life often sounds like that of a fairy tale character thrust into an existential wonderland." - Ed Gonzalez

Gripping and entertaining documentary, thanks in no small part to Dengler's charisma, and affable, fast-talking presentation. Good job by Herzog too.

jellyfish death

one of the most engaging documentaries i've ever seen. i've heard a lot of it is really staged, which pisses me off on one level, but i can't argue with results. at the very least, you get two awesome storytellers with really cool voices talking at you for like two hours. the fact that what they're talking about is so fascinating is just a bonus.

An excellent film about a man who loves to fly and who does what he has to, using his wits and ingenuity, to survive. Rescue Dawn is based on this true story.

In my country you get to hear quite a few (including first-hand) accounts by people whose fighter plane crashed and have survived imprisonment in a hostile 3rd world country not averse to cruelty and torture. But I've never ever heard a story more harrowing than the one told by Dieter Dengler to Werner Herzog.

overall good, not great, but features two classic herzog scenes - when get gets dieter to refer to the fear of death as being similar to jellyfish and the closing shot of the airfield.

A little disjointed but the way Dieter tells his story is great, and the story is just astounding.

Good.

Rescue Dawn is better.

I think I would have liked this more had I not seen Rescue Dawn first, as it's more or less a retelling of the events in that movie but in documentary form. It's certainly solid in every respect, albeit a little less Herzog-like than I would have expected. Definitely a good documentary although it just lacks the certain punch you'd expect; which is probably my problem, not the film's.

The story of Dieter Dengler is an extraordinary one, and it couldn't have been told any better. Going through the jungle and re-enacting what happened to Dengler was a treat. The ending was also fantastic. A very good documentary from the legendary Werner Herzog.

A bit different than Herzog's other documentaries, seeing how it's a little more straight forward and less ecentric. Besides being different in style it was still great, just because of the amazing story Dieter Dengler had to tell.

A bit too staged for me... I don't just mean the re-enactments, but even a lot of Dengler's monologues feel very rehearsed. Furthermore, his story is not all that fascinating. Harsh and sad and ultimately uplifting, perhaps, but not fascinating.

herzog takes a step back, and only at times can you see his true brilliance. the story here, though, is one that needs less of herzogs directing prowess to shine, but it could have been better with more of the sweeping, long, fantastic shots that herzog wins my heart with.

Herzog did it again. He knows how to 'push' people to tell a great story.

Not quite as incredible a watch as Herzog's other docs, very straightforward and very little strange going on. A lot of Dieter's talks feel a little too rehearsed to feel like it's quite as intimate as some of Herzog's best as well. However, it is very well shot with some fantastic on location work and Dieter's story is interesting and very touching.

An incredible journey with a man who is stronger then anyone I have ever met. Herzog may have staged and invented some of the elements of the film (like most of his documentaries) but the emotion is still there and very much real. The end scene of the funeral brought a tear to my eye, an excellent tribute to an incredible man.

Dieter's tale is incredible (though, as it turns out may not be exactly true) and Dieter himself is a very interesting (and talkative) man. Fascinating stuff as always from Werner Herzog!

Great because it doesn't concentrate on the unlikeliness of the story, it's about Dieter's amazing character. It's quite short, and I reckon there must have been enough footage to make a couple of different films. I have no idea why I am rating this lower than King of Kong, but I am.