The White Diamond

Herzog's ability to not just find borderline unreal projects and people at the borders of the world, but to reveal the stories hidden in the areas and in these people, never seizes to amaze me. He has an amazing eye for detail - and an uncanny ear for stories. Point in case: Dorringtons recounting of his friends tragic demise. Also: Visually breathtaking. The red and orange nuances of the Kaieteur Falls coupled with the sheer size of it had me holding my breath. I love you, Herzog.

One of the most uplifting and encouraging films I've seen.

Herzog's documentary is ostensibly about airship designer Graham Dorrington's latest venture, but goes in so many directions that it really follows no particular theme or topic. It drifts from subject to subject, most of them interesting tangents, picking up plenty of Herzog's typical spellbinding shots along the way -- culminating in the magnificent vision of thousands upon thousands of swifts divebombing into a cave behind a massive waterfall. A bit aimless, but ultimately satisfying.

Wow another splenid documentary by Herzog. The images of the airship floating over the rainforest were fantastic. It was full of typical Herzog characters, the most interesting being a native of the area Marc Anthony. Full of grandeur and wonder, The White Diamond is unforgettable.

The serene dirigible makes for a lovable underdog in a story about piercing nature's domain, from the force of gravity to the classic mystery behind a waterfall. One of the director's most elegant and optimistic works.

Herzog's makes films like no one else, he balances his curiosity with the human soul and his love for nature so very well. He always finds the right person to ask questions to, or is that everyone has something interesting to say?

Herzog has such a great sense of what the camera should be seeing, when to ask questions, when to listen to the answers, and when to just watch and listen. This is quite a subtly moving tale, and another excellent Herzog docco.

Not only does the film do a great job of making us understand and sympathize with Dorrington's drive, it's filled with tons of great technical details about the mechanics and dangers of the airship. When Herzog and Dorrington make their maiden flight together, the sense of risk was real. And the film is filled with tons of beautiful shots of the Guyana rainforest and the Kaieteur Falls. I think this might be Herzog's most visually stunning movie, and definitely one of his best documentaries.

Absolutely breathtaking shots, they left me speechless and with a smile. The footage has a certain dreamlike heavenly feel to them, what an amazing paradise. Beautiful frogs, swifts and insects and that fantastic waterfall. I also fell in love with Mark Anthony, what a great guy: "I cannot hear what you say, for the thunder that you are."

Though there's a lot of majesty in The White Diamond, it almost takes a backseat to Dorrington's story, which is very compelling - he's eccentric, but at the same time a very sympathetic figure, never odd enough to be offputting. And of course, the nature photography is gorgeous - particularly the Kaieteur falls.

Very humane and poetic. Herzog brings the beauty of human nature and surrounding world to the focus. Even when it ends you are left thinking in how beautiful world we live in, after all.

A beautiful film. Graham Dorrington is an inspired person, just eccentric enough to be at the center of Herzog's interest, and therefore ours. The footage of the Guyanese rain forest had me completely spellbound; especially striking are the Kaieteur Falls, a mammoth waterfall shrouded in cultural legend. Herzog documents both frustrations and joy, and by the end the entire adventure comes off as quite profound.

Fascinating, beautiful, poetic, emotional, joyous and so much more.

One word should say it all: Herzog.

The main topic of this film is interesting enough, but the tangents that introduce the viewer to other people and situations are what make this film something special. There are some really beautiful and dizzying shots that make me wish I could've seen this on the big screen.

Herzog's works are usually more feat than film, and this is no different. it manages to capture the feeling of adventure and uncertainty of such a daring enterprise. despite being concise, a lot of tangents are explored and even allowed room to breathe, something i enjoyed. some splendid shots too, but i was not a fan of the soundtrack.

A film not so much about the challenge of flying high above the Kaieteur Falls in a novel airship, but of one man's struggle to come terms with his role in the death of his colleague and friend. Watching Dorrington in the throws of torment is not easy, he seems only to ever temporarily hold off these demons. Herzog's (almost) contempt for Dorrington's lack of professionalism and perhaps also morals is another layer of the film that makes this compelling viewing.

Wonderful. Very philosophical, intimate and all around astonishing.

Meanders about a lot of different subjects because the airship isn't robust enough to achieve its purpose of studying the jungle canopy

A strangely moving doc that feels like a rumination on the wild mysteries of nature, the narratives we build to create a semblance of order, and the tragedy of the traumatic experience. Herzog, in typical form, allows his subjects to breath, as the camera focuses a moment or two extra to capture those intimate moments within the serene jungle atmosphere.

For me ASMR was and will always be called the Herzog effect.

One beautiful film, not because of the aesthetics which in themselves are beautiful as you'd expect from a documentary but because of the storyline that goes with this. I thought this was going to be a documentary, and it is, but it's also a story about a man's experiences. Well worth the watch.

beautiful, and about as good as a nature documentary can be, if you consider it like that. i could watch a million of these herzog docus. and i think i just might.

The first five minutes are worth watching. Coincidentally, they're also the only scenes Herzog and his team didn't film.

Herzog captures obsession on the screen like nobody else. He also likes to explore his locales and let external events dictate the narrative, another refreshing trait. Some powerful imagery here, as well as some surprisingly granular subject matter. Seriously though, what's behind the damn waterfall?

a beautiful story handled with delicate precision by herzog. a refreshingly odd but not the slightest contrived atmosphere is maintained by mixing poetic imagery, graham dorringtons madness/love for his aircraft and dream and the few odd side stories. unfortunately, I watched this under the false belief that the main story would be about a trip in the rainforest, leaving me somewhat underwhelmed by the ending.

Mark Anthony was a great find to come across, he had a kind of peaceful mystic demeanor about him. We have the usual Herzog combination of footage and themed music that lifts your mind into the setting. The camera op. has an interesting habit of leaving the camera on longer than most people would. The subject keeps performing, in those moments we capture a glimpse of their personalities uninhibited. The poetic mutterings of Mark, and the dreams of flight from Dorrington.

In recent years, Werner Herzog's documentaries have been far more interesting than his written features - not that his documentaries aren't heavily controlled too; he really goes all out here to turn the story of a man who dreams of flying an airship over the rainforest (*cough*Fitzcarraldo*cough*) into a Werner Herzog story, pretty much directing his subjects ("When you look into this drop of water, do you see the entire world in it?") and he mostly succeeds, even if he overdoes it at times.

I liked the shots of nature and the story of Marc Anthony. I thought the extended shots targeted at Graham Dorrington were a bit manipulative in that he was clearly finished talking but the camera kept going and made him seem more awkward/out-of-it than I imagine he actually is. I was really sleepy when watching it so maybe I'll watch it again.

iguana: mr. herzog, i'm ready for my close-up!

God bless that man and his rooster...

"In The White Diamond, man and nature barely rub against each other, and it's this friction that makes for the film's most astounding images." - Ed Gonzalez

Extraordinary.

Herzog's well conducted/edited interviews make this just good enough to overlook the disappointment of the White Diamond appearing to not accomplish jack shit.

How Werner finds these characters, I'll never know.

Beautiful and interesting in every way. Everything in this film succeeds - whether it be the story of Dorrington, the Kaieteur Falls, the swifts, the airship floating over the rainforest, the canopy, mans relationship with nature or Marc Anthony. Its ability to explore all these aspects and combine them in to one short documentary should be celebrated. If possible watch this in high definition. Herzog and his crew have produced a documentary which may be approaching perfection.

Herzog gets it right again by avoiding the trap of making a film about an airship. Instead, he makes a film about the people around an airship. The film is not quite as compelling as Herzog's other documentaries, probably since I was never completely wrapped up in the flight of the airship, nor in Dorrington as a main character. However, there are still some moving scenes in this film, so for that reason it's still worth checking out.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Well, Herzog manages again to capture this beauty on film for everyone to enjoy. Another masterpiece of Herzog.

This film is about the airship built by Dorrington, but Dorrington himself, about the local Guyana man Marc Anthony, about flight in general, about successes and failures and more. It's great to hear all these stories and wonderful to watch some of the shots they manage to get of the waterfall, the forest and of the airship in the sky.

The human interest side of this documentary was gripping enough to keep me interested, but man, the extended nature shots were just not necessary. We've all seen similar, but better, nature photography. Sorry, Werner.

Another masterful and gorgeous documentary from the singular Werner Herzog. In fact it's a prime example of his unique receptiveness to everything around him. He doesn't limit his curiosity to the technological or natural-science aspects of the journey, but rather explores with equal passion the people around him. Relevance is not an issue and he freely digresses, listens to stories, films a local rooster, etc. As with Herzog's best work, there is something earnestly spiritual about this.