Beyond the Edge

This is a matter of fact description with pictures of Hillary's climb of Mount Everest in 1953. The documentary lacks drama and emotion and really is not that technical either. It does give some understanding of the route taken and hardship of the climb but at times it felt like watching a news real account of the event without any real depth or insight into the characters of those involved. Sorry to say even the 3D aspect wasn't enough to keep my interest. The one stunning view was from the summit but outside of that the 3D aspect was never fully achieved to make the viewing any better than two dimensional. Unfortunately the story is well known and generally the audience has more knowledge of the event than what the movie relates. Disappointing.

Well worth the watch. Great scenery, well edited, loaded with lots of great history, info, and background.

This documentary looks at the pivotal moment when two men became the first to reach the summit of the highest mountain on Earth. These men were of course Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay, and the mountain was Mount Everest. Even to this day it is a very dangerous exercise climbing this mountain, after all until recently if you wished to do so you had to pass a large number of dead bodies on your ascent; corpses that simply hitherto could not be removed due to the sheer difficulty of doing so. But there is no doubt that it has become considerably easier to reach the summit nowadays than it was back in 1953 when it was first navigated. Back then, there was still an element of doubt as to whether it was going to even be possible, as the equipment devised was only theoretical until successfully used. This documentary looks at the first successful expedition and captures all of their inner doubts and fears about what they are about to attempt but also their excitement. The film quite successfully transmits this to the audience.

It's been shot in 3D and it's pretty justified, as the format is quite good at illustrating the precariousness of the climb and the visual effects overall gave a pretty good feeling of the view the men must have been presented with. I was struck in particular with the scenes showing where the men camped on the last night before finally ascending to the summit. It was literally on a cliff face, with howling winds outside. The men spent the night here drinking boiled snow. It is an almost surreal image and its details like this that I took away mostly from this film. Once we reach the summit, we are treated to a very nice slow 360 degree pan that beautifully shows the height and beauty of the Himalayas.

There is not a lot of real filmed footage of the expedition but we see a little of what there is. Mainly the film is made up of archive photographs along with dramatic reconstructions of the climb, with commentary made up of archive interviews from the men and new accounts from surviving relatives. The reconstructions are well done, with well-chosen actors who really resemble the real people. All things considered, this is a very successful documentary about one of the key historical adventures.

Watched this film at TIFF 13 and completely enjoyed it. The 3D takes you there and on the big screen in the Scotiabank theatre it felt like i could walk onto the mountain with Hillary and Tenzing.

Dramatic, tense and at times splendid in its visual depiction of Mt Everest this is must watch for anyone interested in this epic story and the men behind it.

The director takes her cue from films such as 'Senna' by completely doing away with talking heads and instead capturing the story entirely with the voices of the men who were actually there, aided only at times by the sons of Ed and Tenzing and a few select mountain experts.

A great watch and a mountain/adventure classic.

What a fantastic movie about an epic achievement. You really feel like you were with them through the expedition to the final crowning moment, and you really appreciate the monumental achievement that it was, and the courage and effort it required. It has the feel of the classic age of exploration and is befitting of its topic and the times. The recreations are very convincing and flow seamlessly with the archival footage. The somewhat restrained tone of the film fits well with the manner of Ed Hillary and the rest of the British expedition. The original narration by Ed Hillary, again highly restrained, juxtaposes against their monumental accomplishment, and I think it is a nice and fitting touch. The memory of the film remains afterwards, and I think the film is a fitting tribute to the men and the event.