Little Dieter Needs to Fly
Little Dieter Needs to Fly is a 1997 documentary film made for German television, written and directed by Werner Herzog, produced by Werner Herzog Filmproduktion. The film was released to DVD in 1998 by Anchor Bay.
In 1966, Dengler served aboard the USS Ranger CV61 with VA145 Attack Squadron 145. At the time, the squadron was equipped with the Douglas AD6A1H Skyraider, a singleengine, propellerdriven attack plane. On the morning ofFebruary, Lt. Dengler launched from the Ranger with three other aircraft on an interdiction mission near the Laotian border. Visibility was poor due to weather, and upon rolling in on the target, Lt. Dengler and the remainder of his flight lost sight of one another. Dengler was the last man in and was hit by antiaircraft fire. He was forced to crashland his Skyraider in Laos.Dengler was taken prisoner by the Pathet Lao, then turned over to soldiers of the Army of North Vietnam. After a period of torture and starvation chained to the bottom of a bamboo cage, Dengler escaped. The bulk of the film consists of footage from a trip Herzog took with Dengler back to Laos and Thailand to recreate his ordeal. Herzog hired locals to play the part of his captors and had Dengler retrace his steps while describing his experiences. ........
Source: Wikipedia
