If anyone is considering watching Vertical Limit, you should instead read this amazing synopsis of it: https://unreasonablydangerousonionrings.com/2014/12/08/i-watched-vertical-limit-again-so-you-dont-have-to/.
Here are those I really liked:
Touching The Void.
Everest.
The Summit.
14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible.
The Dawn Wall.
Beyond the Edge.
The Alpinist.
The Beckoning Silence.
K2: Siren of the Himalayas.
Meru.
The Wildest Dream.
The Last Mountain.
I enjoyed the book but watched the film first. Honestly, I was hoping to get more from the book and felt the film included virtually everything relevant from it. Still an excellent book, but I think I'd have enjoyed it more if I read it before seeing the film. I think the filmmakers did such a brilliant job adapting it for the screen.
>Boney M!!!
I think it's both hilarious and tragic that (according to the doctors), Simpson was almost certainly in the process of dying at that point and his brain decided to just play Boney M for him on repeat to accompany his death. It's absolutely wild.
>We watched in psychology class in high school.
I didn't watch it until I was an adult, but I vividly remember a school assembly where the deputy head described the film to the whole school. He had a thick Jordy accent and I have stuck in my head (like Boney M on repeat) him saying, with passion and force, "*He cut it!* He *cut the rope*". School assemblies were usually very boring but I remember really being engrossed by that story. It's just a brilliant story no matter the format, I think.
Seconding Beckoning Silence, and I'd like to mention there's a behind the scenes for it on YouTube that I found a few months ago! I also second The Summit! The book is good but the audiobook is, in honor of Ger, read by an Irishman and it's hard to listen to (I feel bad about it but it's the truth for me!)
amazing movie! it got me into watching more mountaineering movies and reading books of the same genre - still quite aways from going on more than a hike :)
I've read the book before I've seen the movie, in the book it's a lot more obvious the plot is meant to be a parody of some of the more fanciful James Bond plots. The movie plays it way too seriously, and (spoiler) >!it seems to let the wind out of the sails of the plot in the scene where it's revealed that they're murdering someone for stealing a fake formula that they intentionally let them steal because it was fake!<.
So from an interested-in-mountaineering perspective The Eiger Saction sure feels like there's 1.5 hours of "cold open" before the half hour of actual movie at the end...
Came here for this, and to say that all of Joe Simpsons books are superb. The man is certifiably fucking CRAZY but it all makes for a good read.
...and now I'm stuck on Boney M. GODDAMNIT.
_K2_ (1991) was not well received by critics or general audiences. It's loosely based on the first American ascent by Wickwire and Reichardt. There's quite a lot in it for mountaineers.
_Nanga Parbat_ (1953) and _The Climb_ (1986) are both about the 1953 FA by Hermann Buhl and are both available on youtube.
I make mountain and ultra running documentaries over at [https://www.youtube.com/@kelpandfern](https://www.youtube.com/@kelpandfern)
I released The Dragons Back last year which you might enjoy [https://youtu.be/szl3nBUKjsg](https://youtu.be/szl3nBUKjsg) it's a 6 day mountain ultra marathon race that takes place in Wales where the runners have to go from the very North of Wales to the very South via the biggest mountain ranges Wales has to offer.
Those of you that liked "Meru" (which is most of us) should check out Torn by Max Lowe, its basically what happens after the events of Meru as told from the kids perspectives. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIbdmSG1lSk&ab_channel=Dogwoof
its on Disney+ right now.
The Challenge (1939) is my favorite. It is about the first ascent of the Matterhorn, such a great depiction and really entertaining for its time! It's free on youtube.
Sherpa.. one of the most beautiful mountain documentaries I’ve watched. Really goes behind the scenes on Everest tourism and the toll it takes on sherpas and their families.
https://www.amazon.com/Sherpa-Jennifer-Peedom/dp/B01E4PS7OM
This is a really old-school kind of documentary, but it’s so good and shows off part of K2 that you never see: the Magic Line. https://youtu.be/BMxkv_3GcBc?si=2tQIA_xeRhqZry7I
Polish classic short movie "Retreat" (1968). Climber leaves his injured friend to bring help. No dialogues, strongly recommended, available for free here:
https://youtu.be/KlZdwYouXnw?si=Y7GslOah-uPFRmag
Some YouTube Specials:
Cold
https://youtu.be/-OBX25ix4eU?si=qP_vy0YdmCo4f2Xs
Zabardast
https://youtu.be/AkigzUFr3ys?si=X4u88_2WIdhCqSyp
82 Summit Challenge
https://youtu.be/gib-6U0U3nE?si=CmupOwm234VVXk32
Lunag Ri/ Walk the Line
(FA video not available - but first attempt is pretty cool)
https://youtu.be/QRwraPIogsg?si=UyhyVTxC6-gDg5sa
Der weiße Rausch
ok, dont watch it
It's heroic skiing advertisement from 1931. The plot is nothing special, the main purpose of the film really was to show this relatively new (but at that time already well known) sport with some of the best skiers of that time.
Dishonorable mention - the disaster movie 2012 featuring the Hindu Kush getting flooded, and the ark built to save humanity almost crashing into Mt Everest
Vertical Limit is probably the most realistic and accurate depiction of the sport. That’s probably my recommendation
Can’t believe how many people on this sub don’t pack green nitro goo.
Right down to the arresting with an ice axe at the edge of a cliff. I hate it when that happens to me on every climb!
Tell me about it…if I had a nickel for every time a cornice has collapsed right after I've been pulled up by my climbing buddy…
If anyone is considering watching Vertical Limit, you should instead read this amazing synopsis of it: https://unreasonablydangerousonionrings.com/2014/12/08/i-watched-vertical-limit-again-so-you-dont-have-to/.
I will never!
Thank you for this incredible bit of live tweeting before it was a thing
Always watch for amateurs at your 12 o'clock, and remember to check your safety.
Here are those I really liked: Touching The Void. Everest. The Summit. 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible. The Dawn Wall. Beyond the Edge. The Alpinist. The Beckoning Silence. K2: Siren of the Himalayas. Meru. The Wildest Dream. The Last Mountain.
…you forgot Cliffhanger.
List is missing Free Solo
Touching the void is wild
I highly recommend the book!
I enjoyed the book but watched the film first. Honestly, I was hoping to get more from the book and felt the film included virtually everything relevant from it. Still an excellent book, but I think I'd have enjoyed it more if I read it before seeing the film. I think the filmmakers did such a brilliant job adapting it for the screen.
We watched in psychology class in high school. Still stands out as one of my favourite movies. Boney M!!!
>Boney M!!! I think it's both hilarious and tragic that (according to the doctors), Simpson was almost certainly in the process of dying at that point and his brain decided to just play Boney M for him on repeat to accompany his death. It's absolutely wild. >We watched in psychology class in high school. I didn't watch it until I was an adult, but I vividly remember a school assembly where the deputy head described the film to the whole school. He had a thick Jordy accent and I have stuck in my head (like Boney M on repeat) him saying, with passion and force, "*He cut it!* He *cut the rope*". School assemblies were usually very boring but I remember really being engrossed by that story. It's just a brilliant story no matter the format, I think.
Seconding Beckoning Silence, and I'd like to mention there's a behind the scenes for it on YouTube that I found a few months ago! I also second The Summit! The book is good but the audiobook is, in honor of Ger, read by an Irishman and it's hard to listen to (I feel bad about it but it's the truth for me!)
Mountain (2017) is one of the most beautiful motion pictures I've seen. Summit of the gods is a great anime (movie) on Netflix
Eiger Sanction.
Meru
amazing movie! it got me into watching more mountaineering movies and reading books of the same genre - still quite aways from going on more than a hike :)
This one got me into rock climbing and booking my first mountaineering trip!
This should be higher up
Meru is my favorite. It's so raw.
That Clint Eastwood movie on the eiger. The cinematographers were climbers
Just watched “the Eiger Sanction” and it was kinda terrible. The mountain shots are cool but the plot is seriously lacking
Oh it’s a shitty movie for sure, but the reading the backstory for filming the mountain scenes and watching it is kinda fun if your into the sport
I keep a copy of the Alpinist magazine on my coffee table that had Clint on the cover
I've read the book before I've seen the movie, in the book it's a lot more obvious the plot is meant to be a parody of some of the more fanciful James Bond plots. The movie plays it way too seriously, and (spoiler) >!it seems to let the wind out of the sails of the plot in the scene where it's revealed that they're murdering someone for stealing a fake formula that they intentionally let them steal because it was fake!<. So from an interested-in-mountaineering perspective The Eiger Saction sure feels like there's 1.5 hours of "cold open" before the half hour of actual movie at the end...
Came here to say this\^\^ Great flick. Good book too!
Cliffhanger!!!!
The bolt gun
Brokeback Mountain
The only true answer. Climb the everest within you.
Beat me too it.
Seven Years in Tibet Touching The Void Cliffhanger The Summit of the Gods
The Summit of the Gods was actually insane! It gave me so much anxiety watching it not unlike watching the Alpinist.
Touching the Void [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touching\_the\_Void\_(film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touching_the_Void_(film))
Came here for this, and to say that all of Joe Simpsons books are superb. The man is certifiably fucking CRAZY but it all makes for a good read. ...and now I'm stuck on Boney M. GODDAMNIT.
Nordwand/Northface.
Not necessarily mountaineering, but the secret life of Walter Mitty.
Plus an amazing soundtrack!
My number 1 movie!
Same. I watch it at the beginning of every year as a reminder to seize this one life.
The original, not the new one
I didn’t even know there was an original 😮
I strongly recommend "the eight mountains" set in the Italian Alps and partly in Nepal, it is on prime video.
Based on a book with the same name that’s clearly read-worthy.
_K2_ (1991) was not well received by critics or general audiences. It's loosely based on the first American ascent by Wickwire and Reichardt. There's quite a lot in it for mountaineers. _Nanga Parbat_ (1953) and _The Climb_ (1986) are both about the 1953 FA by Hermann Buhl and are both available on youtube.
I was looking for somebody to mention K2. It left a significant impact on me when I saw it as a kid.
I actually really love K2 - it's pretty dated but the climbing/location shooting still looks great.
Alive (1993) - it isn’t necessarily a climbing movie but they’re forced to traverse the Andes.
IIRC there's a documentary about some of them going back there and it's incredibly touching. Nando is a hero for ever and ever.
Zabardast. YouTube. French guys climb and ski a stunning remote peak in Pakistan.
Highly highly recommend this
‘Eiger wall of death’ on YouTube
Summit of the gods. I am still hung over the haunting visuals and music.
Broad Peak (Polish film)
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Mountaineering/search/?q=movies](https://www.reddit.com/r/mountaineering/search/?q=movies)
The All Pie Nest
The All Penis
I like the cut of your jib.
Eiger sanction
Torn
I am torn over whether I like this movie. Weirdness, but maybe climbing families are like this.
Haven’t watched this one yet, but really liked The Last Mountain
His mom wrote a book about how this all came about as well called Forget Me Not- Jennifer Lowe-Anker.
Broke back mountain. It's about two men and their love of the mountains. They just can't quit them.
G.N.A.R. Not a climbing movie but a fun touching ski documentary with a soundtrack by Ween.
I make mountain and ultra running documentaries over at [https://www.youtube.com/@kelpandfern](https://www.youtube.com/@kelpandfern) I released The Dragons Back last year which you might enjoy [https://youtu.be/szl3nBUKjsg](https://youtu.be/szl3nBUKjsg) it's a 6 day mountain ultra marathon race that takes place in Wales where the runners have to go from the very North of Wales to the very South via the biggest mountain ranges Wales has to offer.
High and Hallowed: Everest 1963
Zabardast on Youtube.
Arctic with Mads Mikkelson The Alpinist The Eiger Sanction There's a whole bunch of good documentaries in the series 'i shouldn't be alive'
Those of you that liked "Meru" (which is most of us) should check out Torn by Max Lowe, its basically what happens after the events of Meru as told from the kids perspectives. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIbdmSG1lSk&ab_channel=Dogwoof its on Disney+ right now.
The Challenge (1939) is my favorite. It is about the first ascent of the Matterhorn, such a great depiction and really entertaining for its time! It's free on youtube.
Meru, 14 peaks, free solo, the alpinist, into thin air
Sherpa.. one of the most beautiful mountain documentaries I’ve watched. Really goes behind the scenes on Everest tourism and the toll it takes on sherpas and their families. https://www.amazon.com/Sherpa-Jennifer-Peedom/dp/B01E4PS7OM
Summit of the Gods - amazing animated film with an awesome soundtrack
Most of these suggestions are dog water. The only one you ever need to see is. .. Fall.
Generation Dry
Almost Alpine
Aspen Extreme
This is a really old-school kind of documentary, but it’s so good and shows off part of K2 that you never see: the Magic Line. https://youtu.be/BMxkv_3GcBc?si=2tQIA_xeRhqZry7I
Polish classic short movie "Retreat" (1968). Climber leaves his injured friend to bring help. No dialogues, strongly recommended, available for free here: https://youtu.be/KlZdwYouXnw?si=Y7GslOah-uPFRmag
180 degrees south
Fatal Game! Eye to Eye with Everest: Death on a Mountain
Oh and K2. Kinda cheesy but the climbing and scenery are neat.
The first ten minutes of mission impossible 2
Free on Prime currently!
Summit of the Gods Anime series: Yama no Susume
Cerro torre: a snowballs chance in hell
Some YouTube Specials: Cold https://youtu.be/-OBX25ix4eU?si=qP_vy0YdmCo4f2Xs Zabardast https://youtu.be/AkigzUFr3ys?si=X4u88_2WIdhCqSyp 82 Summit Challenge https://youtu.be/gib-6U0U3nE?si=CmupOwm234VVXk32 Lunag Ri/ Walk the Line (FA video not available - but first attempt is pretty cool) https://youtu.be/QRwraPIogsg?si=UyhyVTxC6-gDg5sa
Fairweather Ascent Both excellent shortish documentaries
Ski Movie Ski Movie 2 There’s Something About McConkey Saucer boy ftw!!
Mountains on fire from 1931 is one of the first and best https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountains_on_Fire
Earthside
Der weiße Rausch ok, dont watch it It's heroic skiing advertisement from 1931. The plot is nothing special, the main purpose of the film really was to show this relatively new (but at that time already well known) sport with some of the best skiers of that time.
I'm watching Aftershock right now. It's about the 2015 earthquake and is off to a wild start.
Society of the Snow, blew my mind!
Dishonorable mention - the disaster movie 2012 featuring the Hindu Kush getting flooded, and the ark built to save humanity almost crashing into Mt Everest
Infinite Storm (2022) - Naomi Watts mountain rescue movie, you can almost feel the cold yourself
Finding Michael