Rescue Dawn

2006 Drama

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 troubles were only beginning. Subsequently taken captive by the enemy and forced to endure a harrowing stint in a Vietnamese prison camp, Dengler and his fellow captives stage a death-defying escape that would later inspire one of Germany's most accomplished directors to capture the remarkable tale on camera.

Director: Werner Herzog

Starring: Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies, Teerawat Mulvilai, Pat Healy

Reviews

  • An old-fashioned prisoner-of-war movie that becomes much more because of writer-director Werner Herzog's admiration for the remarkable true story of its protagonist, Dieter Dengler.

    Walter Addiego - The San Francisco Chronicle

    27 April 2013

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

    Kyle Smith - New York Post

    27 April 2013

  • Out of a harrowing story set in a foreign thicket, Herzog has found American beauty.

    Lisa Schwarzbaum - Entertainment Weekly

    27 April 2013

  • Christian Bale plays Dieter Dengler and this is one of the actor's most complex and compelling performances.

    Kirk Honeycutt - The Hollywood Reporter

    27 April 2013

  • The movie is, indeed, perhaps the most believable that Herzog has made. For a director who gravitates toward the extremes of human behavior, this film involves extreme behavior, yes, but behavior forced by the circumstances.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    27 April 2013

Awards

  • Best Supporting Actor

    Chlotrudis Awards (2008)

     
  • Best Supporting Male

    Independent Spirit Awards (2008)

     
  • Christian Bale

    San Diego Film Critics Society Awards (2007)

  • Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

    Satellite Awards (2007)