UKC

This film is due out later this year with Keira Knightley playing Rob Hall's wife. Apparently in 3D only.

Past movies about mountaineering have failed to look realistic - most of this film was shot in Austria, although some scenes were apparently shot at EBC.

Be interesting to see if this film looks realistic given the failure of film makers in the past to achieve this.

In reply to High Adventurer:

I won't see it purely because it's 3D only.
i can't be the only one that hates 3D films

In reply to High Adventurer:


I have almost no hope since seeing "Vertical Limit", honestly it was so cringeworthy* I could hardly watch. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised.

*And inaccurate and ridiculous

In reply to goose299:

Kiera Knightley in 3D - so many jokes, so little time !

Actually I think she tends to be quite discerning in choosing her parts - Atonement, Never Let me go, Pride and Prejudice, Imitation Game - rather than simply cashing in on her Pirates success (obviously a few turkeys along the way). And I seem to remember she's done a bit of climbing

But yes, this does scream Vertical limit.

Only seen one film in 3D - Gravity - and have to say I was impressed, but generally I feel that any film with a big FX budget usually has a dire script so I avoid them. And it involves going to MeadowHell, so that's another reason.

Watched the film about the K2 2008 disaster last night - very moving. Such stories don't need dramatising

In reply to abseil:

Vertical limit was brilliant. I haven't laughed as much before or since.

In reply to goose299:
When you are blind in one eye, 3D doesn't mean much

It does seem odd that they chose 3D but David Breashears is involved and I presume they are using shots from his 1996 3D venture.

The cast list seems to denote a focus on what happened at Base Camp when Rob Hall's wife phoned in. A very sad occurrence but by using Keira Knightly to play Rob Hall's wife this is presumably going to become the story rather than events across the mountain which were world news at the time.

In reply to Pbob:


I really like your post and attitude, I wish I could have laughed at it!

I totally agree with Abseil's post comment about Pbob's post.

I will reserve judgement on the film but I suspect I will be dissapointed - I can't recall any non documentary footage which has recreated the uniqueness of mountaineering.

Just read The Storms (Mike Trueman) which I presume from the cast list covers covers events in the Knightley film. It was a good read with new facts about Everest '96, and for me completed the ITA story.

In reply to High Adventurer:

Don't care how shit it will be, Keira Knightley's in it so I'm gonna watch it.

In reply to High Adventurer:

I'll reserve judgement on the film, I can't say I'm all that interested, it is a subject that has been done to death. For that reason and the Knightly involvement I suspect it is more about the relationship between Hall and Jan Arnold (always better to use someone's name rather than just refer to them as somebody's wife).

In reply to High Adventurer: Anything with Knightley in is going to be a disappointment. It would be better to have the role of Rob Hall's wife played by a wooden chair. Oh, it seems it already is.

In reply to High Adventurer:

Trailer out now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZQVpPiOji0&feature=youtu.be

In reply to goose299:

looks pretty good, I like Knightly, as said she picks her films and is a good actress. unfortunately in this world someone with a figure like hers is subject to much abuse and dismissed. You can be naturally overweight but to have a slim figure like hers means she's called anorexic amongst other things. out of order really.

Just looked at the trailer and from a mountaineers perspective I thought it was awful; many of those on this site who have climbed in Himalayas or indeed on Everest will find it cringing - but it's not made for this group and it may well be successful, and lead the non climbing world to think this was what actually happened/happens.

In reply to High Adventurer:

Will they?

I've worked at sea on trawlers and watched Perfect Storm and didn't find it cringeworthy? It was just a dramatised version of events.

In reply to High Adventurer:

I too think that 1996 on Everest has been done too much one way or another.
On the other hand the German film about the North Face of the Eiger was more acceptable than the ridiculous vertical limit.

I also happened to watch TV the other night(a fairly rare occurrence) and happened upon the 2008 K2 disaster documentary and was totally hooked(and I wanted to do other things that night),so well done to those film makers.

Well I think that we will all expect a poor representation of the climbing and the situation,but will most of us go and see it just out of curiosity.

In reply to goose299:



Should just have called it Vertical Limit 2. Looks pish.

In reply to veteye:


I won't. I've had enough of spending my money watching films I've already seen. Unoriginal hollywood crap.....

In reply to Father Noel Furlong:

so youve seen it.. the worst storm in 25 year.. you saw it...

In reply to Roadrunner5:


OK, but was "Perfect Storm" fairly factual / close to reality? I wouldn't know of course. "Vertical Limit wasn't close to reality.

Anyway, serious question, what was it like working at sea on trawlers?

In reply to goose299:

The dialogue is just awful....in the world that I inhabit, climbers simply do not talk like that. I will be giving it a miss.

In reply to Chris the Tall:

Sorry to hijack, but which K2 film? The Summit?

In reply to High Adventurer:

I'll probably watch it when it comes out on DVD. Won't be going to the cinema for it though

In reply to High Adventurer:

These filma are all high drama, and people falling off. Personally in climbing I prefer as little drama as possible and preferably no falling off.
Will not be watching, these things are always sensationalised.

In reply to tmawer:

Yeah, the cringe worthy dialogue is what jumped out at me. I've never been in a life horrible, life threatening situation like they were in 1996, but a lot of us know what it's like to be exhausted and still up a mountain in foul weather like that - it's scary and people just don't react with macho, heroic talk like that. A shame as they have a pretty talented cast for it, but it looks like they'll be let down by an awful script.

In reply to edordead:



Part of the Storyville series. Just checked and its on the iplayer for another 11 days

In reply to Byronius Maximus:

Watched the trailer, and for the first minute was thinking this might be too bad. Then it went badly down the vertical limit path

In reply to abseil:

Well noone knows.. the boat went off into a storm and was never seen again.

Noone really knows what happened on that final trip out.

Trawlers can be good fun, just very very dangerous with winches and cables (they snap and then whip back and kill) and rough weather. Its worth reading Trawler by OHanlon, pretty accurate depiction of life on a trawler.

In reply to Roadrunner5:


Thanks a lot for your reply, and for the book recommendation too.

In reply to Chris the Tall:

I'd echo that - some great aerial photography. But the rest looks awful. A definite candidate for some editing to lose (I'd estimate) 80% of it's length.

I agree Phil; some great shots, although given most of it was shot in Austria, not sure how accurate it will be, but after a further view of the trailer, it has cringing dialogue and a very unrealistic "bridge" crossing.

I wonder how they will demonstrate the commerciality of the expedition. I was interested to read in Mike Trueman's "The Storms" that Rob Hall's team had sent out marketing postcards between the time he reached the Summit, and the time he got to the South Summit where he sadly eventually died.

I probably won't watch the film - but curiosity to see how bad it will be, may win the day.

In reply to Roadrunner5:


It's a fantastic book as well as being a very honest, homo-erotic study (There's no other word for it) of heroism in the face of an ancient and implacable assailant.