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Rescue Dawn (2006)

tomatometer

90

Average Rating: 7.5/10
Reviews Counted: 160
Fresh: 144 | Rotten: 16

Director Werner Herzog has once again made a compelling tale of man v.s nature, and Christian Bale completely immerses himself in the role.

87

Average Rating: 7.6/10
Critic Reviews: 38
Fresh: 33 | Rotten: 5

Director Werner Herzog has once again made a compelling tale of man v.s nature, and Christian Bale completely immerses himself in the role.

audience

73

liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 120,170

My Rating

Movie Info

Acclaimed filmmaker Werner Herzog returns to direct his first feature since 2001's Invincible with this dramatic action film inspired by his own 1997 documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly and detailing the escape efforts of a German-American pilot who was taken as a prisoner-of-war after being shot down over Laos during the Vietnam War. When U.S. fighter pilot Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale) escaped death after being shot down over one of the most intense front lines in the Vietnam War, his

PG-13, 2 hr.

Drama, Action & Adventure

Werner Herzog

Nov 20, 2007

$5.3M

MGM

Cast

All Critics (160) | Top Critics (38) | Fresh (152) | Rotten (16) | DVD (22)

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

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: NPR.org | Comment
NPR.org
Top Critic IconTop Critic

But just as exciting -- maybe even more so, for those who love the medium and, especially, the uplift of the great-escape genre -- Rescue Dawn is a triumphant Werner Herzog movie.

August 20, 2007 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | Comment
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Herzog builds this movie around another strong, eccentric performance from Bale, who is gaining a reputation for outsized talent and for downsized physicality.

August 13, 2007 Full Review Source: Film.com | Comment
Film.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Takes what could have been a mundane if well-made war story into something greater -- more harrowing, more hungry and more human.

July 27, 2007 Full Review Source: Detroit News | Comment (1)
Detroit News
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The performances here are as excellent as they are unnerving.

July 27, 2007 Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | Comment
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic IconTop Critic

... everything about Rescue Dawn feels real ...

July 26, 2007 Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | Comment
Arizona Republic
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The jungle has been very good to Werner Herzog.

April 28, 2011 Full Review Source: East Bay Express | Comment
East Bay Express

Werner Herzog isn't interested in patriotism as product placement, like other directors might be. Though uncommonly somber, "Dawn" is still an engrossing prison-break film. It's not "The Great Escape." It's "The Sheer, Dumb Luck Escape."

September 17, 2010 Full Review Source: Suite101.com | Comment
Suite101.com

Dumps traditional war movie bravado in favor of a subtler touch, and softens the blow of an unspeakable ordeal by shooting it amidst a series of jarringly beautiful and poetic canvases.

June 9, 2010 Full Review Source: DCist | Comment

Bale's lack of ambiguity points to the biggest limitation of a film that makes the grade as an adventure yarn by ignoring the most disturbing implications of its story.

April 23, 2009 Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | Comment
Boston Phoenix

Not the typical Chuck Norris movie, but just as rancid in its own "edgy" pretentious manner.

April 9, 2009 Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | Comments (2)
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Most critics have approached Werner Herzog's latest film Rescue Dawn with qualifying kid gloves, as if it would be impolite to question a late work from such a grand old man of the seventies German New Wave.

November 25, 2008 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comments (3)
Slant Magazine

Rescue Dawn wouldn't be half the film it is if it were not for the stellar performances by Bale and Zahn.

July 23, 2008 Full Review Source: Watertown Daily Times | Comment
Watertown Daily Times

Intense POW film explores torture, survival.

July 16, 2008 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

At first glance, "Rescue Dawn" might seem like Herzog gone Hollywood, but it's still very much the man's work. Herzog has his cake and eats it too.

April 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Beyond Hollywood | Comment
Beyond Hollywood

Complex and multi-faceted, Herzog has made a film with the skin of an action movie and the heart of a rhythmic, reflective poem

February 28, 2008 Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | Comment
BrandonFibbs.com

Emocionante como aventura e como exemplo da força do espírito humano, comprova o talento inquestionável de Herzog, um dos diretores contemporâneos mais importantes e surpreendentes.

December 6, 2007 Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | Comment
Cinema em Cena

Herzog doesn't talk politics but they hang over the film... while the escape drama is pure Herzog.

November 30, 2007 Full Review Source: MSN.com | Comment
MSN.com

Stellar performances by Christian Bale and Steve Zahn make Rescue Dawn a quietly compelling film.

November 26, 2007 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Rescue Dawn

this is a really great film. it was incredibly slow from start to finish, but its the first film ive seen in a while that was better for being slow. if the pace of this film was sped up at all i think it would have missed something. the characters were represented well and steve zahn elevated himself to another

December 2, 2007
sanjurosamurai
danny d

Super Reviewer

One of the best escape scenes I've ever seen. An excellent movie. I recommend it.

August 7, 2010
jamers2011
Jameson Worley

Super Reviewer

    1. Dieter Dengler: I love America. America gave me wings.
    – Submitted by rob g (9 months ago)
    1. Dieter Dengler: When I was uhh... five or somethin', I was looking out the window, with my brother... and we see this fighter plane was coming right at us. I was not scared. I was mesmerized! Because for me, this pilot was this all-mighty being from the clouds. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to be him. I wanted to be one of them. I wanted to be a pilot.
    – Submitted by rob g (9 months ago)

Latest News for Rescue Dawn

November 20, 2007:
RT on DVD: Live Free or Hairspray This Thanksgiving
Good news, blockbuster fans: this week in home entertainment features a crowd-pleasing toe-tapper...

November 19, 2007:
Werner Herzog on Rescue Dawn: The RT Interview
The controversial and almost mythological helmer tells us about his latest, starring Christian Bale...

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