Mount St. Elias

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01/17/2013 Wow, I'm kinda overwhelmed. This film has taught me that there are quite a few really really crazy people - alpinists and free riders - who dare to challenge mother nature. Mount St. Elias is a mountain in some national park in Alaska. Hundreds of kilometers away from civilization, in complete wilderness. Standing "only" at about 18,000 feet (which is approximately 5,500 meters) it hosts the longest descent of any mountain in the world (because it's covered with snow from summit up until sea level - you can actually ski right to the Icy Bay oceanside). Mount St. Elias is the story of Austrian alpinists Axel Naglich and Peter Ressman along with US free rider Jon Johnston who try to not only summit the mountain (which didn't happen too often before either) but descend it by ski afterwards too. It's filmed partly from a helicopter, partly through helmet-cameras and partly from a cinematographer who accompanied them (only during the ascent). Although the film has some minor technical flaws - not all the shots are perfect (how could they), the "plot" is a bit disjointed (especially when they were in trouble in just didn't have the time to film or when the helicopters couldn't start because of the weather conditions) and the reenactments of the previous expedition from 2002, when two US alpinists died on their way down, don't look very professional - it's an intimate look on an authentic hazardous adventure, with real people risking their real lives. Not that Mount St. Elias provides us with genuine information about the protagonists or even tries to make us understand them, but it gives us quite a lot to think about. What goes on in the heads of these guys that they do such things? What do they feel? Why would they risk their lives? You don't get too much time to think about all these questions though - the film is tense. You'll be kept on the edge of your seat for a good amount of the runtime, it's well-paced and thrilling, rather unusual for a documentary. Also, the contemplative pauses to maybe get back to the aforementioned questions are filled with astounding pictures of majestic mountains and various improbable light effects that only occur in those kind of regions of the world. To make this clear, Mount St. Elias has some of best cinematography of any film of the year 2009, if I would make up a list of the year, it could even challenge the likes of Avatar or The White Ribbon - and would probably even win the contest. Feel free to search for it and take your chance if you ever stumble upon it - it's worth whatever price you have to pay. See more 04/05/2012 Saw this at The Sedona Film Festival in 2010. A dramatic and awe-inspiring feature documentary about three of the world's best ski mountaineers who attempt to descend down an 18,000 ft peak at Mount St Elias. If they make it, they are heroes, if they dont, they are dead. It was slow at times, but intense at others. See more 02/05/2011 This could have been easily cut into 15 minutes movie. If you've seen the trailer, you've likely seen the watchable parts. See more 11/09/2010 Saw this at The Sedona Film Festival in 2010. A dramatic and awe-inspiring feature documentary about three of the world's best ski mountaineers who attempt to descend down an 18,000 ft peak at Mount St Elias. If they make it, they are heroes, if they dont, they are dead. It was slow at times, but intense at others. See more 12/11/2009 No-nonsense skiing and climbing action on mount St. Elias. Breathtaking what those daredevils have accomplished. Breathtaking also the work of the cameramen who have accompanied the alpinists and also had to cover some not so heroic scenes (maybe thoses scenes were captured by the helmet cameras of the alpinists). A must see for genre fans! Hint: This is a documentary and not a feature film. See more Read all reviews

Mount St. Elias

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