Werner Herzog,
David Ainley,
Samuel S. Bowser,
Regina Eisert,
Kevin Emery
... see more 
Werner Herzog, director of such acclaimed documentaries as Grizzly Man and Little Dieter Needs to Fly, offers his unique perspective on the South Pole in this film profiling the Antarctic community of... read more
DVD Release Date: November 18, 2008
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Stats: 1,033 reviews
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Flixster Reviews (1,033)
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April 7, 2009Existential angst gets a huge power-up thanks to Herzog's cranky eye. Fears and sorrows previously limited to mere individuals now apply equally to whole civilizations, species, planets, Gods and universes.
Killer beauty movie. -
September 27, 2011Quite possibly one of the most fascinating and well-constructed documentaries of its time, Encounters at the End of the World combines hauntingly majestic and beautiful visuals, an eerily chilling and engrossing musical score, and intriguing humanist concepts on language, environ... read more
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January 15, 2011Werner Herzog is such a brilliant filmmaker that I think I hate him as a result. It doesn't help that he makes what he does look so simple either. Of course, it's not as simple as just showing up at a cool and interesting place filming it, then narrating it in an unmistakable and... read more
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November 30, 2010Werner uses this film, commissioned by some nature entitiy or other, to expand our minds; not only by showing us the natural wonder of the down under, but placing the savage beauty of the landscape and its denizens in the crosshairs of our collective psyche.
By postulating t... read more -
February 24, 2010Herzog is an eccentric, and perhaps an acquired taste. This film hits you with the immediate bluntness and selfishness of a rookie documentarian, but an awareness that the man speaking from behind the camera might actually be someone worth listening to... not in a traditional doc... read more
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November 25, 2009Encounters at the End of the World is more a study of people rather than a documentary about Antarctica. Typically it's visually stunning and avoids any kind of cliché, this is not another film about Penguins! (Although suicidal gay penguins do get a mention). A must for Herzog/D... read more
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September 15, 2009Given Herzog's pedigree, a rather disappointingly plodding doc with overly intrusive music which revels in dull eccentrics.
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September 2, 2009it's not another film about penguins. it's a most unusual look at the bizarre land at the bottom of the world and the vagabond dreamers who end up there. much of the film is deeply moving. herzog has a poetic way with such material
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February 14, 2009It's tough to make a movie about Antarctica that I won't enjoy. That said, I didn't appreciate Werner Herzog's style, with his annoying German-accented narration of interviews with equally annoying American characters. As you'd expect there's a few breathtaking "National Geograph... read more
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December 24, 2008Movies like this remind me of the beauty of the documentary and its status as a dying art form. Antarctica is an area oft explored but remains perpetually clothed in mystery. I loved hearing about the each of the "professional dreamers" and how poetic and simple and scientific th... read more
Critic Reviews
August 14, 2008
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
July 11, 2008
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
[Herzog is] a filmmaker ideally suited to recognize and celebrate...deep irony. Full Review
July 11, 2008
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
A poem of oddness and beauty. Herzog is like no other filmmaker, and to return to him is to be welcomed into a world vastly larger and more peculiar than the one around us. The underwater photography ... Full Review
July 10, 2008
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
A contrarian spiritual journey as provocative as it is hypnotic, Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World literally treks to planet's end. Full Review
July 10, 2008
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
Werner Herzog is a magnet for obsessives, and his lovely new film, Encounters at the End of the World, takes you places an ordinary filmmaker might've gone to yet missed completely. Full Review
June 30, 2008
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
It's one of the best documentaries of the year, no doubt about it.
June 27, 2008
Philip Marchand, Toronto Star
In his latest documentary, Encounters at the End of the World, Herzog -- who warns the viewer at the outset not to expect any 'fluffy penguins' -- deals with the men and women who perform scientific r... Full Review
June 27, 2008
Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle
Encounters at the End of the World is an enjoyable example of this extraordinary director's documentary work, and accessible enough to make it a good introduction to his singular vision. Full Review
June 27, 2008
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times
The images captured by Herzog and cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger are dazzling all on their own, finding the disorienting psychedelia that is nature at its weirdest. Full Review
June 27, 2008
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
Who better than Herzog to share with us the off-beat Encounters at the End of the World. Full Review
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