Werner Herzog. A jungle airship. A waterfall in Guyana. And a pilot still haunted by the death of his friend.
Trailer for “The White Diamond”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- Graham Dorrington builds a teardrop-shaped helium airship so he can fly over the rainforest canopy near Kaieteur Falls.
- An earlier airship trip ended in horror when cinematographer Dieter Plage fell to his death. Dorrington still carries that guilt into this flight.
- Herzog becomes obsessed with white-tipped swifts that live in a cave behind the waterfall—so hidden that humans can barely reach it.
Watch “The White Diamond”
You can watch “The White Diamond” on Prime Video.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 90/100
- IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 86/100 (Users); 90/100 (Critics)
Release Date: 2004
Director’s Note: “The White Diamond” is directed by Werner Herzog, who also narrates the doc. The music was composed by Ernst Reijseger and later reused in Herzog’s sci-fi documentary “The Wild Blue Yonder.”
Other Unique Stuff
- Herzog randomly breaks into philosophical narration about mankind’s obsession with conquering nature. At times, it feels less like a documentary and more like somebody reading a strange jungle diary out loud.
- The sound design is incredible. Between the waterfall roar, jungle insects, bird calls, and the eerie quiet of the airship floating overhead, the whole movie feels hypnotic.
- Marc Anthony Yhap, the diamond miner living near the falls, almost steals the movie idea. He comes across like a character Herzog discovered in another dimension entirely.
Wrap Up:
“The White Diamond” feels less like a normal documentary and more like a dream floating over the jungle. If you like Werner Herzog chasing strange people into dangerous places, this one absolutely delivers.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc