Watch Into the Inferno For Free

I love this movie so much

How sad is this?

Absolutely Fantastic

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

It's just really damn good. Lava is like water but red and hot, really hot, like really really hot

Be under no illusion, this is not a volcano documentary. Whatever it is, is not even very good. You will learn almost nothing about volcanoes. There's some 'volcano porn' cinematography but it is dwarfed by a meandering, aimless succession of locations and people without any regard for any kind of unity of time and place, topped by Herzog's monotone narration and grating German accent throughout. It's possibly the worst voice over I've ever heard, and exists only because the director has cast himself in his own film.Confusingly, an eminent British volcanologist takes on the role of both interviewee and interviewer at times, and combined with Herzog's over-bearing vocal presence, you are never quite sure who's in charge of this enterprise. It may be that was an artistic/directorial decision, but it sure when right over my head in that case, and felt to me more like it came out of a lack of planning and focus on part of the director.There is an anthropological dimension to the documentary, looking at the people who live with the volcanoes, but it is conducted in a deeply unsatisfying way. We're treated to long, interminable minutes of a village chief's ridiculous and childish superstitions ("The volcano talks to me.. but I cannot say, it's a secret....the volcano is annoyed because foreigners come here...").This dull and prolonged pseudo-anthropological exercise in filming village people do their incomprehensible volcano-related rituals is followed by various other uninteresting bits until the documentary takes us to North Korea, where Herzog insults your intelligence with fury by suggesting - shock horror - that North Koreans are brainwashed into blind patriotism and admiration for their leader, and - wait for it - that they engage in propaganda! His apparent surprise is such that the film turns into a tired repetition of the same old news about North Korea, and the volcano that brought him there is pretty much ignored.In summary, it's not a good volcano film - you don't see that much, and learn next to nothing. It's not a good documentary about people either. Herzog and his British buddy are rather inept at talking to people and drawing out their interesting side in a way that documentaries demand. What's left is Herzog's ego and unpleasant voice.

Is it possible for Werner Herzog to shoot a documentary that ISN'T interesting? So far my answer would be no; INTO THE INFERNO is every bit as thoughtful, idea-provoking, and thoroughly engaging as the rest of the director's output that I've had the pleasure to watch. This one's all about volcanoes and is a follow-up of sorts to ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD.Herzog once again craftily mixes a variety of elements to keep this documentary fast-paced and eventful. There are the usual oddball characters acting in eccentric ways while others tell tragic stories and various slice-of-life stories. There's a travelogue aspect with globe-trotting in the Caribbean, Pacific, Japan, North Korea, and Antarctica. Herzog's voice may be softer now that the years advance, but he remains insightful and a pleasure to listen to. The footage of magma lava flows is incredibly beautiful and certainly the best you'll ever watch. As ever, this Herzog is a pleasure to watch.

Werner Herzog proves again he is a monster of a documentarian. Into the Inferno is filled with stunning imagery and sounds that truly left me awestruck. The substance of the film itself was not quite what I was expecting, but it turned out that that was a good thing. This film goes places you would never really think of, and sheds light on many different cultural connections to volcanoes around the world. It more about people, societies, and culture than it is about science and geology, although there is some of that too. If you are at all interested in volcanoes and how people react and interact with them around the world, this film will pleasantly surprise you.