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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
 Posted - 02/22/2004 : 19:42:47
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i just saw this movie TOUCHING THE VOID, a true story about two British mountain climbers who climbed this previously unclimbed mountain in the Peruvian Andes. fucking amazing film. it's been a while since a film made me so fucking anxious (more so than some of the best horror films i've seen).. truly edge-of-your-seat storytelling. and a true story.
i recommend the film.
one thing i come away with, besides being happy to be alive, is the realization that mountain climbing is not for me. no thanks. i'd rather watch a movie about mountain climbing, and then come back to my comfortable home and type about it. |
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TheCroutonFuton
- Mr. Setlists -
USA
1728 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2004 : 19:47:05
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Excellent, I'll have to rent it tomorrow! Thanks!
Yeah...I've tried my share of climbing/rapelling...not for me! *Is afraid of being literally on the edge of a fucking mountain!*
 "Join the Cult of Gunn / And Then You'll Be Destined to be a Rock and Roll Star of Epical Proportions!" |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2004 : 19:50:04
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quote:
Originally posted by TheCroutonFuton
Excellent, I'll have to rent it tomorrow! Thanks!
it just came out this weekend, so you'll have to look for it in the theatre. which you should. i strongly recommend it. |
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TheCroutonFuton
- Mr. Setlists -
USA
1728 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2004 : 19:52:18
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Oh, alright, well...I'll have to take advantage of my NPR membership and get in for free! *grins*
"Join the Cult of Gunn / And Then You'll Be Destined to be a Rock and Roll Star of Epical Proportions!" |
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cvanepps
= Cult of Ray =
USA
442 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2004 : 11:31:09
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They showed a "making-of" docu for Touching the Void on IFC the other day. Turns out that doofus not only continued to climb, but he continued to get into trouble. Sure, when doing something new, I allow myself a few tries before I surrender. But mountain climbing?? Oy!
Anyway, I'll be seeing this one.
-= It's not easy to kidnap a fat man =-
http://christophervanepps.iuma.com |
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apl4eris
~ Abstract Brain ~
USA
4800 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2004 : 19:46:34
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I used to love the climbing, but that was a long time ago - I miss it a lot. We used to go climbing the rock cliffs in the mountains of West Virginia. Man it sure was a hell of a lot of fun, and WV is beautiful (I didn't see "Deliverance" until recently).
I actually fell free climbing in a recently-flooded cave when I was 13, all due to a charlie-horse and slippery mud. At least 20 feet down the face of a wall and landed between two stalagmites, one on either side of my head. I blacked out for I'm not sure how long, and laughed like a maniac the whole trudge back to camp. After they judged I wasn't too messed up to be moved, we had to go all the way back out and back through a fucked up as hell part of the cave, scootin' flat and inching along for about 250 feet with a cave helmet on and turning your head to the side (me guffawing and chortling it up) and up to get air above the water, which was about a 4 inch clearance. They said there was still a part of my chin on the wall of the cave, but I decided not to go back for it.
After all that I was too chicken-shit to get the necessary stitches on my chin, so I have a nice "battle wound" to remind me to not be such a dumbass. It doesn't work very well.
I think if given the chance I would jump at the chance to go climbing again. Pun not intended, but what the hell.
Anyway, on topic, I look forward to watching that movie - it's a universe away from any climbing I have ever or surely will ever do. There is a scene in Akira Kurosawa's "Dreams" that has some climbers succumbing to a blizzard on a mountain. It's one of the most effective scenes at making you feel the cold, exhaustion and delirium of high-altitude climbers. That is a beautiful movie too.
edit: spellin'
666 Dunkin' Donuts, a 20-inch veggie pizza from Gumby's, extra jalapenos on the side. And a case of Asahi Dry - |
Edited by - apl4eris on 02/24/2004 19:48:35 |
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ProverbialCereal
- FB TabMaster -
USA
2953 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2004 : 21:57:14
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I climbed a ladder once.
 Join the Devil's Workshop / And put the Cult of Frank out of business |
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benji
> Teenager of the Year <
New Zealand
3420 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2004 : 03:13:51
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i too am looking forward to watching this movie.
I also love climbing, though nothing as crazy-assed as what these guys do - just some shorter mountains and peaks back in the old NZ.
Just the whole idea of feeling as though you are literally on the top of the world is mindblowing for me.
makes the struggle up the goddam thing all the more worth it.
 "I joined the Cult of Frank / I think that man deserves a DB!" |
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bedrock_barney
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
871 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2004 : 03:59:43
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I haven't seen the film yet but I read the book a few years ago. The book was a good 'un. The whole escapade makes your skin crawl. Kind of like the guy in the US(?) who hacked off his own hand to escape from a fallen boulder. It's amazing how self preservation can kick in for some people.
I remember once getting three quarters of the way up a very steep slope in the hills near Santa Barbara (Red Rock?). I was following a pal of mine and he had kindly destroyed some crumbling handholds with his feet. The slope had turned into a virtual cliff at this point. We were probably 50 feet up and I had an andrenaline rush to beat no other. It was the classic rabbit in the headlights moment. Couldn't go down, couldn't go up. In the end I grabbed a few scrawny bushes and hauled myself up the last few feet. Probably the scariest moment of my life so far.
Wouldn't attempt this sort of thing these days. Too conscious of my mortality and also a family to support!
Just looked up Red Rock
Red Rock is a deep swimming hole popular to weekenders. Sometimes drunk teenagers dive from the 40 foot cliffs into the narrow pool below, sometimes fatally, sometimes successfully. For this reason, and because there is a lot of drinking in the area, there is a strong police presence on summer weekends.
I was one of those drunken teenagers. Shit, that's scary!!!
 "The Pixies are reforming?? / I say bring back Abba, ahaaa!!!" |
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Scarla O
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
947 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2004 : 04:44:08
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That story about the feller that cut off his hand to escape the boulder that had fallen on him was pretty crazy eh?
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2004 : 13:53:33
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it's been a while since a film stuck with me like this. i've been thinking about it on and off all week. i don't think it was cinematic genius or anything.. (there are some weak moments, visually) but the story they tell, which, apparantly, is accurate down to every last detail, is fucking amazing. the fact that it's narrated by the actual climbers themselves gives it an extra level of credence that a typical Hollywood adaptation might not have. this is more like a step-by-step visual re-telling of the entire episode, taken directly from the climbers accounts.
it's inspiring in the same way that the story of the boulder guy is inspiring..
it's like, if that guy can get through that, then i can get through anything too.
if you're afraid of heights though, this is not the film for you.
also: it's fun to hear these British guys narrate the story. i forgot about some of those good British terms my friend from college used to say.. "i was nackered!". good stuff. |
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bedrock_barney
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
871 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2004 : 01:16:33
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Hey floop, you need to watch for those silent 'k''s.
= Knackered
"The Pixies are reforming?? / I say bring back Abba, ahaaa!!!" |
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