FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Teddie Blake The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

julsmul Werner Herzog's 2010 documentary; Cave of Forgotten Dreams is my second favorite documentary of all I've seen so far, being beaten only by his 2007 documentary, Encounters At The End Of The World. Werner explores Chauvet Cave, a recently discovered cave in Southern France which contains cave paintings, bones, and footprints of men and animals from 32,000 years ago.Tone is crucial to a film, and Werner does an outstanding job in capturing a very unique tone and maintaining it through the whole documentary. Although the film revolves around archaeology and other scientific studies, its tone brings an air of mysticism that leaves viewers feeling as if they are traveling through time and truly connecting with the many prehistoric painters of the featured mind- bending artwork. In my many viewings with others, this combination has never failed in holding the attention and interest of even those that dislike documentaries.The music is superb and breathes life into the film's equally superb cinematography. Like the tone, it captivates viewers minds using soft choir, piano, and wind instruments and offers a deeper perspective of Werner's slow-pan shots over the cave art. Much of the film contains long, un-narrated segments of just this camera-work with the music, and while sounding boring, those segments are actually my favorite parts. Of the entire soundtrack, I can recommend "Rockshelter," "Child's Footprint Duo," and "Carbon Date" as my favorites.The science presented in this documentary is also very interesting. Werner delves into the cave's history with passion, and every aspect, from carbon dating to a prehistoric man's crooked little finger, is thoroughly explored in his analysis. As per Werner's style, the scientists and experts featured in the film also present their inner opinions about the cave and what amazing dreams drive them to continue their work.If there is gripe I've heard quite often about this film, it's usually the postscript. For many, the ending is confusing, opinionated, and a sudden, jarring change from the rest content. However, I feel that it is because Werner offers his opinions that his documentaries are so enthralling. Werner has a very unique perspective, and, for me, it always provides a new insight into the topic of discussion. The message can be understood with some thought and makes for a very decent concluding thought on the Cave of Forgotten Dreams.Conclusively, Werner Herzog's documentary is an experience best lived with an open, curious mind. Werner does not make generic documentaries, and his style isn't for everyone; however, with the right perspective, I feel that Cave of Forgotten Dreams is a beautiful piece of art that deserves a deeper look from those who dislike it.I'm giving it a 9/10. Otherwise, what would I rate Encounters At The End Of The World?

karen-loethen I admit it, I'm a nerd about many fields of study. The Chauvet caves in Southern France have always amazed me so I was delighted to discover this documentary on Netflix. I was not disappointed. The visuals are as good as I had hoped and the scientists working on the project are great sources of information. This film is our one opportunity to walk through that steel door and to see, with our own eyes, the artistry of our ancestors...sublime. It's a wonder to join this research study into the crystal cave. See the cave bear skull ensconced in the crystal concretions from tens of thousands of years of natural processes. My thanks to the producers of the film. My imagination sparked! Highly recommended.

SnoopyStyle Documentary filmmaker Werner Herzog gets special access to the Chauvet Cave in southern France that has some of the oldest painted images ever. A landslide sealed up the cave in ancient times and only rediscovered in 1994. It is calculated to date back as much as 32,000 years ago.The cave has an immersive quality about it. I watched it in 2D and can only imagine how 3D would put the audience inside the cave. As always, Herzog is narrating this with his disembodied breathless accented voice. This is more akin to taking a tour of an art gallery while listening to Herzog's commentary. I would have liked more science about the people of the region at the time. Herzog is less concerned about hard science and injects a good amount of poetic ponderings. That's Herzog's style and one can't expect a detailed scientific examination. It does have a compelling moody feel as the shadows almost give a sense of ghostly presences.

Tad Pole . . . (we thought them, therefore they were), one would expect some startling revelations from a film entitled CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS. While it's true that writer\director\narrator Werner Herzog digresses into irradiated albino alligators about 86 minutes into this 90-minute film, this seemingly drug-induced Non Sequitar says more about the state of HIS mind than it does about the FLINTSTONES'. Now, when "Chauvet Cave" was rediscovered 20 years ago in France, it would have been actual news IF the original explorers had found paintings of UFO's, or depictions of AK-47's, or blueprints for pyramids, or perhaps one of Shakepeare's sonnets plastered on its walls. Instead, the interior of this cavern (which had been sealed off by a rock slide for 10,000 years) contained about what you'd expect: crude graffiti scrawled by male chauvinist vandals, mildewed and smeared by 100 centuries of the sort of water damage plaguing homeowners with "wet" basements. Instead of hiring "art" restorers to salvage this as a potential tourist attraction (think Mammoth Cave or Carlsbad Caverns here in the U.S.), the French are planning to clone the hole and its decayed scribblings for a created-from-scratch theme park. Good luck with that! (Herzog SHOULD have made a movie about the dude briefly shown here who proves the tune to the STAR-SPANGLED BANNER was the world's first song: Maybe on the Seventh Day, God said, "Play Ball!")