20 Fantastic Blimps, Balloons, And Dirigibles In Movies
14. The White Diamond (2004)
The title of the film comes from the oddly-shaped airship flown by Graham Dorrington, an aeronautical engineer and the focus of this documentary from iconoclastic director Werner Herzog. The movie explores the history of aviation and, in classic Herzog fashion, involves man attempting to somehow gain an advantage of nature as Dorrington plans to take his airship over the forests of Guyana.
The cockpit of the airship is not enclosed, and the stunning footage of the landscape always comes with a sense of personal danger; after all, cinematographer Dieter Plage died doing the same thing Dorrington and Herzog are doing, a tragedy which is discussed throughout the film. Beautiful, haunting, and meditative, the film uses the airship to explore deep themes of life and loss.