Lady Di

I watched this only because of the recent death of the queen of England. I was very young when princess Diana cam into the spotlight and all I could remember of her and an adolescent and young adult was her philanthropy and kindness. To me that says it all. I don't believe in the monarchy one bit. I do believe in respecting individuals that leave a positive mark in the world and that is what the princess did. There is no dispute in that. This documentary left me with like the title of my review says my jaw dropped in many instances. Many times I thought to myself of how "cringy" to use a modern term the kids use these days so many things that were done , said and thought of this person for no other reason than for being. Of course no one is perfect and princess Diana certainly was not but she definitely did not deserve a lot of the negative things that were done to her by that family. This documentary showed a lot of that in such a different and interesting way. Very well done in my opinion.

This masterfully crafted documentary takes the viewer along the entire arc of the Charles-and-Diana saga. It is edited entirely from contemporaneous archival footage, some well known, some perhaps never seen since. Because the only voices are those of the principals or of the commentators of the era, there is no supercilious voice-over, which often amounts to little more than self-important distraction. You don't need to know all the details to follow along. The result conveys an immediacy that belies the decades since the events. One of the cringiest moments is the excerpt from the BBC interview with now discredited newscaster Martin Bashir, now that we know the lies and forgeries he used fraudulently to secure that interview. Additionally, in my opinion, Charles comes across very poorly: in his own words, he reveals himself as cold, callous, insecure, and none too bright. Finally, the ruthlessness of paparazzi is well in evidence. That said, there is no overly emotional angle in favor of, or against, Diana or any other subject, leaving viewers to make up their own minds. A brilliant documentary.

Solid documentary that doesn't shy away from all of the opinions about Diana and the monarchy. No narrator or interviews, instead just a collection of interesting news clips and found footage that helps portray her life. Well edited, engaging, and interesting. I was 13 when she died, and this film helped me to understand why everyone was so devastated by the loss. Good companion piece to 'the crown' and 'the queen'.

I've watched every documentary out there about Princess Diana. This is the most unbiased, objective and straightforward one to date. It provides a thorough and concise background as well as context into the individuals and relationships. For later generations that never saw Diana while she was alive, this provides a good foundation. What sets this documentary apart from most are the never before seen videos and footage.

Premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival in the Premieres Selection.

This documentary is about Princess Diana's story that is told exclusively through contemporaneous archive creating a bold and immersive narrative of her life and death. It also illuminates how the public's attitude to the monarchy was, and still is. This documentary is truly an emotional experience that goes in-depth about the life of Princess Diana's career and it does a great job on handling it's source material without being biased.

Director Ed Perkins managed to make a documentary that feels engaging, emotional, thought-provoking and well documented that you get a sense of reality and story about Princess Diana and everything that has been surrounding her. The soundtrack fits perfectly to the scenes being filmed, good editing, great sound design and the archive footage is well used and looks beautiful to look at. Restoration footages are always a treat to see as it helps to give you a good out look of what the past looked like. It's truly an experience to watch.

Diana has already been a big subject for years and knowing about her life and having down research about her problems and situations did make me feel emotional about it. Perkins did a fantastic job on documenting the film and I regret not seeing it when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival right away.

A great mix of drama, realism and sometimes true horror.

Rating: A-