LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY
Have you ever seen “Rescue Dawn”? “Little Dieter Needs to Fly” is about Dieter Dengler and he sure doesn’t look like Christian Bale. This became the first modern film where we got Herzog narration voice, as Dengler takes us through his flight pattern and where he was shot. Little by little, we learn about Dengler’s past as he talks about how he went from a kid in Germany during World War II to coming to America to become a Naval pilot. Herzog even admits that he shares a lot in common with Dengler, as they share similar life experiences. Unfortunately, the film ends on a coda detailing how Dengler died shortly before the release of the documentary.
The film comes with no special features. Still, it’s an interesting exercise in recreating Dengler’s experience by actually putting the man back in the circumstances in which he was captured. One would wonder if Dengler was going to have a Flashback or something, but Dieter seems to go along with the experience. It’s pretty interesting and remains a documentary that not enough people have seen.