WHITE HELL OF PIZ PALU
Mountain adventure films have come and gone since then, and most of the movement has been toward the goofy and embarrassing. Arnold Fanck is really where this type of adventure begins, though, and even if his became a largely forgotten name, his adventure films still stand as some of the best ever made, and his combination of documentary and drama informs many modern films. His camera studies the mountain intently, dwells on the natural wonders such behemoths generate: the dance of cloud shadows over snow fields and rags, the glistening tunnels and pits of ice fields, the bizarre swirls of powder kicked up by winds cascading over the peaks. One gets a feel for every nook and cranny, every nub, jug, and crimpy little handhold. And that helps us understand the pain of the characters as they toil up the spine of this beast. Unencumbered by the modern thirst for special effects, madcap editing, and overblown theatrics, Fanck simply lets the mountain be a mountain, and the end result is both hypnotic and scary. It’s going to brutalize you, probably even kill you. But you can’t stop yourself from going anyway.
#1 by Blake Matthews on August 9, 2008 - 6:48 pm
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Wow, nice combination of history and a review of what seems to be breathtaking adventure. I haven’t seen many mountain-climbing flicks (the original *cough* Lost Continent and Cliffhanger spring to mind). But newer ones like “Vertical Limit” and “K-2” never interested me.
#2 by KeithA on August 9, 2008 - 7:58 pm
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Most of the good ones are documentaries. When it comes to fiction, other than the Fanck films, I’m afraid Cliffhanger is about as good as it gets. But the old ones like this benefit from the sport being so dangerous. When I climb, I have a harness, crazy ropes that have been studied and engineered and reengineered for decades, assorted other safety equipment, etc etc…these people had a rope and some axes. Pretty crazy.
#3 by Tom Meade on August 10, 2008 - 3:37 am
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It’s pretty insane. I watched Touching the Void once and that was more than enough to put me off the idea. I can admire someone for wanting to do it but at the same time I like living far too much.
Speaking of Touching the Void, other than that I think the only other mountaineering films I’ve seen are Cliffhanger and The Snow Creature, so I’m curious as to what the good ones are.
#4 by lyzard on August 21, 2008 - 12:31 am
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A belated afterthought: I have a book at home somewhere that, like you, lumps Birth Of A Nation and Triumph Of The Will together on the grounds they they are “as artistically imperative as they are morally abhorrant”.
I saw Triumph some years back at a Cinematheque screening; one of those unnerving occasions where you sit there thinking, “Well, *I’m* all right….but who else is in this room?”
#5 by Baron Scarpia on August 21, 2008 - 1:26 am
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I have to say that, while technically very impressive, Triumph of the Will ended up boring me to tears. Apparently when the Nazis have a party, they can think of nothing better to do than have 60% of the nation march past Hitler, occasionally broken up with tedious speechifying.