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Wild Blue Yonder, The

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Wild Blue Yonder, The reviews
65
8.5 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 11 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 2 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Documentary  |  Sci-fi

Written by: Werner Herzog

Directed by: Werner Herzog

Release Date:
Theatrical: October 27, 2006
DVD: November 14, 2006

Running Time: 81 minutes, B/W / Color

Origin: UK / USA / France / Germany

Summary

RATING:

Starring Brad Dourif, Capt. Donald Williams, Dr. Ellen Baker, Franklin Chang-Diaz, Shannon Lucid, Michael McCulley, Roger Diehl, Ted Sweetser, and Martin Lo

The film follows a hypothetical proposition: a group of astronauts are circling the earth in a spacecraft, but they cannot return, as our planet has become uninhabitable. The cause of this remains open - all-out war, outbreak of a new disease beyond control, radiation after the complete disappearance of the ozone layer, or whatever. The crew of the spacecraft has to find a more hospitable place out there in space, and releases a probe from their cargo bay, Galileo. But Galileo - after sending back very disquieting data - has to be sent on a suicide mission. (Warner Herzog Filmproduktion)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

80

The Hollywood Reporter Ray Bennett

Herzog's strangely beautiful film has marvelous music and hypnotic imagery. A documentary for stoners and people who are that way naturally, it is a cautionary tale for wishful thinkers.

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80

Variety Leslie Felperin

Should stand with the likes of "Fata Morgana" and "Lessons of Darkness" as one of helmer's best efforts at smudging the lines between docu and fiction.

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80

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

Not a major Herzog work or one that will draw a large audience, but a must-see for those who suspect (as I do) that he's one of the greatest talents now working in this medium.

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80

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

There is pleasure in such useless beauty, of course, and pleasure too in drifting with the jellyfish amid the wild blue yonder of a great filmmaker’s imagination.

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75

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Werner Herzog's self-proclaimed "science-fiction fantasy" is a meticulously constructed fiction made from a combination of real-life footage repurposed in ways a conventional documentarian couldn't imagine.

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67

The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray

The Wild Blue Yonder has a small message to deliver about the importance of ecological conservation, but mostly, it's an excuse to cut together mesmerizing undersea and outer-space photography while a hypnotic soundtrack drones on.

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63

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

A meandering, amusing trifle, Werner Herzog's latest film is as cheekily flaky as his recent "Grizzly Man" was sharply down-to-earth.

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60

Village Voice Ed Halter

Though occasionally striking, the footage doesn't pack the evocative punch Herzog intends, and segments that should be lyrical mind trips only result in overstretched longueurs.

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50

Chicago Tribune Sid Smith

At times playful and inventive, at others simplistic and silly. Ultimately, Werner Herzog's free-form, idiosyncratic devolution of the documentary is beautiful but dull.

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50

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

By the time Herzog tried to pass off jellyfish as Dourif's old pals, my indulgence was nearing its end--but then so was the movie.

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50

New York Post V.A. Musetto

Wavers between (sometimes) brilliant and (mostly) boring. But it would be wrong to call it a failure.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Augustus S. gave it an8:
A stunning, well-made film, definitely the most interesting modern one I have seen in some time. The photography in the exploration parts are beautiful. Brad Dourif does a great job as narrator, very convincing, very real. I do not generally like Middle Eastern music, but it was used very effectively, and I cannot imagine anything else working better for this film. Some audiences may find it boring, especially the segments inside the space shuttle, but these are an integral part of the whole work. The message, that we as humans do not appreciate our planet, is very relevant and delivered with gravitas. Unlike many directors who were great in the seventies, Herzog seems to have retained much of his brilliance and creativity, though this is not a masterpiecee like "Aguirre."

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