DVD Picks & Pans: An American Hero

Tom Miller

"Little Dieter Needs to Fly," DVD-2007.  ($14.98, Starz/Anchor Bay)

Early in director Werner Herzog's eloquent documentary "Little Dieter Needs to Fly," a key question is raised:  Who is this Dieter Dengler - this apparently normal, middle-aged man who's compulsively opening and closing doors in his home?  Then, there's the matter of the huge cache of foodstuffs and water he has hidden in the crawl space beneath the floor.  Enough to sustain him for years.  Just in case. 

He's Dieter Dengler, former Vietnam-era Navy fighter pilot and POW: one of only seven men to escape from prison camps and survive.  Like the other U.S. prisoners held captive in Southeast Asia, Dengler was routinely tortured and systematically starved.  When rescued after his daring escape from captivity, Dengler weighed 85 pounds. 

Is it any wonder that he continues to quietly obsess about being locked up and starving? 

This is the man - modest and genial, a successful businessman on the one hand; obsessive/compulsive, quietly haunted by his ordeal on the other - whose extraordinary story director Werner Herzog tells in this bittersweet documentary. 

A young boy in Germany during World War II, Dieter watched Allied bombers fly over his town and decided that he wanted to fly.  He came to the U.S. at eighteen and later joined the military in order to fulfill his lifelong dream of flying.  In 1965, he was shot down over Laos and taken prisoner.

Director Herzog and Dengler return to Southeast Asia to recreate Dengler's imprisonment, escape, and rescue for the camera.  The result is a deeply moving story of duty, honor, and courage.  Pressed to sign a document condemning his adopted country, Dengler refused even though he knew that it meant more beatings and worse.  Sick and starving, he planned and led a daring escape.

For his actions, Dengler earned a Navy Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Purple Heart, but quietly dismisses the notion that he's a hero. 

Dengler's not the only hero here.  Besides his fellow prisoners, there's the Navy pilot who spotted him in the jungle and stayed on station - despite orders to return - until help arrived and the helicopter pilot who braved enemy fire to rescue him.  Years later, Dengler invites the pilot who spotted him to share Thanksgiving dinner. 

"Little Dieter Needs to Fly" is a remarkable document.  Dieter Dengler was a remarkable man.  Military.com Rating: *** ½

(Dengler died in 2001 at sixty-two.)

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"Rescue Dawn," DVD-2007.  ($29.99, MGM Home Entertainment)

Herzog adapts Dengler's story for the big screen in this underappreciated film. 

Herzog, who writes and directs, exploits the freedom of dramatization to expand and deepen Dengler's war-time experiences.  Unlike the documentary - which moves back and forth in Dengler's life - the movie limits itself to the defining event: his capture, imprisonment, escape, and rescue in Laos in 1965. 

Here, Dengler is not the older man of the documentary recalling a long-ago event.  He is a young man drawing on a deep reservoir of optimism and resourcefulness to survive a brutal captivity.  His suffering - and that of his fellow POWs - is more visceral and compelling.  And, the intimate personal relationship that develops between Dengler and Duane, a fellow POW, is even more poignant for their interaction on the screen.

"Rescue Dawn" is beautifully-shot - on location in Thailand - and powerfully-acted.  Christian Bale (as Dengler) and Steve Zahn (as Duane) deliver riveting and memorable performances.  In a just world, one or both would receive Oscar consideration. 

Dieter Dengler was a genuine American hero, and his is not the kind of story that Hollywood usually goes for.  Herzog, however, is a different kind of director.  "Everything that I like about Americans was in Dieter Dengler," he says.  "Courage, optimism, self-reliance, loyalty.  It's what is, in essence, America."  And, he concludes, "I'm not in the business of America bashing." 

That'll never make him popular in Hollywood, but fortunately he doesn't care.  "I'm not out to win prizes," he has noted, "that's for dogs and horses."  Military.com Rating: ***

(DVD extras include commentary by director Herzog, a featurette "The Making of a True Story," deleted scenes, and theatrical trailers.)

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"It's a Wonderful Life (Two-disc Collector's Set)," DVD-2007.  ($24.99, Paramount Home Video)

Paramount has released director Frank Capra's Holiday classic in a Two-disc Collector's Set that includes the original black and white version and a new colorized version.

The original has been restored and is a delight to see.  The real revelation - especially for those who view colorization as blasphemy - is the new colorized version which is stunningly realistic.  I still prefer the elegance of the original black and white, but for those with kids who groan at the prospect of black and white, the colorized version is now a viable option. 

For the three people who have never seen the film, it's the story of a small-town banker (George Bailey played by Jimmy Stewart) facing ruin who jumps off a bridge on Christmas Eve.  He's saved by his guardian angel Clarence (Henry Travers) who shows him how much he has meant to others.  Bleak at times but ultimately heartwarming, Capra's enduring masterpiece remains a moving antidote for the Holiday season's rampant commercialism.  Military.com Rating: ****

(DVD extras include featurettes "The Making of It's a Wonderful Life" and "A Personal Remembrance" with director Capra's son and the original theatrical trailer.)

Military.com Picks & Pans Rating Scale

* Pan - Save your money & time
** Borderline Pick - Okay but only as a last resort
*** Pick - Worthwhile & enjoyable
**** Enthusiastic Pick - Excellent, not to be missed

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Copyright 2009 by Tom Miller