Vertical Limit (2000)

Director:

Martin Campbell

Writers (WGA):

Robert King (story)
Robert King (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 December 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

This December. Fear will Fall. Courage will Rise.

Plot:

A climber must rescue his sister on top of K2, one of the world's biggest mountains.

Plot Keywords:

Outpost | Epic | Military Installation | Avalanche | Helicopter

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Chris O'Donnell	...	Peter Garrett
Robin Tunney	...	Annie Garrett
Stuart Wilson	...	Royce Garrett
Augie Davis	...	Aziz
Temuera Morrison	...	Major Rasul
Roshan Seth	...	Colonel Amir Salim
Alejandro Valdes-Rochin	...	Sergeant Asim
Nicholas Lea	...	Tom McLaren
Rod Brown	...	Ali Hasan
Scott Glenn	...	Montgomery Wick
Steve Le Marquand	...	Cyril Bench (as Steve le Marquand)
Ben Mendelsohn	...	Malcolm Bench
Izabella Scorupco	...	Monique Aubertine
Bill Paxton	...	Elliot Vaughn
Ed Viesturs	...	Himself

Also Known As:

Vertical Limit (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense life/death situations and brief strong language.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Urdu

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Brazil:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Denmark:15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:14 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

K2, Karakoram Mountain Range, Pakistan

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The Bench brothers were based on the Burgess twins, Alan & Adrian, who are two climbers from Yorkshire, England, UK.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The range of the two-way radios the climbers were using was greatly exaggerated by the film. The small UHF stub antennas on the radios would not have a very great range, certainly not enough to be heard from within a cave to a base camp (presumably) several kilometers away, and particularly not without line of sight.

Quotes:

Tom McLaren: Are you going to kill me now?
Elliot Vaugh: Yes.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: Surviving 'Vertical Limit' (#7.22)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Take It To The Limit

Mindless Fun

Only Paxton and Glenn give strong characterizations in this movie, but the action sequences are a lot of fun to watch unfold. This movie is best viewed when you're not in the mood to think too much. The script could have used another draft and could have easily fallen apart if not for the capable hands of director Campbell. The sense of awe K2 should bring to the viewer is curiously missing. Still, this is a decent action film that is worth a look.