Customer Rating:  
Summary: Definitely made for TV
Comment: This movie does follow the story in the book pretty well, but definitely has a cheap, made for TV disaster movie feel to it. The women in the story contribute nothing except for the occasional cheesy scream of terror. I wouldn't say it was horrible, but not that great either. Certainly not something I'd watch twice.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Compelling, moving - and very exciting!
Comment: I'm a non-mountaineer who has no desire ever to become one, but I found this film totally compelling and most moving. I defy anyone not to weep at the scene where Rob Hall speaks to his wife as he lies dying.
I have seen it three times now, and have read the book upon which it is based, and others. I appreciate that the film may be a partial view, based as it is on one man's account, and I agree that at times it can be confusing, but the story and action are so strong that they carry you through.
As most of the audience won't be expert mountaineers, and as anyone interested can find out as much as they like by reading the books, I think this film is an admirable success.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Decent adjunct to the book
Comment: Saw this after reading the book and also seeing the PBS doc Storm Over Everest. It's a semi-cheesy tv movie, but does have some strengths, including some decent climbing scenes. It's funny to watch McDonald play Krakauer, as he's always the villain in so many B-movies. He does a good job as the author here, but the biases of the book are repeated and there are some overly sharp portraits drawn, especially of Fischer, who comes off as more of a jerk than in the book. Too much happened up there to squueze into 90 minutes of drama, seems like; this feels too compressed.
Worth seeing if you've read the book, otherwise the PBS doc is far superior.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Save Your Money
Comment: This DVD is good as a coaster for your drink and not much else. The most charitable thing I can say about the acting in this is that I've seen cardboard more animated. Instead I'd suggest spending your time with the books Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster and The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest and Everest to give yourself a good perspective on what happened during the 1996 climbing season.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Avoid This Awful Movie and Read the Book Instead!
Comment: If you want to learn more about the 1996 events on Everest, there are many informative and entertaining books and documentaries on the subject.
This awful made-for-TV movie isn't one of them. I ordered it out of curiosity because I had read how bad it was, and it did not disappoint!
Very loosely based on Jon Krakauer's excellent book about his experiences as a member of Rob Hall's 1996 Everest expedition, this "movie" is poorly-acted, excruciatingly badly written, and has the most melodramatic musical score in the history of movie-making (the awful music swells alarmingly to announce each commercial break!)
It's also inaccurate, and is really an insult to the memories of some of the real-life participants in the tragedy.
It would be a shame if this TV garbage were your only introduction to, for example, Anatoly Boukreev (in the film the actors can't even pronounce his name right), who single-handedly kept the death toll during this awful night on Everest from being even worse than it was.
I had read that Jon Krakauer was always embarrassed about this movie, and I don't blame him. So save your money, your brain, and your sensibilities, and read or re-read "Into Thin Air", "The Climb", "Left for Dead", or any of the other books by the participants in the 1996 Everest tragedy.
This movie could not possibly be worse than it is!
|
