The Mystery of D.B. Cooper

The Mystery of D.B. Cooper is a Documentary about one of the biggest aeroplane heists in history. It was November 1971 and a man known as DB Cooper hijacked a plane flying out of Portland, Oregon. How did he do it? A stranger boarded a plane and handed a note to a female flight attendant advising that a hijacking was about to occur. The flight attendant quickly learnt that the stranger was not mucking around as his briefcase contained explosives. After demanding a large ransom involving cash, DB Cooper was successful with the heist and parachuted out of the hijacked 727 at 10,000 feet over Washington State. No trace of him was ever found. A massive manhunt was conducted by many people including the military, FBI and even Boy Scouts. In the present day, the case is still the only unsolved act of air piracy in American history. Sure, there are many suspects and theories but not enough to ever bring the case to a full closure.

This documentary rehashes the main event, re-enacted by actors and narrated by the real people who were present during the heist, including flight attendants and even the pilots. The film also includes interviews from various people who feel they know who the real DB Cooper is. There are even interviews with people who have written books about the heist or those who have devoted their lives to looking for clues trying to close the case. Several facts and evidence are also shown and discussed throughout the film.

The pacing of this documentary for the most part was quite pleasing. I did notice the runtime and found it a slight struggle as the documentary attempted to wrap up and deliver a conclusion. Visuals are great and the quality of interviews were also very pleasing. As a true story, I will confess, I had no idea about this heist, so I found watching this documentary from the start to finish extremely fascinating and insightful.

Overall, those who enjoy documentaries about unsolved true stories will certainly find this pleasing. A story of a man who conducted a heist on a large plane and then parachutes out with no trace of him is certainly a story that fascinated me. It is unfortunate that the documentary can't reveal all the details and that the final conclusion will be left up to its viewers. Pacing for the most part is pleasing and the quality of this documentary, including the film's visuals and interviews, are also quite positive. Overall, this documentary comes highly recommended.

7.4/10 - Walkden Entertainment

Highly entertaining if you watch it as fun entertainment and not as a science show with die hard facts, because some of the people are obviously lying.

Recommend strongly , 8/10

I watch a lot of documentaries, and lately find that I am enjoying fewer and fewer of them. This one was an exception. It's in the style of some of the Errol Morris films, very fluid, not committing to a narrative, letting the story lead where the story leads. We're in the company of actual participants in the DB Cooper drama (flight attendants, co-pilots, passengers, FBI agents), plus an odd assortment of characters who claim to have known the real DB Cooper and the real story of what happened to DB and the money he parachuted out of the plane with on a rainy night somewhere over Oregon. It all adds up to a fascinating 90 minutes or so of immersive cinema that recalls a world far removed from the one we live in today. Highly recommended despite the fact that a few benighted reviewers just don't seem to get it.

This HBO doc may be the umpteenth look at the famous 1971 Hijacking case, but, Director John Dower takes an interesting enough to keep one watching. While the basics of the case are laid out (including interviews with the stewardess and a co-pilot on the flight), Dower is more interested in fleshing out how some of the suspects in the crime have effected their family and friends left behind. Others who have investigated the case on their own are also profiled. The Documentary focuses on four suspects (all deceased) from the many who have had the finger pointed at them over the decades. While their stories are all different, what unites them is that those who were close to them are all convinced that their husband/uncle/friend/acquaintance is THE D.B. Cooper (one even took a lie detector). None of the investigators seem convinced that there is one correct answer, including one who believes Cooper died because of the rough terrain he would have landed in. Dower isn't really interested in finding out who did it (or, even in debunking the claims of the interviewees), but more in the psychology of the various witnesses: What makes them keep the story alive? Why do they feel compelled to tell their story? Why do they insist that you believe their version of events? None of these questions is fully fleshed out, and that lack of answers will frustrate many viewers (others will be puzzled why the several other suspects aren't even cited). THE MYSTERY OF D.B. COOPER isn't the definitive Doc on the subject, but, it's a casually interesting look at how the story has remained in the consciousness for close to four decades.

How do you make such an interesting subject this boring?

The "who" is less interesting when it's something that can never be resolved. The better approach would have been focusing on what drives these people to obsess about the case, and hold onto the theories that they do; something like the documentary on The Shining fan theories (Room 237).

It's presented decently enough, and didn't offend or anger me... it was just dull, really.

There's a 30-minute YouTube video by Lemmino on DB Cooper that's an hour shorter than this and far more interesting.