Everest (1998)

An international team of climbers ascends Mt. Everest in the spring of 1996. The film depicts their lengthy preparations for the climb, their trek to the summit, and their successful return... See full summary »

Directors:

David Breashears, Stephen Judson

Writers:

Tim Cahill, Stephen Judson

Stars:

Liam Neeson, Lhakpa Dorji, Dorje Sherpa

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Liam Neeson	...	Self - Narrator (voice)
Lhakpa Dorji	...	Summit Team, sherpa
Dorje Sherpa	...	Summit Team, sherpa
Ed Viesturs	...	Summit Team Leader, USA
Muktu Lhakpa Sherpa	...	Summit Team, sherpa
Thilen Sherpa	...	Summit Team, sherpa
Jangbu Sherpa	...	Summit Team, sherpa
Araceli Segarra	...	Summit Team, Spain
Wong Chu Sherpa	...	Summit Team, sherpa
Robert Schauer	...	Summit Team, Austria
Jamling Tenzing Norgay	...	Summit Team, Nepal
David Breashears	...	Summit Team, USA
Chyangba Tamang	...	Base Camp Head Cook
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tracy Pfau	...	Mountain Climber

Storyline

An international team of climbers ascends Mt. Everest in the spring of 1996. The film depicts their lengthy preparations for the climb, their trek to the summit, and their successful return to Base Camp. It also shows many of the challenges the group faced, including avalanches, lack of oxygen, treacherous ice walls, and a deadly blizzard.

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Plot Keywords:

mountain climbing | mount everest | mountaineering | himalayas | climbing | 

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Taglines:

Towering above everything you have seen before.

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Genres:

Documentary | Short

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Grossed $87,178,599 during its theatrical run in the U.S., a record for a film shown in IMAX format.

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Quotes

Narrator: Just above the high camp, a climber named Beck Weathers had been out in the snow for over 22 hours. He had been left for dead by other climbers. Then, nearly blind, his hands literally frozen solid, Beck stood up, left his pack... and desperately tried to walk.
Beck Weathers: All I knew was, that as long as my legs would run, and I could stand up... I was gonna move toward that camp. And if I fell down, I was gonna get up. And if I fell down again, I was gonna keep moving, until I hit that camp... or I walked ...

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Connections

Referenced in Greek: Home Coming and Going (2011)

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Soundtracks

This is Love
Written by George Harrison and Jeff Lynne

User Reviews

A mixed bag

Some of the camera work in this IMAX feature is absolutely stunning. And the mere fact that the crew was able to lug a bulky, heavy IMAX camera and film to the summit of Everest is a testament to sheer guts and determination. Unfortunately, the end result is somewhat of a mixed bag. There are moments of great emotional intensity (most notably, the miraculous Beck Weathers rescue), but, like a few others here, I got the feeling that much of the potential of the IMAX format simply went to waste. IMAX is, after all, an overwhelmingly visual medium, so why waste so much time on trying to create a Hollywood style `story' out of it? I mean, if I had gone to all the effort of getting that camera to the top, I'd have damned well given the audience some spectacular panoramic shots of the view from the summit instead of wasting valuable footage on two climbers hugging each other (a scene that would have worked just fine if shot on plain old videotape). In summation, this film has some truly amazing moments, but as a whole, it seems the creators failed to use the IMAX format to the maximum potential.

PS: The DVD version contains lots of good supplementary material, in fact, the `making of the film'

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 March 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Everest

Filming Locations:

Colorado, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$364,244, 8 March 1998

Gross USA:

$87,178,599

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$127,990,128

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arcturus Motion Pictures, Everest Film, MacGillivray Freeman Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

44 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.44 : 1