North Face [DVD] [2008]

Modern German fillmaking has already proven its value with movies like Downfall or The Lives fo Others or Sophie Scholl. These are somewhat recurrent themes, but they embrace a reasonable approach and analytical view of the characters involved in the plot. In this regard, North Face is not an exception. The film runs for a whole couple of hours, giving that feeling to you, in this case opposite views on the same political stand. The only one thing that I would not prefer to see is the wavering camera technique used throughout the film. It is not fully disturbing but at least to me it is somewhat annoying. Fortunately it does not disrupt the suspenseful third act, so in the end no further harm is done to the audience. This is, in my opinion, a highly recommended piece of film, especially to those who appreciate non-commercial, alternative productions to current Hollywoodian stereotypes. A note to foreign buyers: I imported the Blu-Ray edition because the disc is codefree. However, all the extras are encoded in PAL, and will not be viewed in a non-PAL player. If one does not mind not having access to extras, the rest is fine.

I have read this story and seen Joe Simpsons documentary about this tragedy but watching it played out by quality actors really brought the story to life for me. You get a real essence of the true bravery of these early pioneers of mountaineering. Compared to the equipment and clothing that today's climbers use you wonder how anyone ever ascended anything. This is a real must watch, not only for fans of mountaineering but for those who are in wonder at how far the human spirit will endeavour to stay alive. The photography in this film are again something else. The only thing which did annoy me were the White subtitles which were at times hard to see. But don't let that put you off..... Watch it

As far as historical recreations go, this is fairly good, given that no one will ever know exactly what was said and what went wrong at several crucial points during the real climb, back in 1936. That said, I agree with several earlier reviews, in that the producers took a few too many liberties in tweaking the history for dramatic effect, and the adding of a fictional character for a rather bland love-interest plot served no purpose but to annoy history purists. The fact that four men braved the north face of the infamous Eiger, encountered difficulties, overcame challenges, kept on, then tried to save themselves and perished in different ways, each tragic, seems more than enough material to me without making it seem that the men were not united in their goal from the off, that someone was specifically to blame for each accident, that one man sacrificed himself, or that a woman could sit all night on the face through a bitter storm was quite ridiculous. The way each man struggled and died, up to Kurz's actual last words, should be respected, within the lore of the Eiger's history. I also highly recommend that anyone who likes this film watches The Beckoning Silence [DVD ], which puts right some of the unfortunate rewrites this film has, as it is a fantastic documentary by climber Joe Simpson, from Touching The Void [DVD ]. As a documentary, it recreates the climb on the Eiger face itself, and is not intended to be a drama, but an accurate recreation. "North Face" makes the mistake of rewriting history with the false belief that people find raw history boring, or that without a love plot there is no reason for people to strive to live (Hollywood is plagued with this.. it seems to be contagious). Toni Kurz, the last to die during that climb, did not die for Nazi Germany (a swastika on the UK cover is over doing it), did not stay awake all night for an ex-girlfriend, or try to cling on to life for any reason other than he believed he could survive against the odds. The fact that he was so close yet so helpless makes it all the more painful. If you can see past the few fictional elements of this film, it remains very enjoyable, the CGI is so very good (check out the short Visual Effects extra feature), the disastrous outcome remains as poignant now as in 1936. RIP to those brave fellows, and others like them, whose efforts were an example to humanity, striving to conquer the unknown through a great sense of youth and adventure.

I can only echo what others have said about the films brilliance. Normally I don't really go for foreign films with subtitles but I saw a documentary (available on YouTube) about the climbers and when the film was mentioned felt I had to watch it. The true story is even more dramatic than the film and if they had put it into a film I don't think you'd believe it. I really loved the cinematography, the bright orange of the hotel and light blue of the mountain face. I liked the character of Luise and felt it needed it. Not to everyone's taste, granted but I felt it was a good move. The film doesn't make it into a love story it is mainly about the race to the top with a simmering romance underneath. Really enjoyed it and wish I had watched the film before I knew about the true story.

utter realism in climbing scenes

Initially I found it distracting that one had to read subtitles in English - this being a German movie - but once the movie started going, this fact was quickly overlooked. Loosely based upon true events, this DVD tells the attempt by two friends, Toni & Andi to scale the treacherous north face of the Eiger. That part is true. The part that is added to enhance the story is that of Luise, an aspiring journalist & long-time friend of these amateur mountaineers. Being amateurs not with a surfeit of money, they have rudimentary equipment comprising home-made pitons & crucially, a lack of crimpons. What becomes their nemesis are two Austrian climbers who they reluctantly allow them to join on their climb. This precipitates a series of disastrous events which eventually culminates in the death of all four climbers. Their attempts to extricate themselves from this predicament results in heart-stopping & gut-wreathing moments when one feels the effects of vertigo one self. What I cannot understand is why human beings would want to put themselves into so much danger? Overall this is an excellent production

First” you have got to see this” “North Face” is one stunning piece of realism movie that I’ve ever seen, in a very long time, my eyes was so fixated to the T.V. screen to see how it’s outcome would end, I wish I could see a lot more reviews of movies of this nature, especially the ones with subtitles, it’s either those top 10 or top 50 reviewers are slow readers, or don’t think outside the box, it’s like mundane mundane mundane, one after the other, how could you not see the depth and the beauty, of a fine piece of film-making, with tense cinematic drama to it’s fullest, I’m going to forget everything German, I know it’s hard to say, but for two hours, I am going to immerse myself in this spellbinding masterpiece of a movie, and a love story like no other, risking her life out on that mountain for two of her friends, when all the odds are against you, which was inspired by her presence of making these men did what the did, don’t know if it was guilt, or the realization of the bad outcome, there wasn't one bad moment to this masterpiece, of moviemaking ever, I remember one movie that I saw long ago, called “The Mountain” with “Spencer Tracy” and “Robert Wagner” when the plane crashed on the mountain, can’t remember what the name of the mountain was, they had to go see if anyone was alive, their was debate of why it was too dangerous to climb the mountain, at that time, that was tense, now that I’ve seen this, this one takes precedence over that one, great movie, Runtime 121 Min. German 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Subtitle in English. Widescreen 2.35:1 One Of The Best Mountain Climbing Movies, With A Love Story Too..

Dieser Film ist einer der besten deutschen Filme die ich kenne. Die bergsteigerischen Szenen wirken unglaublich authentisch, man kann als Zuschauer Kälte, Sturm und die Verzweifelung ungefiltert spüren. Insbesondere gegen Schluss, wenn Toni Kurz versucht sein Seil aufzutrennen und sich abzuseilen. Man spürt und sieht förmlich seine Erfrierungen(gute Maske !), da wirkt nichts steril und gekünstelt. (Man schaue sich mal z.B. Vertical Limit an, da weiss man wie steril und unnatürlich amerikanische Filme seien können). Das was Philip Stölzl schon im Videoclip 'Die Flut' vorgemacht hat, das Nachempfinden einer frühen Stummfilm Ästhetik, findet hier eine gewisse Fortsetzung und Höhepunkt. Wirkliche 5 Sterne ! Ulrich Tukur spielt brilliant, alle anderen auch. Der einzige Wermutstropfen des Films ist nicht die eingebaute Liebesgeschichte an sich, sowas braucht so ein Film. Und so ein Film muss auch nicht 100% exakt sein. Aber für den unsäglichen Einfall, mal eben die 'Luise' am Berg rumkraxeln zu lassen und eine Nacht in der Wand verbringen zu lassen (Hallo, wir reden die ganze Zeit von der Eiger Nordwand, liebe Leute !!!), gehören die Verantwortlichen geprügelt. Also wirklich unfassbar blöd. Trotzdem mag ich noch 5 Sterne geben, weil die Authentizität, Ästhetik, Ausstattung und schauspielerische Leistungen alles wieder gut machen. Sehenswert !

山岳映画が好きで購入しました。 今まで観た山岳映画の中で一番と言って良い位の作品です。

Très bon film de montagne très bien joué très réaliste et super séquences d'escalades.

Simply Incredible the result of this film. Even knowing the history, not only "suspense" is a contiuum over the film, but suffering with the characters and living their dreams and fight for living is also a constant along the movie. Those who have grown with the Eiger North Face in mind as a great exploit shall share the fear, the cold and the intense days with the actors and actress. And also an special recognition for the specialists: The action scenes are so hard and so real.... Resuming: A great film, with great actors, great specialists and a great Direction. You'll enyoy it!!!!!