Touching the VOID

A W E S O M E mountaineering epic...showing right *now* at the spectrum theatre in Albany,NY. I highly reccommend this to everyone on this board, as well as any other I have come into contact with since I saw it on Sunday. Makes me feel like a wimp after doing the trap dyke 2 weekends ago!

2 Thumbs up guys.. go see it!

I concur.....

I certainly agree. AMAZING. Not only is it a great story (I had already had read the book), but the visuals are stunning. A real epic about the human spirit.

In Rochester, NY it's playing at the Little Theatre. I reccomend it for any lover of the great outdoors (or anyone else for that matter).

IMHO, it challenges for the best climbing movie, EVER.

Saw it at the Spectrum on Saturday and LOVED it . . . even though you know it is all going to be okay, I sat at the edge of my seat.

sli74

Yeah it was definately awsome! That was some crazy trip !

I wondered though, how true it all was. You think they embelished a bit? I mean, it was just those 2 guys who were there.

I read the book. Talk about an amazing story. It is amazing what that guy went through. Now I want to see the movie. Only problem is they probably wont play it in the sticks. Hopefully it will be out on video.

sli74 said:

...even though you know it is all going to be okay, I sat at the edge of my seat.

Click to expand...

Man, thanks for killing it!



(no, but serious spoiler alert there -- I never read the book and was actually planning on seeing the film first... )

I am sorry, but if it makes you feel any better, the way the story is told as a documentary, if you see the first minute of the film, you know . . . sorry, in any case, if I ruined it for anyone . . . I guess I already knew that the author of the story was Joe Simpson.

sli74

It's also playing at the Wescott Cinema in Syracuse for any central NYrs. It sure makes you cringe when Joe is sliding down the mountain with his broken leg flailing around

Indian Chris...

I thought that they might have embelished a bit on their story, but I read a review of the movie which said that when the director brought both Joe and Simon back to the mountain for some on location shooting of the film, emotions ran very high. According to the review, Simon and the director did not talk for the whole trip or after their return. I guess he had a lot of nightmeres and was visably upset by being back out the mountain. Sounds like it might be very close to the truth.

Then again, he did cut the rope...no way to embelish that.

peace,
Oysterhead

JimB wrote: "It sure makes you cringe when Joe is sliding down the mountain with his broken leg flailing around."

I was squirming in my seat during the "falling down the glacier" scenes.

Saw the film last night and words cannot fully convey the feelings I felt while watching it. Truly an unbelievable story and film. I am so glad I got to meet Joe at his book signing in Boston a month ago. Truly a nice and down to earth guy to talk with.

JohnL

Does anybody know if this film is going to be playing in Maine? I went to the web site and plugged in the Bangor zip code and used the >25 mile radius setting, and came up empty handed. I've read the book (while I was recouping from a broken leg from climbing Mansfield) and would like to see the film.

Thanks.

I saw it last night. What a will to live. Incredible. Since the author is the person who was left for dead, it's hard not to know that "all is going to be okay". I don't think that I ever saw the two climbers together in any of the interview/narration scenes. Are they still friends? Or did they "cut all ties" to each other?

AIG,
According to an article (forgot where I read it), they did climb together (once?) after that, but that was more because of differences in what they climbed. I guess Joe's recovery changed their objectives.

Joe and Simon do get along, but they now are in separate social circles. The filming was their first return to the location and it did not help either with getting closure. Joe still stands by Simon's decision to cut the rope.

If I can find the article I read, I'll edit this post. -- Jim

AlG - according to a review I read (still trying to find it) they both still talk and I know they have both climbed since then but I do not know if they were together.

peace,
Oysterhead

I think jbreen has it right?

From what I understand, jbreen pretty much got it right. They are not drinking buddies or anything, but there is no real hostility towards one another either.

I too seem to recal reading that way back when the book came out (in 1986, well before the hype surrounding it now) one of the main literary criticisms of the book was that the author (Simpson) spends too much effort (in the writing) exonerating Simon for cutting the rope to the point that it takes away from the story (Not that I agree with that or anything).

If that is in fact the case, It would be hard to believe that there is a ton of animosity between the two.

....one irony is that if Simon had NOT cut the rope, both of them probably would have died on impact once Simon lost his stance.....

Here is an article from the February issue of Outside magazine.

JohnL

The film is playing at the Nickelodeon in Portland, Maine, beginning on March 5th. Not sure how long it will run there. It will also be playing at the Music Hall in Portsmouth, NH, from Saturday, March 20 through Wednesday, March 24. Show time is at 7pm with two shows on Saturday night, at 7 and 9. There will be discussion hosted by Paul Goodwin immediately following the Tuesday night (3/23) screening. Film Hot Line at the Music Hall is 603-436-9900; box office is 603-436-2400.

Arm:

Sounds good to me. I was wanting to go to the March 23rd show. What time for food and drinks at Muddy River? Say 5:30-ish?

Simply stated...

IMHO, This is the best climbing film/movie (as opposed to documentary) ever made! Hands down it was well flimed, believeable as it related to the reality, and moreover, an incredible statement about human nature and overcoming adversity.

GO SEE IT!

Read the book too, it's even better and more detailed.