10 exciting films about mountains and climbers

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

It is better not to look at these pictures for those who are afraid of heights.

1. K2: Limiting height

• UK, Japan, USA, 1991.
• Adventure, drama.
• Duration: 102 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 2.

Two seasoned climbers Taylor and Harold meet billionaire Philip. Thoth organizes an expedition to the second highest mountain in the world, Chogori, also known as K2. On the way to its top, the heroes will face many trials.

Later, another film was shot about climbing Mount Chogori - "Vertical Limit", which was more spectacular and spectacular. But the dramatic component in the film by Frank Roddam in 1991 worked out much better.

2. Rock climber

• USA, Italy, France, Japan, 1993.
• Action, thriller, adventure.
• Duration: 113 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 4.

Gabe Walker, one of the best climbers, goes to help budding hikers stuck in the mountains. But the signal actually came from a dangerous gang and for a completely different cause.

Action star Sylvester Stallone personally participated in writing the script, and performed some of the tricks for the picture himself. But on the set, a lot of real climbers and stuntmen were still involved. So, understudy Simon Crane was paid a million dollars for a stage where he moved from one plane to another at an altitude of 4600 meters. This trick even entered the Guinness Book of Records as the most risky and costly in the history of cinema.

3. Seven years in Tibet

• USA, UK, 1997.
• Drama, adventure.
• Duration: 136 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

Austrian Heinrich Harrer as part of the German team goes to conquer the Himalayas, but fails. In addition, tourists are arrested by the British because of the war between Britain and Germany. The hero eventually escapes from the prisoner of war camp and after a few years of wandering becomes a friend of the young Dalai Lama.

Heinrich Harrer, played here by the young Brad Pitt, is a real person, and the film is based on his autobiography of the same name. True, the original picture does not follow in everything and some details are invented in it.

Some scenes, by the way, were actually filmed in Tibet, but secretly - after all, the foreigners did not have permission. Because of this, Brad Pitt, David Thewlis and director Jean-Jacques Annaud were even banned from entering China.

4. Into the wild

• USA, 2007.
• Drama, road-movie, biography.
• Duration: 148 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

After receiving his diploma, Christopher McCandless gives away all his money and leaves the family forever. He dreams of harsh Alaska, but before he finally goes there, he has to travel all over America.

Sean Penn's marvelous film tells the real story of Christopher McCandless. And it makes it very interesting. So, scenes of the hero's life in the mountains in Alaska alternate with flashbacks explaining what led to this.

Well, Eddie Vedder's vocals very much decorate the tape and are no less important for the storytelling than the visuals.

5.17 hours

• USA, UK, 2010.
• Drama, thriller.
• Duration: 93 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

An experienced climber once again goes to the mountains to test himself. But in one of the narrow canyons he was squeezed by a heavy stone, and none of the hero's relatives and friends knows where he went and where to look for him.

The true story of the canyon conqueror Aaron Ralston has become one of James Franco's finest acting work. At the same time, Danny Boyle's picture managed to please both critics and ordinary viewers.

By the way, Ralston himself actively helped the creators. It is amazing that after what happened (what exactly happened to him, you can just find out from the film), he did not abandon his favorite hobby and is still engaged in mountaineering.

6. Kidnapped

• UK, 2011.
• Thriller, horror.
• Duration: 99 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 2.

A group of amateur climbers goes to the Scottish mountains and finds a Serbian girl walled up in the ground. They decide to save her, but they will soon have to pay for their kindness.

The thriller by British director Julian Gilby is worth watching not only for the beautiful landscapes of the Highlands of Scotland, but also for the intense plot. The film begins very calmly and measuredly, but then the characters will try to survive with all their might.

7. The mystery of the Dyatlov pass

• Russia, USA, UK, 2013.
• Horror, thriller, mocumentari.
• Duration: 100 minutes.
• IMDb: 5, 7.

American student Holly King wants to find a rational explanation for the death in 1959 of Soviet tourists from the group of Igor Dyatlov. She gathers a team of five people and goes to the Urals to follow the same route.

Director Rennie Harlin borrowed many of the techniques from The Blair Witch and filmed the quintessential mock-documentary horror film. But the funny thing is that towards the end the picture goes as far as possible from reality and turns into a fantastic tape.

8. Everest

• UK, USA, Iceland, 2015.
• Thriller, drama, adventure, biography.
• Duration: 121 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

In the spring of 1996, professional guide Rob Hall recruited a group to climb Mount Everest. But they are unlucky with the weather, and a blizzard turns an already difficult climb into a terrible tragedy.

Balthazar's thriller Kormakura tells about the real unsuccessful conquest of the highest mountain in the world. Moreover, the main filming was carried out in real mountains - at the foot of Everest and in the Italian Alps. So the actors, including Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin and Sam Worthington, learned about the hardships of climbers firsthand.

9. Walk in the woods

• USA, 2015.
• Drama, comedy, adventure, biography.
• Duration: 104 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 4.

Writer Bill Bryson decides to hike along the Appalachian Trail at an advanced age. He is accompanied by his longtime friend Stephen Katz, a former drunkard and slob.

The adaptation of the book of the same name by Charles Martin immediately wants to be compared with the film by Jean-Marc Vallee "Wild", which also reveals the difficulties of traveling in the wilderness. Only "A Walk in the Woods" is a much less dramatic picture. And the adventures of two old men performed by Robert Redford and Nick Nolte are more likely to touch and laugh.

10. There are mountains between us

• USA, 2017.
• Drama, adventure.
• Duration: 112 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 4.

Surgeon Ben and journalist Alex urgently need to get to New York for various reasons, but all flights were canceled due to bad weather. Then the strangers decide on an adventure and rent a small charter plane. The heroes rise into the air and almost immediately fall somewhere in the snowy mountains. They miraculously survive and begin a long descent into the valley.

From the description of the film with Kate Winslet and Idris Elba, one might easily think that this is a survival thriller. But the film is actually very kind and more like a romantic comedy. Although he manages to tickle the nerves of the audience more than once.