Rating: 
Summary: Into Thin Air, an excellent movie
Review: Having been fascinated with Mount Everest and the 1996 disaster ever since reading "Into Thin Air" a year ago, I was delighted to learn there was a movie based on the book. Admittingly I was skeptical after reading so many bad reviews about the movie. I thought the movie did a great job considering there was only 90 minutes to tell the story. I thought the special effects and scenery were excellent, much more believable than "vertical limits". I thought the actors did an honorable job in portraying Rob Hall, Scott Fisher, and the rest. I encourage anyone to watch it, just to have a visual of what those people went through.
Rating: 
Summary: Fade to white
Review: I don't know what should have tipped me off first -- that this film is made for TV or that the "bonus trailers" on the DVD are for "Cliffhanger" and "Vertical Limit."
A story as profound as Krakauer's and a mountain as big as Everest just shouldn't be forced onto the small screen. The movie suffers greatly from the very things that mountainclimbers cannot do -- rush. The movie pushes along at a relentless pace using fade to white as a time compression device. The movie never takes its time until its way too late. We can't decompress that fast!
The dialogue and acting suffer from the made-for-TV feel, and the plot comes across as something closer to one of Reader's Digests' "Drama in Real Life" instead of Krakauer's prose. Sure there are a few emotional moments and points where they "get it right," but they are too few and far between. The movie is so rushed we don't have time to care about the characters presented. Ironically I thought Imax's "Everest," even with its documentary feel, was far more moving.
Of course I also did this movie a disservice by seeing it back to back with "Touching the Void" an immensely superior film. Read Krakauer's book and watch "Void" or "Everest." Leave this DVD back at base camp.
*1/2
Rating:
Summary: A thrilling chiller for mountaineering enthusiasts
Review: I first saw this movie in Global Studies, and even then Mr. Bockelman (my teacher) jumped right in to where Jon Krakauer is struggling to reach the summit of Mount Everest. We didn't even finish the whole film. Then, this weekend, I checked out Mr. Krakauer's book, "Into Thin Air", and found that from what I had seen, the director of the film stayed remarkably close to the book and to the horrific events that happened on Everest in 1996. Overall, I thought that the movie showed many people what happened on May 10, 1996, and of what climbing Everest is really like. Awesome, but chilling.
Rating: 
Summary: A good realistic movie
Review: I have seen many movies and stories about climbing but I have to say that this DVD so far has been one of the best stories ever carried out comercially. Although the screening, acting, technical parameters of the filming were not that impressive, the crude reality of a tough mountain, altitude sickness and the necesity of team work are expressed at most. Cristopher McDonald's performance wasn't bad at all and check out the khumbu ice fall and Hillary pass scenification; come on, you can't have better than that. Please don't mention Vertical Limit wich I consider a looney toon story compared to this movie or some cliffhanger nickaround wich gives you nothing but a waste of time.
Perhaps, producers should put on a side Mount Everest and think about making a REAL!! movie about K2 wich I consider the toughest mountain ever to climb (what a shame vertical limit became the greatest insult to the K2 mountain). Although there is a fine movie about it (starring Michael Biehn and Matt Craven) I'm still waiting for a movie that can bring us the real shot to mountanier live: extreme danger, 90° rock walls, deadly avalanches and many nature-against situations that put human lives in a thin line.I personally recomend Into thin air, death on everest. Juan M. Pacheco
Rating: 
Summary: Fair account of the book; could have been more development
Review: I rented this movie from Blockbuster (had a rent one, get one coupon) and was very anxious to see it. If there ever was a book that should not have been attempted as a made-for-TV movie, this is it. If Titanic deserves 3 1/2 hours, Into Thin Air deserves at least 2. Too much had to be left out, and the editing required for TV viewing caused it to lose some credibility. See the IMAX film instead.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling, but doesn't do justice to the book
Review: I rented this out of curiosity, having until then only seen the IMAX film "Everest". From a movie standpoint it was compelling and made me interested enough in the '96 Everest disaster to get and read both Jon Krakauer's and Anatoli Boukreev's books. After reading them and then watching the movie again this movie comes up flat by comparison. The books are so much better and were written by people who were really up there. While this film is well made and well directed, it takes too many liberties with the events and glosses over many things or leaves them out entirely. It is obvious that Jon Krakauer's book (or Boukreev's book too for that matter) would be very difficult to successfully condense into a 90 minute film, but what is especially disconcerting about this film is that little effort was made, apparently, for accuracy. Watch it, but read the books too, and take this film with as many grains of salt as you can stomach.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling, but doesn't do justice to the book
Review: I rented this out of curiosity, having until then only seen the IMAX film "Everest". From a movie standpoint it was compelling and made me interested enough in the '96 Everest disaster to get and read both Jon Krakauer's and Anatoli Boukreev's books. After reading them and then watching the movie again this movie comes up flat by comparison. The books are so much better and were written by people who were really up there. While this film is well made and well directed, it takes too many liberties with the events and glosses over many things or leaves them out entirely. It is obvious that Jon Krakauer's book (or Boukreev's book too for that matter) would be very difficult to successfully condense into a 90 minute film, but what is especially disconcerting about this film is that little effort was made, apparently, for accuracy. Watch it, but read the books too, and take this film with as many grains of salt as you can stomach.
Rating:
Summary: You were perhaps expecting a rehash of "Titanic"?
Review: I saw the film on cable and was mesmerized. There isn't much one can do in 90 minutes especially with a host of characters. I thought the film was well-done. I found the film's toneto mimic an almost journalistic manner much as Krakauer's book did. I wanted to see if the film was true to the book and lo and behold it was! This was a tragedy and the film portrayed it as such. But it certainly wasn't a "Hollywood" film. If it was then it would have concentrated on two central figures who seem to concoct a sexual romance amidst the tragedy; perhaps there should have been more concentration on the scene where two characters have sex in a tent and one of them slaps a steamy hand on the tent walls....a la "Titanic". Perhaps if his film was made more like "Titanic" complete with Celine Dion love song then it would have gotten better reviews. Take the film for what it is. Read the book. Remember the tragedy, and the greatness of humans to go above and beyond their limitations.
Rating:
Summary: Horrible
Review: I stumbled accross this movie in a Blockbuster right after I read the book. I was so dissapointed I couldn't beleive it. While the cinematography is great (you actually could beleive they were in the himalaya) The acting is horrible, not to mention the insulting fact that Krakauer's character is played by the same guy that played shooter mcgavin in "Happy Gilmor". Plenty of the story is left out, and some of the more important issues are quickly glanced over. The bottom line is that this story cannot be effectively told in a made for tv movie. Get the illustrated edition of "Into Thin Air" instead.
Rating:
Summary: Its a cool movie to see the feelings of the people of 96
Review: I think this is one of the best climbing movies out because it show a more in depth view of what happend on Everest. It also shows some of the feelings that the climbes had, just like the book, instead of the movies that just tell the sicentifc explaintions of Everest. So thats why i give this vido 5 stars.
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