Incannerax What a waste of my time!!!

SmugKitZine Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

SnoopyStyle It's 1936. The Eiger North Face is last unconquered challenge in the Alps. The Nazi propaganda machine wants it defeated by German climbers before the upcoming Olympics. Luise Fellner is a secretary working in a Berlin newspaper. She tells her bosses that she knows men who could do the climb. She, Andi Hinterstoisser and Toni Kurz are childhood friends. Hinterstoisser is eager to try anything. Kurz is more level-headed and refuses to do the climb. Luise goes along with her boss Henry Arau anyways to cover two Austrians making the ascend. Kurz relents and the two friends make the attempt.The relationship between Hinterstoisser and Kurz is great. The cynical sexist reporters are great. The romantic element isn't quite as compelling. I almost wish that part gets less attention after the climb starts although it's compelling to see the juxtaposition between the comfortable resort and the harsh climb. The climb up is harrowing. It treats mountain climbing seriously where rock falls causes real injuries. This doesn't feel fake except for the girlfriend.

diana-y-paul Based on a true story, "North Face"is a suspenseful adventure film about a competition to climb the most dangerous rock face in the Alps. Set in 1936, as Nazi Germany urges the nation's mountain climbers to conquer the unclimbed north face - the Eiger ("Ogre" in German) - two reluctant German climbers begin their daring ascent despite knowing their exploits will be used as propaganda. After being refused leave from the German army, they volunteer to make the climb, disinterested in Third Reich politics. (Nazi politics play only a historical role as the backdrop for the historic climb.)The German climbers play into the Nazis' superiority obsession as they face off against a rival Austrian duo in an attempt to be the first team to scale the infamous Eiger. Although the movie starts a little slowly in initiating the ascent of Eiger, it really picks up pace about one third the way in as the challenges of the climb become evident. The contrast between the plight of the mountain climbers and that of the rich bystanders who watch the life-threatening climb through telescopes while drinking champagne becomes increasingly and emotionally riveting. The two mountain climbers and female love interest are all solid actors, well directed, and well casted. The director did a superb job at capturing the climb. Everything was so convincingly shot, it makes you wonder if they actually filmed some of it on a real mountain. Convincing images that are both majestic and harrowing are actually achieved through CGI, but it was used sparingly and realistically for some frightening scenes. A gripping story in which the journey to the top is enough. See other movie reviews at: www.unhealedwound.com

nzallblacks_12 Big picture this: it's 1936 in the 'old world'. Post-depression Europe is just awakening from the dredges of a dark period. At center stage though awaits Germany. Now the cacophonous chant, 'Heil Hilter', echoes throughout resurgent Deutschland. Well, in the film that catchy phrase is decried at least five times. Once though, I heard 'Bye Hilter'!The new Chancellor, Mr. Hilter had grand designs for his people. And with the capitol, Berlin, hosting the Summer Olympics what better stage was there to set out on world domination?For sure, the Third Reich is in search of fresh heroes. Hilter dearly wants to showcase the German youth's indomitable spirit. The whole world watched with tense anticipation.Two young Bavarian Alpinists, Toni Kurz and Andi Hinterstoisser are dolefully deployed as hard boots down on the ground in the Wehrmacht's Bavarian Mountain Brigade. Often we are shown that these two German recruits dream of greater heights, ostensibly far away from the army. Mr. Hilter and his band of merry henchmen dream big too. The rest of Europe though shudders at learning those lofty thoughts.Soon, both the would-be adventurers and the Deutsch Reich find a common target. Their goal is to scale Europe's last unscaled mountain: the Eiger North Face. However, local lore gave it a different name: the Ogre Face.Located in the Swiss canton of Berne, the Eiger peak poses a formidable challenge. A year earlier, the towering granite peak claimed the lives of two other ace Munchen mountaineers: Karl Sedlmayer and Max Mehringer.Enter the German media at the behest of the Nazi Propaganda Ministry...Luise, an aspiring reporter with the Berliner Zeitung also hails from the same Bavarian village as the two main protagonists. Straight away she's hot on their tail (Toni's). So are two Austrian crack mountaineers.The Austrian duo too aspires to be good Nazis. And the 'true' German males have visions of grandeur. Their mission from on high is financed by none other than their local SA chapter. It couldn't be any other way. They said so!Now we have all the right ingredients for a grand spectacle. If you can set aside the 'politiks' couched in most sentences, 'North Face' is a fine film about courage and grace under extreme pressure. Hemingway would've approved of the movie script. I'm sure of that.Along the way director, Phillip Stolzl even hints that 'love' is indeed the motivation behind everything. Work, play, ambition, desire and even sport are all affected by this magical elixir. Why else would man take to scaling high mountains while battling their inner selves as well as nature? And the Eiger rising straight up to more than 13,000 feet proves to be a worthy challenge even fearsome foe.On the other hand, the Austrian team competition lends its hands/feet/heads though unwittingly to help speed fate to the pinnacle. For certain, the film's finale is nothing short of a spellbinding, heart pounding adventure at its zenith.No doubt, Nordwand is the epitome of all mountain climbing films; I haven't seen its equal.My verdict is this: a perfect 10 Stars.Alleluia!

keachs This is a beautifully shot film, and captures the feel of 1930's Germany. The actors are very believable and the climbing scenes and scenery, stunning. I wondered how they filmed the climbing scenes so realistically, and found out in the extras that although they employed special effects and CGI images, they are so realistic and well integrated that you absolutely cannot tell where they used the effects. The storyline is gripping, made even more so knowing that the movie was based on actual events. The actual account on Wikipedia is even more heartbreaking. Easily one of the best mountaineering movies out there, along with "Touching the Void".