Who payed the critics

An absolute waste of money

Admirable film.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

I may not be physically able to climb Mount Everest. I do hope one day to see Everest from a distance. The joy in reaching the summit was important for this gang of ultimate mountaineers. There are many here who plan to make the summit. I wished there was more to this documentary though. I know the story of how the deadly storm killed many that time. Everest is the ultimate goal for those who are mountain climbers but it is very dangerous even for the healthy. You can climb Everest at your own risk though after spending thousands of dollars to get there.

Everest (1998) *** (out of 4) Liam Neeson narrates this rather uneven documentary about climbers trying to reach the summit of Everest. Throughout the 44 minute running time we hear about the history of the mountain as well as its location and why it's such a dangerous journey. We then meet some of the climbers as they take the camera crew up the mountain to the summit.This is certainly very uneven and you have to wonder why we didn't get more footage on the mountain since that's clearly the highlight of the movie. I think there's way too much time spent on the history of the mountain and just talking about things that aren't overly interesting. People are going to be coming to this film to see the mountain climbing and when this is happening there's no question that the film is highly entertaining and contains some nice suspense.

IMAX films are designed for screens over three stories tall. So, if you want to see this film, do not watch it on video, watch it in an IMAX theater. I saw Everest on a television, and it was painful to watch. The music was scored to give the audience a sense of the greatness of Everest, but when the screen is so small, it almost seems silly. Also, remember that this film is targeted at all age groups, so do not expect to learn much about climbing.

I saw this recently at the Space Museum in Hong Kong, and thought it was stunning. The photography was superb, making full use of the whole FOV image possible with IMAX equipment. The documentary was emotive and compelling and the scenes breathtaking. Those scared of heights should probably skip this one!!