Featured Audience Ratings

• Jennifer X

  
  I still have yet to see the entire thing beginning to end, because this film is my sleepytime film - in that, I watch pieces of it really late at night when I can't get to sleep. Within 10 minutes of watching this I'm passed out. I don't know why, I think it's… More
  I still have yet to see the entire thing beginning to end, because this film is my sleepytime film - in that, I watch pieces of it really late at night when I can't get to sleep. Within 10 minutes of watching this I'm passed out. I don't know why, I think it's because of Herzog's magnificent voice. So while I don't necessarily have the clearest idea of what this film is about, I'm really glad it exists because the pieces I've seen of it are fascinating but also remarkably sleep-inducing.

• Anthony L

  
  I love Werner Herzog and I really love his documentaries. The White Diamond has been on my list of films to watch for a while now but it's not what I expected. It's very good and typical of Herzog's greatness for the most part but cracks do appear. His usual method of… More
  I love Werner Herzog and I really love his documentaries. The White Diamond has been on my list of films to watch for a while now but it's not what I expected. It's very good and typical of Herzog's greatness for the most part but cracks do appear. His usual method of continuing to film the people after they have said what they wanted to say feels really awkward here. He puts words into peoples mouths, Marc Anthony Yhap was already an interesting character, putting the camera in his face only smothered him. There is still some Herzog greatness here though, no one else makes films like this and no one else could. Anyone else spot where he got the iguana idea for Bad Lieutenant?

• Eric B

  
  Whew, this documentary is dull. A pleasant 30-minute short is buried in here somewhere, minus the tangents into diamond mines, lingering wildlife shots, hip-hop dancing and whatever else happens to catch director Werner Herzog's eye. But when the most gripping scene is someone… More
  Whew, this documentary is dull. A pleasant 30-minute short is buried in here somewhere, minus the tangents into diamond mines, lingering wildlife shots, hip-hop dancing and whatever else happens to catch director Werner Herzog's eye. But when the most gripping scene is someone else's footage of a past gorilla safari, you know the film is in trouble. The featured experimental balloon (described as a "white diamond" by one of the locals) isn't radical enough to generate much intrigue, and between the rain-forest setting, man-against-nature theme, droning tribal music and gravelly narration, "The White Diamond" plays almost like a Werner Herzog greatest-hits album. The final shot of thousands of swifts returning to their home behind a waterfall is exquisite, though.

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic]"The White Diamond" is a beautiful, transcendent documentary about Dr. Graham Dorrington's venturing to Guyana to test his experimental airship to explore the rainforest canopy. Dorrington is an interesting case in himself, having lost two fingers… More
  [font=Century Gothic]"The White Diamond" is a beautiful, transcendent documentary about Dr. Graham Dorrington's venturing to Guyana to test his experimental airship to explore the rainforest canopy. Dorrington is an interesting case in himself, having lost two fingers when he was fourteen testing a model rocket. Now, he is plagued by guilt over the accidental death of wildlife cinematographer Dieter Plage in Sumatra in 1993 in an aircraft Dorrington designed.(Said incident is recalled in horrific detail.) The movie is also about adventure and exploration while having respect for the land and people that are discovered. And since this is a Werner Herzog film(He also plays a part in the experiment.), obsession is an issue, too.[/font]

• Marcus W

  
  As is typical Herzog, this isn't a documentary about the Amazon, it's a documentary about a man obsessed with piloting a small balloon over the Amazon. Herzog invests in the human characters and, as always, knows exactly when to let the cameras continue rolling to capture… More
  As is typical Herzog, this isn't a documentary about the Amazon, it's a documentary about a man obsessed with piloting a small balloon over the Amazon. Herzog invests in the human characters and, as always, knows exactly when to let the cameras continue rolling to capture the best shots. If you want a film to relax to there's much here to sit back and enjoy, or you can get engrossed in the stories and people involved. Either way, it's yet another fantastic Herzog documentary.