Christian Bale, Craig Gellis, Evan Jones, James Oliver, Jeremy Davies ...( see more  see more... ) , Marshall Bell , Steve Zahn , Toby Huss , Zach Grenier

Based on the true story of German-born Dieter Dengler, who dreamed of being a test pilot and thus made his way to America, where he joined the military in pursuit of his obsession to fly. On his first...( read more  read more... ) mission in Vietnam, he is shot down and captured by Vietcong guerrillas.

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72% liked it

115,719 ratings

Critics

89% liked it

152 critics

PG-13, 2 hr.

Directed by: Werner Herzog

Release Date: July 27, 2007

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DVD Release Date: November 20, 2007

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Stats: 9,255 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (9,255)


  • January 17, 2010
    An adventure story with the pulse of a thriller and the heart of a nationalistic propaganda film, Werner Herzog's take on a remarkable true story is surprisingly more visceral than poetic. Christian Bale holds the screen for a harrowing two hours with one of his best performances.
  • October 1, 2009
    This is a fantastic film! Herzog keeps his promise to Dieter and films a feature length masterpiece of his story. The style of filming is typical Herzog brilliance, he is aided by a really dedicated and talented cast but its Zahn who steals the show with a career best. This film ...( read more)is highly recommended and a new personal favourite!!
  • August 2, 2009
    This film is based on the true story of Air Force pilot Dieter Dengler(Christian Bale) who is shot down and captured by Vietcong guerrillas in Laos on his first mission to Vietnam. Bale's portrayal of the headstrong pilot is very well done.
    This film is pretty dim as it shows em...( read more)aciated, traumatized war prisoners doing their best to stay alive. Jeremy Davies's character portrayal is haunting as one of the prisoners who's been there for a couple of years surviving on next to nothing, and Steve Zaughn's character is the opposite of what you normally see him portray. Definately a film meant to tell an important, real horror story, and a representative of the heroes from the Vietnam war.
  • July 27, 2009
    Rescue Dawn is based on a true story, which always adds intrigue. However, I doubt the film does Dieter Dengler justice. I've always been a sucker for Vietnam movies, but this one seems to be lacking. The story itself is interesting, but doesn't seem to translate into a great...( read more) movie. The major problem may be budget. The film looks and feels low budget. This is also one of Christian Bale's weakest performances. If the budget is low, the actors need to step up with great performances...and that didn't happen. For me it was a disappointment, but may still worth a look for those that are into the genre.
  • July 18, 2009
    Well to be honest this is a well made film with great performances, even from Zahn, but its very dull for most of the film. The look is authentic and the feel is very cold, hungry, dirty and bleak. you feel the pilots anguish. But it doesn't really get going until they break out ...( read more)of their captors camp prison. From then on its very tense and you can really feel the hunger pains with the actors. As they scream at passing choppers which fly by not seeing them you just wanna scream for them, see me please. Its not as good as some war films but its very accurate and basic in its approach, which gives it a realistic harsh feel. The pilot sequences at the start are abit dodgy looking, very bluescreen and the ending is very 'god bless America' in Hollywood fashion. They all seem to forget the other prisoners which didn't make it. Its a good flick, worth seeing, not bloody or nasty but very good at portraying the human will to survive.
  • February 9, 2010
    really entertaining suspensful film that will make you both wince and laugh. It has a lot of suprises up its sleeve and is a credit to the actors involved who are spot on. And the gambaii !!! bit will live long in my memory.
  • February 3, 2010
    A great movie about torture and survival
  • February 1, 2010
    OK, Bale is skinny again - but others show than it's not an amazing feat.

    Bale doesn't really have to do anything fantastic here. He's a good actor even on a bad day and his effort seems minimal here (besides the weight loss) and the performance is good but not outstanding. This...( read more) leaves room for the plaudits to be taken by Steve Zahn; who's out of his type-cast mould and impressingly haunting, and Jeremy Davies.

    The innocence of Steve Zahn's character, which comes to foray as childlike toward the end is what really ties the film and the characters together. Dengler's (Bale) enthusiasm and optimism would be nothing without Davies pesemism and the untimatley down-trodden and haunting turn from Zahn.

    Werner Herzog doesn't bring his usual talents to the party however. It's a little bland by Herzog standards and you really feel that it could easily have been someone else behind the lens. The sweeping mysticism of shots that he displays in his other fims is missing here, and it's a little disappointing.

    Overall though it's agood movie. It doesn't reach the heights of the great war films of our time, but it's worth a look.
  • January 31, 2010
    1/30/2010 - Holy shit, this movie fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucked me up. Really well done, but I guess it's completely inaccurate based on the true stories? I don't give a shit. Movies ruuuuuuuuuuules.
  • January 30, 2010
    beautiful picutres, very good performances by Christian Bale, Steve Zahn and a brilliant performance by Jeremy Davies

Critic Reviews


October 18, 2008
Bob Mondello, NPR.org

Rescue Dawn may not feel much like a Herzog movie, but it's a gripping real-life thriller. full review

July 19, 2007
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

Herzog shows all of this with a fresh, observant eye. While sadism is a staple of most POW movies, Herzog focuses on the punishing tedium and deprivation of confinement. And filming on location in Tha... full review

July 19, 2007
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

If Rescue Dawn isn't about heroism, then it's about something deeper, more primitive: survival instinct. full review

July 13, 2007
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Those coming to Rescue Dawn cold will probably accept it as a straightforward, even predictable account of POW suffering, and they'll hang on Bale's muscular portrayal of a man who refuses to say die. full review

July 11, 2007
Armond White, The New York Press

Rescue Dawn's late-coming Vietnam war story -- [Werner] Herzog's first American drama -- is his best film since his great 1970s period. full review

July 6, 2007
Pete Hammond, Maxim

A harrowing and inspiring tale of courage and endurance. It shows us the best in ourselves. full review

July 6, 2007
Kyle Smith, New York Post

What a sweet collision is Rescue Dawn: the American psycho meets the German kook. full review

July 3, 2007
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker

[Rescue Dawn] offers its own vision of deprivation but doesn't linger long enough, even mid-jungle, to leave us in the kind of directionless trance that was conjured by Aguirre and Every Man for Himself. full review

June 25, 2007
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

The film, Rescue Dawn, is so good it makes you wish that [director Werner] Herzog had gone Hollywood earlier in his career. full review

View more Rescue Dawn reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • pavacri23
    July 19, 2008
    i don't think the director did his best job on this movie
  • seekinghim13
    January 20, 2008
    This is to the people that are saying that this movie was only great at the action packed parts. I don't want to be mean or this to sound like a lecture, but don't you guys appreciate what Dieter did for us. This movie is a true story, a memoir of the life of Dieter Dengler, not a fictional shoot 'em up movie. The director was sticking to the truth, he wasn't going to stretch it to make Dieter sound more heroic. So please...think about the main idea of this story, and honor this man that faced such horrors, that most of us will never even get close to except in movies. This man was truly incredible, and a true hero. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Steve Zahn and Christian Bale, but this movie is about Dieter Dengler and his brave deeds, not Zahn and Bale's great acting.
  • seekinghim13
    January 20, 2008
    I'm sorry, but if you must advertise that sex garbage, please advertise it somewhere else...like in your profile?
  • nbhatti3000
    October 29, 2007
    this film tells the real-life story of U.S. fighter pilot of German-born Dieter Dengler, who dreamed of being a test pilot and thus made his way to America, where he joined the military in pursuit of his obsession to fly. On his first mission in Vietnam, he is shot down and captured by Vietcong guerrillas. if you like war movi then watch.
  • r46jkfhmj
    August 2, 2007
    I felt Rescue Dawn didn't explore the torture side of this movie. It felt easy. Easy to escape, easy to survive, easy. When I watch a movie about being captive I want to seriously hate the guards. I want to feel the contempt and the suffering the prisoners are going through. Sadly, I didn't feel this when watching Rescue Dawn. It felt like a palpable version of the story. Don't get me wrong, the acting was done well and I did get feel myself getting emotionally concerned about the characters. However most of this happened after the initial torturing and captivity.
  • alozie
    July 17, 2007
    I really want to see this and the original documentary: Little Dieter Needs to Fly (http://www.flixster.com/movie/little-dieter-needs-to-fly). Also check out Werner Herzog's interview with Terri Gross (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11782309). You'll find the story behind the story even more remarkable.
  • bellastugatza
    July 13, 2007
    ITS ABOUT TIME SOMEONE CAME OUT WITH ANOTHER VIETNAM ERA MOVIE I CAN ONLY WATCH FULL METAL JACKET AND OTHERS ABOUT A THOUSAND TIMES BEFORE I CAN REPEAT THEM VERBATIM!!
  • allaboutsilence
    July 7, 2007
    I hope this gets a bigger release because I don't have any theaters playing it up here. Hopin....
  • Roronoa
    May 1, 2007
    I just saw the trailer and I have to say that it looks pretty damn good. Christian Bale seems to provide a great performance as usual, so I'm really looking forward to seeing this one.
  • RoCkPrInCeSsFoREvEr
    March 27, 2007
    Christian is such great actor , all his movie were great Specially Equilibrium and The Prestige . I beleive he will make more great movies 'n the future if he stays on his path ^0^

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Rescue Dawn Trivia


  • Which director links the movies "Aguirre, the Wrath of God", "Heart of Glass", "Grizzly Man", "Fitzcarraldo", "Signs of Life" (1968) and will release "Rescue Dawn" -with Christian Bale- later in 2007?  Answer »
  • Which brilliant actor has been in all of these films? The Prestige Reign of Fire American Psycho Rescue Dawn empire of the sun Laurel Canyon  Answer »
  • Name the actor who has been in all of these movies: Rescue Dawn That Thing You Do You've Got Mail Shattered Glass   Answer »
  • In "Rescue Dawn" what food do they dry out and store for later?  Answer »

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