Little Dieter Needs to Fly

Encounters at the Ends of the World

Germany/UK/France, 1997, Werner Herzog

Dieter Dengler, son of a Nazi killed in WWII, grew up in bombed-out Germany fantasizing about becoming an American test pilot. Emigrating to the U.S. at age 18, Dengler eventually became a Navy flier. But on his first combat mission in Vietnam, he was shot down over Laos and captured by the Viet Cong. What followed was an astonishing, almost unbelievable tale of incarceration, torture, survival, escape, and rescue—which Herzog relays with his usual relish, journeying to SE Asia with Dengler to relive his adventure. Herzog subsequently dramatized Dengler’s story in the 2006 feature Rescue Dawn with Christian Bale. “Unforgettable.” –Roger Ebert. Subtitles. DCP. 80 min.