Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)

Cast

Werner Herzog
as Himself / Narrator
Volker Schlöndorff
as Narrator

Get more information about Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010) on IMDb

Genres & Description

Action Documentary History

7.4 / 10

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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Comments on this trailer
Comments may include spoiler!

MrArbeter

I WOULDEN DARE to visit a cave like that after seing the Decent - @Tuesday, December 18, 2018 1:10 AM

DiDi

I loved this film except when they got to the part about the Neanderthals. There was nothing but Neanderthals living in Europe and suddenly some Africans came to France and made cave paintings. I don't think so. I believe it was Neanderthals that created the art. They're the oldest known humans and were a lot smarter than they make us believe. Neanderthals are the ancestors of the white race and those paintings came from people who lived in the North. A couple of other things in the film had me wondering why they left some stuff out. Like when that guy went into the filing area and didn't let us see what was in the boxes. And the remaining cave paintings they won't let us see. I don't believe for one minute they haven't seen them. - @Tuesday, July 25, 2017 4:37 AM

SIOrlove1

I watched this in an Art History class :) - @Tuesday, May 23, 2017 12:44 PM

Nerin Pave

Fantástico! - @Tuesday, February 28, 2017 4:24 PM

Robert Whitlock

Brilliant as his documentaries are, his 'narrator's voice' is indeed 'mesmerizing.' Flattens my brain waves, and lulls me to sleep. I had to watch this doc 3 times to finally absorb and appreciate it all, continuously, beginning to end. lol... My highest "MUST-SEE," ..5 STAR recommendation! - @Friday, November 11, 2016 10:59 PM

Carolyn Childs

I am glad a good friend and teacher shared this with his students. - @Tuesday, August 23, 2016 3:46 PM

IrishBard

Increible but how come its not on Youtube yet? - @Sunday, September 14, 2014 12:50 PM

wowbobwow37

Warner Herzog: The Godfather of the Documentary. - @Friday, May 2, 2014 3:35 AM

Larry Sullivan

The earliest glimpse of who we are as a race. Vive la France! - @Thursday, January 2, 2014 7:21 AM

vivaprez

Excellente!! - @Tuesday, April 23, 2013 6:13 AM

Daryl Breese

you have to see the latest art translations of these visions and dreams o youtube, "Cave of Forgotten Dreams Art Translations" - @Friday, March 1, 2013 9:32 PM

juberra

or get a carbon sample and send it to the Beta Laboratory. Still not the exact date but a very approximate one, of the timber burned to make the paintings. - @Wednesday, February 27, 2013 4:43 PM

Xaivier2000

No one knows the true exact age of those paintings. A guess is not good enough. They are "OLD" yes but how old no one will ever know unless you build a time machine and "Go Back" to see with your own eyes. - @Sunday, February 24, 2013 3:13 AM

Bill The Butcher

LOL. Kill yourself. You don't deserve life. If you can't appreciate the power and significance of this documentary you are psychotic. People like you are the epitome of delusion. You're an absolutely pointless induvidial who will amount to nothing. A complete waste of oxygen. - @Friday, January 25, 2013 4:44 PM

MatthiasAletharch

This movie was the only time (so far) I've been in an ordinary cinema screening and the entire audience applauded at the end of the film. There's something about these 30,000 year old paintings that really gets under your skin. - @Wednesday, December 26, 2012 10:17 PM

President Platov

12 - @Sunday, December 23, 2012 5:33 AM

BFFFL16

watching this in my humanities class at my University. Thanks - @Friday, August 31, 2012 1:50 AM

BFFFL16

LOL exactly - @Friday, August 31, 2012 1:50 AM

Gen D

Cave Paintings = Prehistoric Facebook. - @Tuesday, August 14, 2012 9:04 PM

willy1986tralara

reinventing the cinematic medium??? ohhh cmooon go to fuck yourself - @Wednesday, June 27, 2012 12:11 PM

PirateDion

The young earth creationists come from those who track the time it took to get from Adam and Eve (first humans) to Jesus, and from Jesus to us to determine the world is roughly 6-10k years old. This assumes that god's "days" were actually days and not the rationalization of "a day for god could be millions of years" they like to throw out there. In short... a literal take on the bible would suggest the world is incredibly young in comparison to what it actually is. - @Friday, June 15, 2012 9:04 PM

Black Lake

In no religious books does it ever say humans have only roamed the Earth for 10,000 years. The people who believe that crap are just the brainwashed American lunatics, everywhere else even religious people think we have been on this Earth for a damn long time. - @Saturday, June 9, 2012 4:44 PM

Mike Fed

Werner Herzog is probably the best Documentary Film-maker of all time. - @Monday, April 16, 2012 3:07 AM

ghostexorcist

Because the continued presence of a film crew would endanger the paintings. There is a younger set of cave paintings in France that are facing destruction because long term tourism has changed the natural environment, leading to a type of fungus to grow on the walls. Steps have been taken to balance the atmosphere (thus halting the fungus) and limit the number of people who can visit. - @Sunday, March 25, 2012 11:41 PM

Happy Chappy

I don't get this... How come this might be the last time to be able to record in an ancient cave? - @Wednesday, March 14, 2012 9:32 AM

6969SpAcE6969

Seriously, is it that good? It sounds a bit over the top? ... it's already put me off. - @Sunday, February 19, 2012 4:24 PM

FailBros123

1:57 lol creepy dude! - @Tuesday, February 14, 2012 11:24 PM

Kristi C.

Great film! - @Thursday, February 9, 2012 3:59 PM

The Daily Grenade

@AeacusCanti Good reply. - @Wednesday, January 25, 2012 12:49 PM

AeacusCanti

@DrunkenPoetic I don't think he's saying that this cave in particular is THE origin of human culture. It's more that this cave is the earliest know use of figures, symbols. So, it represents the birth of art, it is not the birth of art itself as some singular event. But it speaks of a first times when man wished to express something greater than himself. Personally, I found this film incredibly powerful. - @Wednesday, January 25, 2012 3:39 AM

SlapKhan

is this for real... what a bunch of ultra-sensative nose miners. - @Monday, January 23, 2012 5:27 AM

reytopa

@fedemma91 The property is theft! - @Wednesday, January 18, 2012 10:56 PM

The Daily Grenade

He tries to suggest these caves could be the birth of human culture. What a fucking stupid thing to say. They're probably just random caves, like hundreds or thousands of others that didn't happen to be preserved. - @Sunday, January 15, 2012 9:12 PM

Hibryd7

This is an amazing documentary. The last 15 minutes of the film just mesmerized me...the postscript in particular, there's a sort of transcendence to it, a sense of finity and infinity. You get a feeling of looking at the mountain. - @Tuesday, December 27, 2011 5:51 PM

Ó Braonáin

Breuil, Leroi-Gourhan, Laming-Emperaire etc would be turning in their graves! - @Wednesday, December 21, 2011 8:01 AM

MelioraCogito

@mysterysurf The “dislikes” are those who walk among us suffering from cognitive dissonance by denying the quantifiable & tangible evidentiary reality that modern homo sapiens have roamed the earth for more than 75’000 years [as the fossil record points to] in favor of a non-evidentiary faith based superstitious myth that we’ve only roamed the earth for about 10’000 years [+/-]. - @Wednesday, December 21, 2011 4:48 AM

Mike W

@Drakovox Not funny - @Tuesday, December 20, 2011 10:28 PM

50poe

thumbs up if Dr Reston brought you here - @Monday, November 28, 2011 6:47 PM

Claus Hein

Full length video at FullDocumentary dot [com] - @Thursday, November 17, 2011 12:13 AM

Drakovox

Silence please.... I always wanted to fart in a cave.... - @Wednesday, November 16, 2011 1:12 AM

David Muhar

Silence PLEASE!!! I am Pretentious, you cant out deep me! - @Tuesday, October 25, 2011 6:54 AM

Newt Gingrich

sounds pretty gay - @Friday, October 21, 2011 2:28 AM

Rafael White

@rastan1977 terminator - @Tuesday, October 18, 2011 9:14 PM

AvalonFaerie

Gives me shivers! - @Tuesday, October 18, 2011 6:49 AM

mysterysurf

2 "dislikes"??? What the hell? Somebody help me out here. - @Saturday, October 15, 2011 7:42 PM

B2Archie

The "Caves of Forgotten Dreams" are said to be 32,000 years old. Note that there are Australian Aboriginal rock paintings of a similar age, perhaps older. Search for "Australian aboriginal rock art". - @Wednesday, September 21, 2011 3:39 PM

Nathaniel Bannister

when is the soundtrack/DVD coming out? - @Saturday, September 10, 2011 11:41 PM

tomwreck

massif bonairs - @Monday, July 11, 2011 7:09 PM

rastan1977

This or terminator? - @Sunday, June 19, 2011 9:03 PM

FloDive

La Grotte Chauvet in Ardèche, the oldest decorated cave of the world (- 35,000 old years), is not yet part of the UNESCO world heritage list. Really umbelievable!!!! - @Wednesday, May 11, 2011 9:36 AM