North Face

The story follows the adventures of a pair of German mountain climbing enthusiasts; set in the 1930s. The climbers plan to attempt the north face the Eiger mountain in Switzerland - along with several other competitors. Their plans are complicated by an aggressive Berlin newspaper reporter who sees them as potential champions of the Third Reich - and, a big story for himself. The Blu-ray is a beautiful transfer of the film.

This review will be useful to that segment of potential purchasers of the film who became interested in it because it is not only about a famous (though doomed) mountain-climbing expedition but also because it is (indirectly) about the Third Reich. This specific segment for which I am reviewing the film wishes to see something positive about that period in the film. (It is relevant also that I, though an American, have lived in the Alps myself, I speak both fluent High German and also Austrian alpine dialect, and I majored in German at Georgetown. Further, I have extensive mountain-hiking experience....but not in mountain "climbing" -- with pitons, ropes, etc., for I have never had a subliminal death wish, and when you see this film you may end up agreeing with my remark.)It is a typical West German movie (and I say West German deliberately, because West Germany simply ate East Germany, illegally, in 1990, and imposed on the whole country obsessive anti-Nazism. Every year, in that supposed German democracy, thousands are arrested for peacefully saying anything at all positive about the period 1933-45.) And so it is "de rigeur" in this film (as well as all the other West German films) to consistently portray National Socialists as totally sinister, extremely uncool, and latently monstrous....just waiting to holocaust someone In this film, they add for good measure an obese, cynical, large-nosed and black-haired Jew, who criticizes the whole expedition to one and all as insanely dangerous. The Jew is shown as being the one wise man in the whole crew of Eiger onlookers.Even the blue-eyed lead actress Wokalek is forced to wear brown contact lenses, because cool people do not look Aryan! That is how ridiculously tendentious and lecturing this film is on the one hand.I think I should also say, without giving the ending away entirely, that it sticks to the fundamental historical facts ....at least about how the real expedition truly ended, which was in an extreme and searing tragedy. Do not expect an American-style "happy ending" at all, for the truth is there was no happy ending. But somehow even this ending is subtly blamed on the Third Reich, as if Hitler had pushed those men up the north face of the Eiger.... No, alpinists for decades have attempted these sorts of perilous climbs -- dreaming of testing their skill, bravery and determination under the most daunting conditions -- and they have done so without Adolf Hitler and on a regular basis. Hitler certainly did not encourage Mallory to climb Everest in the 1920s (who perished) nor Hillary in the 1950s (who succeeded). Dozens have perished on Everest or K-2, but I suppose some day we will get a film about how every man who died on those peaks also was killed by Adolf Hitler...(Just a day before this review was written, even his parents' grave in Austria was dug up at the insistence of Austrian leftists!)On a positive note, the film "North Face," reflecting the eternal German obsession with technical quality, is well-done in its breathtaking film work. You get a powerful sense of the majesty and danger of such a climb.But if you hate Nazis (how brave of you to conform with what the media tells you from cradle to grave) and you love politically correct films where Germans are doomed for "following Hitler," and you welcome blue-eyed people getting brown contact lenses inserted in their eyeballs so as to avoid looking Aryan, then, for you, I would give the film four stars. Then you will like this film, and be subtly happy that it ended in a disaster.

This movie is absolutely the best feature narrative (i.e. non-documentary) focused on climbing/mountaineering. I won't say I've seen all the other entries in the genre, but I've probably gotten close. Nothing else can touch this film in that regard. It's gripping, the climbing generally feels authentic and realistic. The actors seem like mountaineers (this is a flaw in many other films of this nature--the actors can't sell the role of being a true mountaineer). And the locations/scenery looks, on average, pretty good (a huge contention I had with "K2" is that you never feel like you're actually on K2--not that I've been there, but I've read at least three books and looked at lots of pictures and videos--nor does it feel like you're really anywhere 'special').Having said all the above, just because it's the best narrative, it's not a perfect film. Unlike other reviewers, I did feel that the love story was tacked on just for the sake of having a love story, and it took something away from the film, I feel. Regardless, this is a fine film still the same and anyone with an interest in these types of films MUST see this one.Keep in mind that I'm not comparing this to documentaries, just feature narratives, so I'm not taking into consideration films such as THE SUMMIT or TOUCHING THE VOID... it's hard for me to compare the two different types of films and I won't attempt such here.Bottom line, if you're into the genre this film falls under, it's a must see. Even if you're not, it's still worth considering, I feel--don't let movies like VERTICAL LIMIT sour your opinion of the genre--every now and then (very rarely though, I admit) a good mountain movie is made. And this is the best of them.

They should do a remake, but for it’s time, good

Real climbers will love this movie. The mix of real climbing with CGI is so elegantly done - I've never seen anything like it before and I've seen a lot of climbing films - and I've done a lot of climbing. They needed actors who could climb to pull off a film this good, and that's what they got. I defy anyone on the first pass through the movie to pick out anything technically deficient (it helps the filmmakers that this story is set in the late 30's: climbing gear, and techniques, were very elemental).This is a lot more than a good climbing film though.The story this is based on is true. The filmmakers add a subplot or two as story-telling devices, but the main story is about two men and their love of the mountains and the camaraderie it takes to tackle immense challenges like the Nordwand as a team. The actors are brilliant, you feel everything they feel as they experience it, and you pull for them the minute you meet them onscreen.Technically and emotionally the film is a major achievement. The sub-plots make It compelling for non-climbers, the climbing is superlative, and even better: it does not overly glorify the dangers of the mountains, it deals soberly with the ever-possible tragedy that mistakes on hard mountains can lead to; and I think it will help climbers to answer that great unanswerable question that non-climbers are always asking, "Why do you do it?"I could not recommend it enough.

As far as historical recreations go, this is fairly good, given that no one will ever know exactly what was said and what went wrong at several crucial points during the real climb, back in 1936. That said, I agree with several earlier reviews, in that the producers took a few too many liberties in tweaking the history for dramatic effect, and the adding of a fictional character for a rather bland love-interest plot served no purpose but to annoy history purists. The fact that four men braved the north face of the infamous Eiger, encountered difficulties, overcame challenges, kept on, then tried to save themselves and perished in different ways, each tragic, seems more than enough material to me without making it seem that the men were not united in their goal from the off, that someone was specifically to blame for each accident, that one man sacrificed himself, or that a woman could sit all night on the face through a bitter storm was quite ridiculous. The way each man struggled and died, up to Kurz's actual last words, should be respected, within the lore of the Eiger's history.I also highly recommend that anyone who likes this film watches  The Beckoning Silence [DVD ], which puts right some of the unfortunate rewrites this film has, as it is a fantastic documentary by climber Joe Simpson, from  Touching The Void [DVD ]. As a documentary, it recreates the climb on the Eiger face itself, and is not intended to be a drama, but an accurate recreation. "North Face" makes the mistake of rewriting history with the false belief that people find raw history boring, or that without a love plot there is no reason for people to strive to live (Hollywood is plagued with this.. it seems to be contagious). Toni Kurz, the last to die during that climb, did not die for Nazi Germany (a swastika on the UK cover is over doing it), did not stay awake all night for an ex-girlfriend, or try to cling on to life for any reason other than he believed he could survive against the odds. The fact that he was so close yet so helpless makes it all the more painful. If you can see past the few fictional elements of this film, it remains very enjoyable, the CGI is so very good (check out the short Visual Effects extra feature), the disastrous outcome remains as poignant now as in 1936. RIP to those brave fellows, and others like them, whose efforts were an example to humanity, striving to conquer the unknown through a great sense of youth and adventure. The Beckoning Silence [DVDTouching The Void [DVD

For those that like the great outdoors and particularly mountain walking and climbing this is a superb film. It's better than the recent Hollywood blockbuster Everest films despite being in German with English subtitles. These are easy to follow and you really feel the reality of the situation all those years ago. If you watch one mountain climbing film this year, make it this!

I too have done Mont Blanc. I too found it difficult. I've read all the usual Eiger melodrama climbing literature and will have life long respect for the mountain and those with the cojones to tackle it; not me for a moment.Forget historical lip service; this film is the moviesBut Boy, is it "the movies"For the mountaineer absolute respect for the courage of the fated four. At a time in Mountaineering history as Walter Bonatti reminds us in " Mountains of my Life", risk was accentuated manyfoldFor the "actors" and stunt providers, just terrificFor the makers, you can't truly do Mountaineering surely and not respect this filmDon't be put off by the subtiitles; you don't noticeFor Toni Kurz an immortal alpinistThank youJust excellent

I have read several books of this fatal attempt on the Eiger, all of which have been brilliantly written and this filmIs as excellent. Thought the filming was marvellous and really touching as the fate unfolded. How Tony Kurtz fought the elements through the night is something that always remains with me, especially after my visit to the Eiger.

German dialogue, with no subtitle option.Apparently, subtitles add massively to the cost of producing the DVD.As the DVD box is covered in English, it was not unreasonable to suppose that there would be something to allow me to watch it.I failed to notice in the specs that it says German but although not hidden, it was not immediately apparent.