Tell me Everything you see Wrong in this movie!

[Mountain Dew]

In the past (having military experience) I have watched Military movies and in doing so I have noticed many mistakes, that may not of been noticed by someone that has never been in the Military...

 

With that in mind, I rented this movie last night and watched it:

 

 

 

 

 

Since you are all the experts here (more then I thats for sure), could you point out what are the parts of the movie that were "Totally Off Base"...

 

Thanks, it will be interesting to read your responses while the movie is fresh in my head

 

[Bug]

Never jump off a cliff.

Especially not with crampons on.

If you think you have to jump across a huge abyss, you are off route.

 

Don't climb with rich egoists. Unless they are paying for everything.

 

Hide your diamox.

 

Don't cut the rope.

[bstach]

The whole opening scene seems pretty far fetched. Also, there is a scene where the guy is supposedly groveling up a vertical face, but it is obvious he is crawling on his belly (camera is just turned sideways). Its been too long since I have seen this movie. Yet I don't really want to watch it again as it is soooo bad.

 

Get The Eiger Sanction, way better. Clint Eastwood, Jemima Brown...and it has climbing too!

Edited September 28, 2009 by bstach

[spotly]

...Also, there is a scene where the guy is supposedly groveling up a vertical face, but it is obvious he is crawling on his belly (camera is just turned sideways).

 

I don't recall that scene. Are you sure you're not thinking of Subzero - another exceptional movie? Trees on the summit of K2 LOL

 

 

Get The Eiger Sanction, way better. Clint Eastwood, Jemima Brown...and it has climbing too!

 

Watched this one again last night. Funny watching Clint lead up that tower....on top rope and hauling up all the beer

[marc_leclerc]

you dont often zipper 5 bolts and a bolted belay.... then catch your rope on another team, tear their (5 bolt?) belay rip a million cams and force them to cut their rope killing a guy....

[rocky_joe]

dexamethasone is also NOT used to treat HAPE...it is used for HACE. and they'd have been dead mere minutes after their coughs became productive. also, never heard of sending rescue teams to four different routes for one party on the standard route, much less having them carry nitroglycerin stolen from the pakistani army. the movie was laughable, the first scene was def hilarious. also i have trouble trusting my orange metolius now...rofl.

 

i'd keep going on, about base camp, lack of balti sherpas, wearing ski resort jackets and fleece, a million helicopters in every scene, the cliff jump, old man climbing steep ice with a rope but no pro, cutting ropes, crevasses that are rocky caves on the inside, but that would take all day. instead i'll say the only correct thing in the movie was Ed Visteurs saying "this is stupid."

[Buckaroo]

where they fall and slide down a steep slope and off the edge of a vertical cliff but catch themselves by their ice axe and dangle off the edge of the cliff. Totally impossible. Falling at high speed your axe would be ripped right out of your hands.

 

the rope cut thing has happened in real life, Joe Simpson, Touching the Void. But probably would not happen in the circumstances in this movie.

 

As much as they spend on these movies you think they'd hire a dirt bag climber as a consultant to get the technical points correct.

[Mountain Dew]

WOW, it looks like they got nothing right! LOL

 

I also wondered why everyone was drinking soooo much before the "big climb"... Seems like they should pound water instead right!

 

There was a National Geo. Clip about K2 in special features... I enjoyed that, but it was just a clip and not the whole show

[Pete_H]

The nitroglycerin shit was real though, we use that shit all the time.

[Mountain Dew]

The nitroglycerin shit was real though, we use that shit all the time.

 

 

:lmao:

[Plaidman]

instead i'll say the only correct thing in the movie was Ed Visteurs saying "this is stupid."

 

WORD!!!

 

The scene with the guy jumping across the void to the cliff face with ice axes was the best. I thought the least that would have happened if he had done that in real life was that it would have ripped his shoulders out of their sockets and then ripped his arms completely off his body.

 

But I have to say that the scene where the guy sets his pack down for a second and it starts sliding down the mountain was a good reminder to keep track of everything around you at all times on the mountain. Losing focus even for a second can have dire consequences. Especially if you happen to be carrying nitroglycerin around.

Edited September 29, 2009 by Plaidman

[mountainmatt]

As much as they spend on these movies you think they'd hire a dirt bag climber as a consultant to get the technical points correct.

 

The funny part is that they actually did (Ed Visteurs was one of them). I recall reading some article where one of the actors said, "shouldn't you be able to see our breath if we are trapped in a crevasse at 8000 meters?", to which the director responded, good question, lets ask the consultants. The consultants responded that yes you would see your breath, additionally, you would be coughing, having a hard time speaking, etc. The director responded that it didn't look good in the film so they wouldn't be doing any of that.

 

Now if you want to see a film that is worse that Vertical Limit, watch "Take it to the Limit"

 

 

[JosephH]

They had a good chunk of the Cliff Hanger riggers, safety, and stunt crew involved with VL and a few new ones to boot, but the director and producers weren't even remotely interested in the opinions of or suggestions from the crew.

[spotly]

I always carry my nitro in one of the side pockets and secured with a biner; never just laying loosely on the inside.

[Mountain Dew]

How are the Discovery Channel Everest DVD's?...Worth buying?

[Pilchuck71]

As much as they spend on these movies you think they'd hire a dirt bag climber as a consultant to get the technical points correct.

 

The funny part is that they actually did (Ed Visteurs was one of them). I recall reading some article where one of the actors said, "shouldn't you be able to see our breath if we are trapped in a crevasse at 8000 meters?", to which the director responded, good question, lets ask the consultants. The consultants responded that yes you would see your breath, additionally, you would be coughing, having a hard time speaking, etc. The director responded that it didn't look good in the film so they wouldn't be doing any of that.

 

Now if you want to see a film that is worse that Vertical Limit, watch "Take it to the Limit"

 

 

Another faux classic and locally relevant with disturbingly bad acting -High Ice!

I love the exploding helicopter falling down the face and the firing of rockets to clear unstable snow masses.

Freaking awesome!

 

[t_rutl]

How are the Discovery Channel Everest DVD's?...Worth buying?

i enjoyed watching some of the episodes but wouldnt buy them...they are rerun so just do a DVR search and record

[grandpa]

Well, the show was good, and I'd expect that the DVDs would include at least as much, and maybe more as was on the air.

 

 

[nhluhr]

The director responded that it didn't look good in the film so they wouldn't be doing any of that.

I recently read "The Beckoning Silence" by Joe Simpson and in it, he talks about the first attempt to make "Touching The Void" into a movie. The directors were insane, wanting to cast Tom Cruise as Joe, wanting to give them radios to talk to each other since they didn't know how to portray the feelings of isolation and conundrum, etc.

 

Hollywood sucks.

[sklag]

The director responded that it didn't look good in the film so they wouldn't be doing any of that.

I recently read "The Beckoning Silence" by Joe Simpson and in it, he talks about the first attempt to make "Touching The Void" into a movie. The directors were insane, wanting to cast Tom Cruise as Joe, wanting to give them radios to talk to each other since they didn't know how to portray the feelings of isolation and conundrum, etc.

 

Hollywood sucks.

At least it wasn't rope tugs... That'd get confusing.

[LostCamKenny]

"Amateurs at 12-o'clock - check yer safety!"

 

 

 

[robertjoy]

After watching this movie i bought a green wide-mouth nalgene bottle and affixed a professional looking label: caution: NITRO

This movie is a classic just for the creative use of nitro to solve a mountaineering problem.

[LostCamKenny]

After watching this movie i bought a green wide-mouth nalgene bottle and affixed a professional looking label: caution: NITRO

great shit RJ!

[Off_White]

In the past (having military experience) I have watched Military movies and in doing so I have noticed many mistakes, that may not of been noticed by someone that has never been in the Military...

 

Yes, the degree to which any mainstream movie is off base with regards to climbing has always made me wonder if they're that far off on things I know nothing about, like firearms & military stuff (well, I do know that people don't fly across the room when you shoot them, that's just basic physics), or golf & fly fishing for that matter.

 

You can always tell the climbers in the theater at something like Vertical Limit, they're the ones who laugh at seemingly inappropriate moments.

 

My favorite WTF moment in Eiger Sanction was when they were on the Eiger and the guy fell, Clint was holding him on belay, but the single pin was straining, slipping, about to blow, but right at the last moment a hand reached out and grabbed Clint's jacket and phew, it was all okay.

[LostCamKenny]

My favorite WTF moment in Eiger Sanction was when they were on the Eiger and the guy fell, Clint was holding him on belay, but the single pin was straining, slipping, about to blow, but right at the last moment a hand reached out and grabbed Clint's jacket and phew, it was all okay.

 

The rope has a fray - I cut it off for you...