The White Diamond

2004

Documentary

List

90%

Tomatometer

20 Reviews

86%

Audience Score

2,500+ Ratings

British engineer Graham Dorrington, who built a little helium-filled zeppelin to fly over the Guyanan rainforest.

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

This 2004 video documentary by Werner Herzog makes a fascinating companion piece to his hair-raising Grizzly Man, even though his manipulations are more obvious.

Jun 29, 2022

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Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

A superb portrait of the dangers as well as euphoria that can come from chasing one's most treasured dreams.

Rated: A

Nov 29, 2005

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Scott Tobias

AV Club

Herzog loves to document humanity's perpetual struggle with nature, and in The White Diamond, the jungle -- sometimes makes sophisticated human technology laughably clumsy.

Sep 26, 2005

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The White Diamond contains scene after scene of majestic imagery around Kaieteur Falls, but Herzog never allows his camera's gaze to dispel Nature.

Rated: 3.5/4

Apr 4, 2022

Full Review

Maria Garcia

Film Journal International

Herzog illustrates through both Dorrington and the Rastafarian the wonder of simply being human.

Mar 1, 2007

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Jeffrey Chen

Window to the Movies

The film is one small story and how it can be presented and interpreted to mean so much, giving significance to a more introspective definition of triumph.

Rated: 8/10

Jul 6, 2006

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william k

A true "Werner Herzog joint" accompanies a madcap aeronautical engineer pursuing his dream of a flying with a teardrop-formed balloon, but also adds amazing insights along the way.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

awesome and insightful doc

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Audience Member

Another compelling Herzog documentary, replete with wonderful characters, unexpected yet rewarding tangents and absolutely gorgeous cinematography. The soundtrack is also magnificent. See it.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

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Audience Member

It gets better the more I think about it.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

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Audience Member

The White Diamond is very expansive in its content. It ventures to and from images of animals and landscapes. The focus on flying is central to Herzog's common interests to date and the film even gets surprisingly emotional at some point.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Herzog again blurs the lines with this one, creating a documentary that is a visual and emotive documentation rather than a factual, or more typical one. He is lucky in this case as the characters involved could have been pulled right out of a great fiction book or film with their highs and lows and passion for life. What makes this special though is that it is real life and real people and Herzog, as always, is not afraid to use this all he can. It's a strange and curious one and never typical but if you know Herzog then you should already be prepared for that. Its emphasis is on the visuals and if you aren't after something like that then avoid this. The visuals though are great and while nature footage and the like is nothing new, Herzog manages to make it interesting. Whether one sees this as a failure or a success, it is special and unique regardless, which is rarely the case with documentaries. it is not as accessible as it may seem on paper to people unfamiliar with Herzog's work- I don't recommended it as an introduction nor to anyone looking for your bog-standard documentary. Even people with an interest in the subject matter may not enjoy this one. If you have patience and you're open to the unorthodox then you should still be able to take something from this and you'll learn more about humans than 'The White Diamond' - that's what Herzog does, and sure it's frustrating if you want what is advertised (though if you know Herzog you should know better) but it's touching more so than any documentary about an oversized balloon (okay, not exactly) should be.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

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Werner Herzog

Director

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Synopsis

British engineer Graham Dorrington, who built a little helium-filled zeppelin to fly over the Guyanan rainforest.

Director: Werner Herzog
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Oct 25, 2005