It's finally here!

[mikeadam]

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[This message has been edited by mikeadam (edited 05-14-2001).]

[none_dup1]

For a good, if cutting review of the movie, be sure to read Geoff Powter's piece in the December 2000 R&I, page 98-103. That way you'll know when to look for the foam rubber rocks, fake snow, etc.

Party on.

[gapertimmy]

Moving, simply moving. Ed Viesturs is simply amazing in this movie, but is definatley a second compared to the fine work Chris O'Donnel did. A full review will be posted soon, but please, shell out the 7.75, and check this one out!

 

[gapertimmy]

7:15 Issaquah 9, if anybody else wants to join in on the fun, meet outside the theater. VL BABY!!!!

[jon]

How much Redhook did we consume before you posted this?

[gapertimmy]

although the hook was flowing through my veins when this post was written, the post still reflects my true feelings of the VL.

classic.

[Guest]

I saw the movie last night and was unimpressed. Some of the scenery was great but the plot was lame. Ed's role in the movie was minimal and nothing special. Some of the special effects were very good. Not a bad movie, just not as good as I expected.

[rayborbon]

I assume it is better than the Banff Mtn. Films.

Does anybody think otherwise?

I am going to pound some pints of heavy and see if I can go tomorrow.

Hey Mikeadam wanna go?

-Ray

[mikeadam]

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[This message has been edited by mikeadam (edited 05-14-2001).]

[snowleopard_x]

I kind of liked the movie. Some of it was laughable. But for a Hollywood B-movie action flick, it was okay. Better by comparison than Cliffhanger. Just remember what kind of movie it is going in, and you'll be fine. Plus I read that Scott Glenn really got into the climbing when filming it. And the shot of him climbing the serac is him, no tricks. I always liked that guy.

[alpinespider]

Please tell me all most of you are kidding about this being an "OK" movie. It was downright bad at best! I also thought it was disrespectful to bring up Scott F. and Rob H. in the context that they did. They must have payed Ed V. alot of money. I think anyone that does alot of alpine mountaineering would agree that this movie was completely and utterly unrealistic. And yes I did go into this movie expecting some over the top stuff, but even expecting that I was still displeased. Anyway, that is my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own.

[daylward]

Bwahahaha... went and saw this thing at the Cinerama last night with Marshall, Forrest, Tim Matsui, Kevin Kanning, Mike Burns et al. Under the influence of course. We had quite the running commentary going on.

I must say, what a bunch of amateurs! So, crampons and helmets are optional on K2, eh? Seems like it was either a goat rodeo or a sappy emotional breakdown at all times. But if there's one overriding lesson I did learn, it is this:

If there are more than 2 people hanging from a rope, it must be cut (where depends only on who has the knife). Any good climber would do it!

But, alpinespider, maybe I was too intoxicated, but I missed the reference to Scott F. and Rob H... When was it? What did they say about them?

Dan

 

[gapertimmy]

I'm with you daylward. Its hollywood, and as long as you keep that in mind you'll have a good time. I think Scott/Rob comment happened when Chrisy O'Donnel was rallying the troops at base camp for the NITRO-powered resuce mission.

He said something like "Hey, Ed Viesturs, you tried to rescue your friends on everest a few years back, will you help save my sister" or something like that. You might have been distracted during that part of the flick by the amazing base-camp setup (complete with party-tent, kegs, scantily clad models, and of course the mission control room with oodles of computers and large LCD displays!)

daylward and gang had the right idea. If your power goes out this weekend, go to your favorite watering hole, and then buy a VL ticket. Give yourself a holiday treat.

[none_dup1]

I measure all mountain climbing movies against the Eiger Sanction, arguably the only true classic in the genre. How does this one compare? Any cameos by Clint? Any albinistic forces of evil? Does Ed train by chasing a beautiful dark-haired woman around the American Southwest?

Without these elements, I'm afraid it's doomed . . .

[forrest_m]

Plus, the Eiger Sanction is the only major hollywood climbing movie to actually have been filmed ON the mountain it purports to portray. There's a great scene where you're thinking "ok, clint's climbing on a fiberglass rock in the studio" and the camera just keeps zooming out and panning back without a cut until you see the whole N. Face of the Eiger... (though the scenery of Mt. Waddington and area in K2 are pretty good, too)

Thankfully, VL has added at least one useful phrase to the climber's vocabulary... I'm going to work "Use your axe!" into every climbing trip at least once a day...

[none_dup1]

Excellent point, Forrest. A question I've always had is whether Clint and George Kennedy really climbed the sandstone pinnacle in the desert, and whether they actually did it with a sixer of Oly in Clint's pack, as portrayed.

As for classic phrases, I've made it a point to use this phrase during, or immediately before, every trip in the last decade. It (or something quite close to it) was uttered by one of the team members (the feisty German?) as they contemplated the deteriorating weather forecast during a tense pre-climb meeting:

"Good wezzuh, bad wezzuh, any wezzuh's good wezzuh foh climbing!"

Truer words were never spoken, eh?

[jon]

Personally I'm waiting for the next edition of "Freedom of the Hills", where in the crevasse rescue section they show you how to make a signal from your partners blood, a flare, and a tent pole.

[alpinespider]

Excellent replies! Bravo for the comedy, I have been laughing my ass off reading these fine comments. See you all later, I have to go save someone in the death zone with a helicopter "speed ascent" and a case of nitro! Anyone care to join me? Sure I haven't climbed anything for 12 years, but I am saving someone so I will call on my super human powers (and two scottish guys).

[mikeadam]

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[This message has been edited by mikeadam (edited 05-14-2001).]

[nolanr]

In my humble opinion, VL was even more ridiculous than Cliffhanger. It was fine though, I laughed heartily from beginning to end. All those new techniques I need to try. Everything has to be done dyno. How about jamming a cam into a crack while on the fly, thousands of feet off the deck? If you're as hot as the French climber babe, it should work just fine. And glacier crevasse rescues? Setting up a z-pulley takes too long. Never mind burying a couple deadman anchors, just shove an axe or two in half hilt, then start hauling people up with no mechanical advantage, like a man, like Chris O'Donnell. I can't help but think that Ed Viesturs has to be embarrassed that his name and likeness is attached to this little project. Yes, Hollywood has done it again.

[Courtenay]

What's even more hilarious is that most of the non-climbers out there think -- GASP -- that these movies REALLY reflect climbing at its best. Sigh. I'll probably wait until it's out on video. After all, $7.75 can buy two more 'biners...