18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Slightly better than average in the Everest video market, October 17, 2000
Of the dozen or so tapes available made about climbing Mt. Everest, this one ranks slightly above average. The footage, and explanations of the route especially high on the mountain, is high quality. The two main characters, especially Jamie Clarke, carry much of the film with some personality and reflections on their attempts on the peak. But the dramatic content here, fueled by this being the climbers third attempt, and an around the world contact with a school back in Canada via the Internet, are not enough of a driving narrative to compel the viewer to stare with anticipation at each moment of the story. And the shots of the Khumbu Icefall, story of the Monasteries and Sherpas (though well respected here) are told better in other videos. If you have not seen many Everest videos and this one sounds interesting to you, it's well worth a look. If you're like me and have seen several others, this would be one to skip.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Stuff - Good Everest film, October 3, 2001
This review is from: Above All Else - The Everest Dream (DVD)
Jamie Clarke and Alan Hobson are two canadians who organized an Everest Expedition in 1997 totally funded by Sponsor's( Lotus, Colliers, etc), that would attempt to summit the mountain by the south face just one year after the worst season in Everest history (1996 - 15 deaths).They attempted the summit two times before, both times by the north face, both times without any sucess on the summit.
The film has some great scenes about the "entire" climbing, from Base Camp to Camp 4 , being the most notorious the ones in ; the Khumbu Icefalls, the Lotse Face(Camp3), the South Col(camp 4), the Hillary Steps, the South Ridge and of course the summit.
Both guys actually make comments about the summit day and also of other difficult moments(Alan at the Icefalls). Jamie did pretty well on the summit day(proving to be a strong climber), but Alan had some serious trouble on the way back after almost giving up on the way up because of problems with oxygen and cold(very resilient).This is a good film about climbing everest with a great message in it.
Note: the climber that appears hanging dead on the Hillary Steps is a british climber named Bruce Herrod. Before commiting his body to the mountain, a camera was found and the film in it was still intact.The camera was delivered to his former girlfriend, and the film in it revealed later that he actually summited but unfortunately died on the way back at the Hillary Steps. The picture of Bruce Herrod on the summit can be found in the last chapter of David Breashears book (High Exposure).He was the last person to summit in the 1996 season.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Realistic and Moving, January 29, 2004
This review is from: Above All Else - The Everest Dream (DVD)
I have seen 5 of the 7 Everest DVD's I own and this one was the most 'human' in terms of feeling real and emotionally moving. So many of the others are more like generic documentaries on Everest and its climbing legends. This DVD was just what I wanted. No fancy camera shots or special effects, just plain and simple the realites of a challenge and how it affected those on the expedition. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who just want to see it from a more simplistic and real angle. I would also like to see the unedited version.
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