There can’t be other pleasures than watching the movies – masterpieces – ever made on the subject, Climbing. Since the advent of commercial climbing and digital tech, many unexpected climbs have been captured or filmed for the fun of watching.
Well, here are 5 of such movies which have made a mark with their amazing story and cinematography. You must add these movies in your bucket-list.
#1 Touching the Void (2003)
Touching the Void recalls the story of 2 climbers who faced an ill fate during the climb of the Six-thousander Siula Grande in Peruvian Andes in 1985.
Joe Simpson and Simon Yates venture out to ascent the Siula Grande. Their ascent goes well, however, while descending they a face sudden storm which encapsulates the entire summit. The succeeding plots cover more on Joe’s ordeal. He survives the fall, manages to come out alive through a crevasse and crawls all his way to the base camp for day.
★★★★★
Directed by Kevin MacDonald
#2 North Face (2008)
North Face is a movie based on the events of 1936, when two competing teams climbed the Eiger via North Face. The German climbers included Toni Kurz and Andi Hinterstoisser from Berchtesgaden.
The drama unfolds once the two German soldiers leave the Army to attempt the Eiger (falsely claiming one of them is getting married and the other is to be Best Man). The competing team of Austrians that eventually teams up with the German team are portrayed as hoping for a Nazi-led incorporation of Austria into Germany.
★★★★★
Directed by Philipp Stölzl
#3 Valley Uprising
Valley Uprising depicts the counterculture lifestyle of rock climbers living inside Yosemite valley. Their lifestyle was popular for dumpster-diving and wild parties that clashed with the conservative values of the National Park Service.
The movie presents the adamant rock climbers pushing their limit to climb Yosemite’s cliffs.
“Valley Uprising” is the riveting, unforgettable tale of this bold rock climbing tradition in Yosemite National Park: half a century of struggle against the laws of gravity — and the laws of the land.
★★★★★
Directed by Peter Mortimer
#4 Meru (2015)
Meru is a documentary film chronicling the first successful ascent of the “Shark’s Fin” route on Meru Peak. After attempting but failing to summit Meru in 2008, famed climber Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and filmmaker/photographer Renan Ozturk returned to ascent the mountain. A 2,000 meters wall known as the “Shark’s Fin” is toughest part of the climb.
The movie presents both the attempts made by the team. The 2008 expedition which failed and the 2011 expedition which went successfully.
★★★★★
Directed by Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
#5 The Wildest Dream (2010)
The Wildest Dream is a docudrama based on the 1924 British expedition of the Mount Everest, when the climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine disappeared in the mountain.
The movie presents two different stories; one about climber Conrad Anker returning to the Everest to investigate Mallory’s disappearance and the other a biography of Mallory told through letters and archival footage from 1924. It is one of the most appreciated movies among the moviegoers.
Entertainment in August 2010 as The Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest. The film was released in the UK by Serengeti Entertainment in September 2010 as The Wildest Dream.
★★★★★
Directed by Anthony Geffen
About Outdoors 