Die Alpen

From the producers of Everest, comes this movie about a man that confronts his demons and climbs the North face of the Eiger -- the most difficult climb in Europe -- where his father died 40 years ago when he was just a boy. Now he has a wife and a daughter of his own and his hope is to impress this love and reverence for nature to her that his father had inspired in him before his fatal climb.

The wife is very supportive and understanding. Some emotions are purposefully understated like the fact that she is probably proud of him, but emotionally, the premise and the construct of the documentary works very well. It also helps that all the people involved are extremely likable and inspiring. The scientific aspects of it are interesting enough, but not the focus of the film. The true aim of the film is to put the viewer in the daughter's shoes and live the perilous personal journey with John as if he was a family member. Moreover, the underlying goal is also what John wants for his daughter: to make us conscious of the beauty of nature and the connection that man has with it.

Seen in IMAX, this is where things take whole new proportions. Not only is this story much better than Everest, but the footage is also more remarkable. First, the mountain and climb are beautifully shot, but moreover,the surrounding Swiss towns and scenery are as breathtaking. I was not surprised that the Swiss tourism agency put some money in this. There is no way anyone does not want to go there after viewing this...

And what can be said about director, Stephen Judson? So "Everest (1998)" and "The Discoverers (1993)" were where he tried his hand with MacGillivray, but this being his second solo project, after the amazing "Amazing Caves (2001)", it can surely be said that he has a knack for storytelling, adventure and utilizing the magnificent IMAX experience. I am impatiently awaiting for his next work.

Originally released as an IMAX presentation - "The Alps" (with its 45-minute running time) was an alright (but certainly not great) documentary. It chronicled John Harlin's treacherous climb (in 2005), 14,000 feet up the North Face of the Eiger mountain range, located in Switzerland.

Since 1935 - This particular range of hazardous mountains has claimed the lives of at least 64 climbers, including John Harlin's father who met his death there 40 years earlier, in 1966.

What I found to be the most impressive aspect of "The Alps" was its first-rate camera-work, especially that of the surrounding scenery, showing the green valleys and placid-looking settings of the Swiss towns situated at the base of the Alps.

I enjoyed the first 15 minutes of "The Alps". Breathtaking views as an introduction, promise of a story, even some drawings and animations to provide real information about the Alps.

Then it got downhill as far as I am concerned.

The whole story is a bit of "I love and support him", "I must succeed", "rocks are dangerous, ice is dangerous, snow is dangerous", with many scenes arranged specifically to create emotions. This would have been fine as a background, but the whole "I must surmount my father's fall" story got in the first plane and obscured other content, once past the 15 minutes I mentioned.

There was not enough information about the mountain - no visualisation of the path taken, no details about rocks, just very brief mentions of "ya know, snow might go down in avalanche" and such. Nothing about how they use axe and other tools for climbing. Not much about the mountains. I have learned almost nothing about the Alps or climbing - only generic things that even kids know (at least in Europe). "Educational" scenes filmed on the train were too long and too basic for my liking.

Views? There was a bunch of great scenery showing the Alps, but overall not enough - and the remainder was the three people climbing, in closeups. Potential wasted, at least for me. Maybe the budget influenced that? Overall this film is for me an example of "an American documentary". Much fluff stretched over time, minimum interesting content that gets rehashed over and over. How many times do we need to hear about father of the hero? Come on, it's not US TV channel, there was no break for commercials and you don't need to remind people what they are watching...

I gave the movie a "5" as it has some great visuals and is pleasant to watch (but not as many of these as I expected) though it fails on other counts. Not too bad for an IMAX movie, not too good either.

Note: I am not saying this is a bad movie - just that I did not like it.