Diana: The Witnesses in the Tunnel

This documentary is essential to understanding what happened that night including the context of the phenomenal media coverage that always accompanied the Princess of Wales in her latter years. The script is very well-written and the chaos of those hours is actually teased apart in the short - under an hour - film.

The viewer is not really told what to think. This is the point of view of the photographers.

I admired the exacting and comprehensive research. Photographers and their editors relate the changing perspective from the taking of pictures of a crash to the growing realization of the widening catastrophic implications.

No judgments are given, the only conclusion is the finding of the French courts. But I found this documentary fascinating, and satisfying in the sense

that, after all, when what the photographers relayed is said and assembled, that they were not wholly nor directly responsible for her death. I believe she was mortally wounded by the high-speed impact. It was only a matter of time longer or swifter depending on getting her out. Other viewers may find some other emphasis. The scene was one of complete disorientation. The crash took place in a tunnel and getting help in and out was hampered by the time of night, so many people around, and the compressed/compacted vehicle.

It is told very movingly - with very deep emotions simply and eloquently stated.

Diana: The Witnesses in the Tunnel (2007)

*** (out of 4)

Pretty good British documentary takes a look at the final hours of Princess Diana's life starting a few minutes before her fatal car crash. This is a rather interesting documentary as it was clearly made to clear the photographers of any wrong doings. The documentary talks about how these guys were blamed but all the eye witnesses in the tunnel claim that they weren't even around the car at the time of the crash. The fact that the driver was drunk at the time of the wreck is also talked about but most of the film centers on the photographers and how they were treated after the wreck, which included them spending two days in jail. The documentary really isn't anything groundbreaking and it's certainly not going to be mistaken for the work of Herzog but it manages to be entertaining throughout its 47-minute running time. At the start of the documentary it states that we're going to see actual photographs from the wreck site but we only see one picture.