Customer Reviews

Conquest of the Everest

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Well, we finally watched this video last week and is was truly a joy. We had no idea there was so much footage of this climb. Not all the way to the summit, but as far as the South Col camp the fantastic images were shot.

Ofcourse it is outdated, but that's exactly the charm of it:

All those tough men wearing few clothes, placing the first route through the Khumbu Icefall and the Lhotse face. With typical 'these heroical men' commentary.
They had no clue what to expect being at altitude so long and just went for it with a cheerful attitude.

No Goretex, no Imax, no fixed ropes up the Hillary step... but persistence and character.

Amazing images of a milestone in mountaineering history. You have to like the old images and the narrative style but it is imressive as well as humorous. The editing is also well done, at no moment is the movie boring in any way, something that current filmers can learn from.

Currently movie of the month [for us] as we recommend this one. Happy viewing!
7summits ...

Not to be confused with the awful TV movie Into Thin Air, based on the bestselling Jon Krakauer novel. This is the actual film of Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary's historic first ascent of Mt. Everest. While not as dramatic as other films on the subject (if only because the outcome is known), it is none the less very well made, and an important historical document in filmmaking. Some viewers today may feel the film is dated, and even trite in spots. But the narrative moves very well, and its superb historical content make up for that.

I haven't seen this film since the 1950's, Million Dollar Movie, Channel 9 in NY. Great to see it again. Great to see people climb more of the mountain than today. I highly reccomend it to anyone who loves/likes climbing and/or camping.

Another reviewer claims "the background music greatly adds to the entire production". Ha ha--the background music is terrible and melodramatic. It distracts from the video.

The video quality is terrible and all the sound is after-the-fact voice-over or sound effects (sometimes to a silly degree--there's avalanches every few seconds for long periods of time).

Despite this, for hard-core Everest buffs like myself, I highly recommend getting this video. It's interesting looking at the gear of the day and witnessing a historic event through contemporary video.

One of the antecedents of Reality Television. Shot by the BBC as they accompanied the British climbing expedition into Nepal and up the mountain. The music sucks by today's standards, as does most of the narration, but it's what worked in the period. But the photography and the ordeal: amazing.

Highly recommended and an asset to any collection. Being able to accomplish this most arduous climb with the sparse equipment that was in use those days is remarkable. Reproduction of past films and photos are excellent. Often overlooked, the background music greatly adds to the entire production.

Amazon used my primary card # and not the one I selected for four DVDs. Also I never recieved the one here.