The Wildest Dream

I find it hard to agree with one of the other reviewers here who was left unmoved and disconnected by this brilliant attempt to capture the first attempt by the West to conquer Everest.

The level of research, the history connection through the letters, the original film that was shot in the 1920s, the memories of relatives, and the extensive recreation by two professional climbers, all coupled with simply stunning photography, and voice-overs by Liam Nilson and a cast of the best of British voice-over really makes for an exceptional and honestly involving climbing documentary.

For anyone interested in adventure, exploration, or climbing you could do far far worse. National Geographic have put the highest production values on this, and for my buck, it more than works.

I am a complete sucker for any story about mountains, and this is a true story of an attempt to understand what happened to George Mallory and Andrew Irvine when they tried to summit Everest in 1924. Mallory's body was found near the summit, leading to speculation that the men may have succeeded in reaching the summit and died on the way down. Conrad Anker and Leo Houlding recreate the historic climb which started in Tibet and required difficult rock climbing in the final stretch. (The modern route, pioneered by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary in 1953, required approval from the government of Nepal which Mallory did not obtain.) I won't spoil it for you by revealing what Anker and Houlding learned. It is amazing to see the primitive type of clothing, shoes, and equipment that Mallory and Irvine used! The mountain vistas are thrilling. I usually don't like "The Making of---" movies, but in this instance, I would very much like to know more about how The Wildest Dream was filmed.

Stories of mountaineering and of Everest have always fascinated me. So often, facts make better stories than fiction, and this is another example. I first remember hearing about the discovery of George Mallory's body on what turned out to be a PBS/NOVA special "Lost on Everest" made shortly after the discovery of his body by Conrad Anker, which shows the actual footage of the discovery.

The story of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine is overshadowed by the story of Sir Edmond Hillary, who is the first person to officially summit Everest. Mallory and Irvine's story and efforts are no less dramatic considering they attempted the summit 30 earlier, along a more difficult route. Even if they did not succeed in reaching the summit, the fact that they were 800 feet within the summit is in itself astounding.

Using up to date technology and filming techniques, along with rarely seen archival footage, this documentary complements the story and narration, and the repeat attempt along the same route replicating similar conditions back then are equally dramatic. Along with "Touching the Void", "The Beckoning Silence" and the current Nova special "Chasing Shackleton" captures the adventurous spirit of the Golden Age of Exploration.

Modern documentary retracing George Mallory's 1924 Mt Everest attempt, which ended in his and his companion's disappearance. His frozen body, with compound fracture, was found in 1999.

1924 was near the end of the glory years of the old explorers. Both poles, darkest Africa, perfumed Asia, tropical South America, all have been trekked. Only that peak remained to be claimed.

Two modern climbers retraced Mallory's path, wearing layered clothing, fur hats, hobnail boots, goggles.

The ladder, placed near the top in the 70s (and used since by countless handicapped, overweight, blind wannabee mountaineers) was removed.

Film swings back and forth between Mallory, his letters, the 20s and the difficulties the modern duo encounter.

Cold is ever present, and caused one viewer in the room to move closer to the fire.

THE WILDEST DREAM tells the story of George Mallory's lifelong obsession with conquering the summit of Everest, culminating with his doomed third expedition in 1924 and the suggestion that he was indeed first to the top. With a stellar cast of voices including Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and the late Natasha Richardson, the film blends the personal accounts of relatives, re-enactments, testimonies of historians, black-and-white films and photographs from Mallory's life and the correspondence between him and his wife. This creates a compelling piece that is part history, part mountaineering adventure and part love story. The atmospheric cinematography is a work of art (and an achievement in its own right given the challenging terrain), with vistas of the billowing clouds and snowcapped peaks below Everest, and the 'prodigious white fang' (as Mallory describes it) of the mountain itself. Mallory is brought to life with a poignancy that reveals the man behind the myth, whether as a tiny figure perched on a glacial rockface with the stars glittering above, or in his letter to his daughter where he describes himself as a 'greedy daddy' for craving cake and tea parties. Running parallel to this story is the modern-day expedition led by Conrad Anker, one of the mountaineers who found Mallory's body a decade ago. In his attempts to recreate Mallory's last expedition, additional angles emerge, providing insights into the psychology and dangers of climbing at high altitudes (particularly in 1924-style hobnail boots and gaberdine jackets). This is a compelling portrait of a man who proves that – as he says through the voice of Ralph Fiennes – 'there's no dream that mustn't be dared', even if the journey to the top is a one- way ticket.

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