The Epic of Everest

This is one of those documentaries you go in knowing how it turns out, which isn't great. But this is the Epic of Everest.

A group of British men took on the task of climbing Mount Everest… by which this means they stand around posing, while the Sherpas do all the work. They also look really underdressed, perhaps they wore many undershirts? We start in the local village, then start climbing and filming, towards the end with the aid of long lenses. Two men die on the way, and their death is treated rather casually. More import is given to the last two gentlemen who go up but don’t come down. Nothing is known of their ultimate fate, but the movie turns philosophical and asks if this snow blanket isn't a good end? But ultimately we are left with Everest still reigning strong.

This is black and white reprocessed film, with an added soundtrack. While mostly black and white, some scenes are tinted red or blue… to give the audience a break, I presume? It is impressive that they got this footage, and now we have cleaned it up and are showing it to people. Nice.

Decent wee documentary, and shows what humanity is capable of… even if not fully capable.

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