K2
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Movie Reviews of K2
Movie Review: K2 -- the latest victims and with further comment ...
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm motivated to write this review well after the fact of the movie's initial release [1991 in Europe and then May of 1992 in the USA] and subsequent DVD release in 2001 because K2 is again in the news with the most recent tragedy of 11 climbers being killed on K2 which occurred on August 1, 2008.
My thrust however is to once again caution at least certain viewers that while K2 is in fact dedicated [superimposed on the screen in the closing scene] to real life K2 summiteers, Jim Wickwire and Dr. Louis Reichardt, and, of note, those movie 'fictional' characters 'Taylor Brooks' and 'Harold Jameson' who just happen to share the identical professions of the real-life Jim Wickwire and Lou Reichardt, viz., lawyer and biophysicist, well, far too often what is seen on the proverbial 'Silver Screen' is erroneously interpreted as take-it-to-the-bank 'fact' versus cinematic 'for the sake of the script and pure entertainment value' fiction!
Put another way, readers are urged to research the actual 1978 K2 climb by, among further others by the way in the same expedition, Jim Wickwire and Lou Reichardt and see what the actual facts really were and are, versus, shall we say, Hollywood creativity. I 'have' actually run across folks who saw the movie and make the transposition, so to speak, of 'Taylor' suddenly becoming Jim Wickwire and 'Harold' or 'H' suddenly becoming Lou Reichardt in their minds and hence their post-movie "conclusion" is that their totally erroneous transposition sees Wickwire supposedly having 'saved Reichardt's life' [!] when Reichardt supposedly 'broke his leg' [!] on the vertical ice fall and Wickwire supposedly 'dragged Reichardt down the mountain as far as he could until the Pakistani helicopter suddenly showed up' [!] -- BIZZZZ! That is total cinematic fantasy! But 'because' of the film dedication and a few minor events that did happen in real life, it's all too easy for some folks to see the movie and feel that it's a sort of 'true event' documentary when in fact the movie is just that, a movie based on 'conjured' events!
That said, I enjoyed the movie. As a fictional movie! Particularly the music! Although my first love is playing classical piano, I've never abandoned my secondary love of the guitar and those high E string lead tones [I don't know who the guitarist was and if anyone does, let me know!] are literally haunting! BTW, the soundtrack that is offered for this movie is ==NOT== the same music in the film! Nor is it 'identical', as one poster suggested in another website, to what he termed a "Pink Floyd rip off" piece. The 'original' music for the K2 movie was by Chaz Jankel and has 'not' been released for whatever unknown reasons!
Final word on the whole, as one Amazon reviewer put it, "brotherhood of the rope" [sic], well, let me quote well known and world class mountaineer, Doc Ed Viesturs, from his "No Shortcuts to the Top" [with David Roberts] tome [©, 2006], page 37, when he rightly says, and my own noting of those 'lines' and 'bottlenecks' of climbers at Everest, K2, et al, where 'some' of these folks have very deep pockets but negligible mountaineering experience come out with, 'Ohhh, it's just a personal challenge ... and it's not like I'm all alone ...', but as Doc Viesturs realistically observes, "The fact is, money can't buy you a summit." Amen!
Doc Tony
Movie Review: A TRUE mounaineering film climbed by BEST friends
Summary: 5 Stars
I am sorry that some critics have panned this movie. I defy them to find a more realistic mixture of mountaineering, struggle, adversity and a heart-opening friendship. Go climb a mountain, sometime. The quote the scientist uses to express to his wife why and how he feels compelled to climb is first rate. The lawyer's character goes from selfishness and impulsiveness to an actual life altering experience by making a decision most friends would dread. The billionaire and his team, the big wall rock climbing scenes and avalanche are visually second to none. Only in the movie, "Alive," did I feel that I was actually there. The scenery, lack of special effects, had me use this movie as a reference standard to any other outdoor film. The Chris o'Donnell movie didn't look cold, or have believable bitter conditions. Bottom line; I felt I was there in this film. The story line flowed to the point of, "I've been there and had those conversations." I couldn't believe how long it took to get to DVD format. I even emailed Paramount requesting them to do so.Finally, the porter situations made them human, not just extras. The death scene of Takate and Dallas where highly emotioal and charged. I have had the opportunity to show this movie to others and everyone of them said,"wow." By the way, try to find a musical score even remotely applicable to a story line as this intense music and film creates. Breathtaking scenery, Pakastani buses, culture and the drive to succeed to the top. Remember, it took the US to have two climbers summet this dangerous mountain - and it happened only 26 years ago. One out of three have died trying. See this DVD, it's definately in my top 5.
Movie Review: Raymond J. Barry is terrific in this flick
Summary: 5 Stars
The climbing sequences, especially the one where all of them are having a break while hanging underneath a clift are enough to make you feel vertigo, and one thing that really makes the film feel authentic is in the cold weather, you can see their breath, so you know it WAS cold when they filmed it. This movie is worth seeing also for another thing - Raymond J. Barry. What a stud! When climbing the mountain you see him in skin-tight jeans, and the size of his thighs and glutes are amazing for a 50 year old man. The cameraman must have recognized this because you see Mr. Barry's glutes and hamstrings in almost every scene. What a body! He shames men half his age. Still, it is a little unbelievable for his character to have the body of a bodybuilder, but who cares? Oh, Michael Biehn is pretty good too. But as good as the film is, I still have no desire to ever climb a mountain!Movie Review: A great movie for climbers, even good for non-climbers
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie does a fantastic job of showing the bond between two friends whose relationship centers on climbing. The friendship gets pushed to extremes by circumstances, and this shows us more about the characters and their relationship. The cinematography is the best I've ever seen- you will feel like you're really up in the mountains! While major liberties were taken, there was enough in the story to show that it was based, very loosely, on the first American ascent of K2, best chronicled in "Last Step: The American Ascent of K2" by Rick Ridgeway. While not necessary, having read that book further enhanced my enjoyment of this movie.Movie Review: The Best Mountain Climbing Movie Ever Made
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the best mountain climbing movie made! I like to watch it every 3-4 months, which is why I had to get the DVD (my video tape version was about worn out). There are probably better documentary style movies about mountaineering, but for a hollywood-style movie this is the best. The images of mountains and the feeling of high adventure are awesome! I'm surprised by the other negative reviews about this movie.
I am a recreational mountaineer myself, and have read many mountaineering adventure books. I wish there were more mountaineering movies. Compared to "Vertical Limit", I thought "K2" was much more realistic.