The Wild Blue Yonder DVD, 2005

‘We aliens suck’ is not a usual line for a science-fiction film, but then again, nothing about Herzog's extraordinary ‘science-fiction fantasy’ is usual. Combining footage from the 1989 Space Shuttle mission with Henry Kaiser’s amazing subaquatic Antarctic cinematography to create an allegorical film – hosted by Brad Dourif as an embittered alien – which urges the protection and responsible stewardship of our planet, this really is a one-of-a-kind film. It has a one-of-a-kind soundtrack too, created from the combined talents of jazz cellist Ernst Reijseger, Senegalese singer Mola Sylla, a five-man Sardinian shepherd choir, and vintage recordings from Handel’s opera Xerxes.
It all requires a large suspension of disbelief of course, but stay with it as the payoff is mighty. As we watch the astronauts diving below the ice in the liquid atmosphere of a distant submerged planet – the ‘wild blue yonder’ – accompanied by the film’s unique, haunting, awe-inspiring and uplifting soundtrack, we are truly transported by a fearful wonder at our own planet, our only home.

Graeme Hobbs on 17th October 2007
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