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45 of 47 found the following review helpful:
 Harrowing Just to WatchMay 26, 2004
By James Carragher
My son and I came out of the theater exhausted just by watching this quasi-documentary reenactment of the 1985 ascent up an unclimbed route on the Siula Grande glacier in Peru. The film's impact is heightened by the excellent cutting between the actor/climbers and Simon Yates and Joe Simpson, who recall their actions, reactions, and feelings nearly 20 years later. Disaster strikes on the descent, where -- as one of them notes -- "80 percent of accidents happen." After Simpson breaks his leg in a fall, Yates -- against impossible odds -- continues to try and get him down. Finally, Simpson falls again, off the edge of the mountain. After hours of hanging on to what feels like dead weight, Yates cuts the rope to prevent himself from being gradually pulled into the void. Simpson's survival and return to base camp is nothing short of miraculous, suggesting that man is never more tenacious about life than when he is closest to losing it. Though far different in its circumstances, his story rivals that of Shackleton and the Endurance in Antartica three quarters of a century before. An underlying issue, addressed briefly in the film, is whether Yates should have cut the rope. Apparently some other climbers criticized him for doing so, but Simpson always defended his action. I have no idea how well the technical aspects of Touching the Void are done, but to this mostly earthboard amateur, they looked brilliantly and truly shot. Danger and beauty are scarcely separable in Touching the Void. When you are not immersed in the terror of Yates' and, especially, Simpson's plight, the frigid beauty of the glacier, the colors within its crevasses are glorious. A story of recklessness and great determination, superbly told, filled with many "how did they ever shoot that?" moments, Touching the Void must be seen.
13 of 13 found the following review helpful:
The most overwhelming movie experience you can haveJul 27, 2004
By S. Luster
"sdl"
I've seen countless movies over the years but I don't think I've ever been moved in quite the same way that I was watching Touching the Void. I first saw Touching the Void in a small art-house theater in Chicago, the experience was closer to going to church than going to the movies. The entire theater was dead quiet throughout the film but you could feel the tension throughout the room. After it was over I felt like I had been holding my breath for an hour and a half - incredible when you consider that, this being a documentary, I more or less knew how it was going to end - and others I talked to in the theater expressed the same feelings. I wasn't sure if anything would be lost in the transfer to DVD, it wasn't. Not only was the story just as gripping on the small screen but the extra features made a perfect movie-going experience even better. People marching off to see I, Robot or whatever other dreck Hollywood throws at us have no idea what they're missing in this masterpiece.
21 of 25 found the following review helpful:
 SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST...Jun 27, 2004
By Lawyeraau
This film, based upon the international best seller of the same name, recounts an amazing tale of courage, fortitude, and the will to live, despite dire circumstances. About twenty or so years ago, British mountaineers Joe Simpson and his then climbing partner, Simon Yates, attempted to ascend a perilous section of the Peruvian Andes, Suila Grande, a majestic 21,000 foot peak that was nearly inaccessible. These two intrepid climbers tackled the mountain alpine style and, surprisingly, reached the summit, the first mountaineers to do so. After reaching the summit, however, tragedy struck on their descent, when Joe, up over 19,000 feet, fell and hit a slope at the base of a cliff, breaking his right leg and rupturing his right knee. Beneath him was a seemingly endless fall to the bottom. When Simon reached him, they both knew that the chances for getting Joe off the mountain were virtually non-existent. Yet, Simon Yates fashioned a daring plan to do just that. For the next few hours, they worked in tandem through a snowstorm, and managed a risky, yet effective, way of trying to lower Joe down the mountain. Several thousand feet down, Joe, who was roped to Simon, dropped off an edge and found himself now free hanging in space, about six feet away from an ice wall, unable to reach it with his axe. The edge was over hung above him and the dark outline of a yawning crevasse lay directly below him. Joe could not get up, and Simon could not get down. In fact, Joe's weight began to pull Simon off the mountain. So, Simon was finally forced to do the only thing he could do under the circumstances. He cut the rope, believing that he was consigning his friend to certain death. Therein lies the tale. It is at this point in the film that the real story begins. What happens next is sure to make one believe in miracles. This is an absorbing, beautifully shot film. The story is told in a sort of unique docu-drama style, with actors re-enacting moments in this fantastic, true life tale of survival, while Joe Simpson and Simon Yates narrate what happened on that mountain. It is an absorbing piece of cinema, as it presents a somewhat novel and fresh way of telling this amazing survival story. The cinematography is magnificent, as the film is shot in the Peruvian Andes, where the incident occurred. Moreover, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates do the actual climbing scenes in the film. All armchair climbers will thrill to the sound of their crampons and axes digging into the ice. My only suggestion is that one read the book before viewing the film.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
An amazing story of tenacity, will, and dumb luckDec 14, 2004
By Craig Matteson
I heard about this film on Ebert & Roeper and was very intrigued. While the events in this movie happened in 1985 and became the subject of a million seller book in 1987, this was the first I had heard about Joe Simpson and Simon Yates.
At the time of this story they were tough, even brash, young adventurers in their early twenties who had decided to take on the previously unclimbed 21,000 foot Siula Grande in Peru. Can you imagine such a decision from men, one 25 and another not quite 22? Of course, it always such young men who possess the gift of a sense of immortality and indestructibility that have always taken on these impossible tasks.
The climb was harder than they had anticipated, and things were getting dangerously severe on their way down, when disaster struck: Joe fell and broke his leg. Simon decided to try to help his friend down and they worked out a method that got them a long way down, but their luck ran out. Joe was lowered over a sheer drop and could not pull himself up nor could Simon pull him back. The howling wind made it impossible for them to communicate with each other. They were trapped in a deadly situation with almost no way out.
After waiting for hours, Simon, who would surely have died if he stayed where he was, made the hard decision to survive and cut the rope to Joe. Joe fell a long way and crashed through the ice into a crevasse and fell some more onto a narrow ledge. It turns out the Simon's decision saved both their lives, but at the time Simon looked for Joe's body assuming he was dead. He couldn't find Joe and struggled back to camp, frostbitten and distraught over the loss of Joe.
How Joe survived would be unbelievable in a work of fiction. It is an amazing true story of tenacity, will, and even dumb luck.
This movie combines the participants telling the story in their own voices with actors re-enacting the events. Having the story told by the ones who lived through it gives the story an immediacy and veracity that actors alone could never provide, and seeing the stories portrayed as the story is being told to you makes their words more vivid. Combined, the story is made more immediate, real, and heart pounding.
If you like stories of adventure, determination, and overcoming impossible odds, this is as fine a story as you are likely to find.
Amazing.
There are three featurettes on the DVD that make this all even better: 1) The making of the movie, 2) The Return to Siula Grande, 3) What Happened Afterwards.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Goodness, a climbing movie that isn't cheesey!Oct 27, 2004
By Plate
Climbers have always felt there was no need for the embarassing antics displayed in absurd films like Vertical Limit, MI-2, and Cliffhanger to get across the at-once dangerous and beautiful aspects of their sport. In fact, it was believed that a truly talented director could convey those things quite well through a little creativity rather than resorting to nitro-glycerine and cheesey free-soloing scenes to add suspense. So it was with great anticipation and a bit of skepticism that the release of this movie retelling the classic story of Joe Simpson's epic in the Andes was anticipated. No one was let down. This is a brilliantly done film, at the original scene, with the real climbers doing much of the legwork. The climbing scenes are shot with authenticity, and even the actors portraying the climbers did a good job. The horrible situation Simpson finds himself in and his deteriorating physical and mental condition are palpable and nerve-wracking. The feeling of desperation and hopelessness reaches the same heights achieved in the book, as does the anxiety and anguish of Simon (his partner). This is a classic film rendering of a classic book. This is one movie you must see; who knows if another climbing story will ever be done as well. And whether you're a climber or not, you will be just as close to the edge of your seat, all without the insulting Hollywood silliness.
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