Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)

Werner Herzog gains exclusive access to film inside the Chauvet caves of Southern France, capturing the oldest known pictorial creations of humankind in their astonishing natural setting.

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writer:

Werner Herzog

Stars:

Werner Herzog, Jean Clottes, Julien Monney

8 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Werner Herzog	...	Himself / Narrator
Jean Clottes	...	Himself
Julien Monney	...	Himself
Jean-Michel Geneste	...	Himself
Michel Philippe	...	Himself
Gilles Tosello	...	Himself
Carole Fritz	...	Herself
Dominique Baffier	...	Herself
Valerie Feruglio	...	Herself
Nicholas Conard	...	Himself
Maria Malina	...	Herself
Wulf Hein	...	Himself
Maurice Maurin	...	Himself

Storyline

In 1994, a group of scientists discovered a cave in Southern France perfectly preserved for over 20,000 years and containing the earliest known human paintings. Knowing the cultural significance that the Chauvet Cave holds, the French government immediately cut-off all access to it, save a few archaeologists and paleontologists. But documentary filmmaker, Werner Herzog, has been given limited access, and now we get to go inside examining beautiful artwork created by our ancient ancestors around 32,000 years ago. He asks questions to various historians and scientists about what these humans would have been like and trying to build a bridge from the past to the present.

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Plot Keywords:

cave | southern france | france | narrated by director | archaeology | 

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Genres:

Documentary | History

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook [gb] Official site

Country:

Canada USA France Germany UK

Language:

English German French

Release Date:

31 August 2011 (France)

Also Known As:

La cueva de los sueños olvidados

Filming Locations:

Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc, Ardèche, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$139,101 (USA) (29 April 2011)

Gross:

$5,234,785 (USA) (19 August 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Creative Differences, History Films, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Werner Herzog: The artist painted this bison with eight legs, suggesting movement - almost a form of proto-cinema.

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Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.15 (2011)

User Reviews

Tiresome

The archaeologists refused to let these drawings speak for themselves. But rather, they indulged their own musings about what the artistic significance and intent of the drawings and who these artists were. It became tiresome, tedious, and a bit over the top. The music, though initially appealing, attempting to tap into a sense of timelessness soon just became irritating. And one really weird passage...while they believe they may have discovered an ancient flute carved from a bird's bone, to demonstrate it an archaeologist played America's Star Spangled Banner. ?? What was that all about? In France, no less. Weird choice of music.

While, given their age and their beauty, these cave paintings are fantastic to look at, the documentary lacked a level of professionalism that short-changed the grand significance of them.