Explosions and massive parties on K2, knife fights during an involuntary free solo, a lonely portaledge on the wall, and a bolt gun. While some films are about climbing, the producers don't seem to have really engaged with the subject matter – this article presents our best-of unrealistic climbing films.
What many consider action-packed entertainment can unintentionally turn into a great and highly entertaining trash film for climbers or alpinists. There are now some really good films and documentaries about climbing. Nevertheless, climbing and belay techniques, alpine understanding, and proper equipment handling seem to have yet to make it into Hollywood. We've taken a look at some films well-known in the community, and they didn't disappoint when it came to climbing trash.
Vertical Limit (2000)
The film's popularity is high! An absolute classic, it's notorious within the community for its technical absurdity. Indeed, one only has to watch the opening sequence to find one or two chuckles at the climbing and belay techniques. Still, the film managed to gross $215 million. Free Solo legend Alex Honnold calls the opening scene "horrible and probably the worst climbing scene in all of Hollywood."
The film is an explosive drama at 8.000 meters. After his father dies in a dramatically exaggerated opening scene, Peter Garrett must save his sister, who is K2-Adventure with a millionaire expedition gets stuck in a crevasse.
This is followed by wild explosives, crazy stunts and mountaineering fails.
Nitroglycerin is carried in backpacks through avalanches, ropes break and helicopters fly at 300 km/h just above ridges.
The film will drive professional alpinists and climbers crazy or amuse them immensely, depending on whether they can tolerate unrealistic handling of equipment and safety techniques.
Fall (2022)
This film was completely torn apart by the Reddit community (r/climbing), with one comment being "Realism 1/10." Despite insufficient research on climbing, the low-budget film received a 79% on Rotten Tomatoes.
»Fall« is about the friends Becky and Hunter. In the opening of the film we see Becky's husband Dan fall and die while climbing a year earlier. The couple are climbing a big wall simultaneously and occasionally place a single cam - how they plan to get it out again, since no one is following them, is a mystery. When Dan falls and they are both hanging on to either side of the poorly placed cam, he asks Becky to unhook - the rope is not knotted to her harness but attached to a carabiner. His question as to whether she is secured does not refer to a belay, but to whether she is holding on firmly. Hunter, meanwhile, is free soloing next to the couple.
You're probably thinking, "Huh?" Yeah, so are we. And that's just the intro.
Cliffhanger (1993)
Cliffhanger is a 1993 American action and adventure film starring Sylvester Stallone. The film was nominated for three Oscars and has achieved a certain cult status – even in the climbing scene.
Gabe Walker is arguably the best man on the Rocky Mountains' mountain rescue team. After a traumatic incident, he vows never to set foot in the Rocky Mountains again. However, when a plane crashes in his former territory, Walker sets out to rescue the victims. They turn out to be brutal gangsters trying to recover a crashed cargo of money. Thus, an action-packed game of cat and mouse begins in the Rocky Mountains.
In this video, Walker climbs up a frozen waterfall with his bare hands and cuts a climbing rope with his crampons. However, the favorite among many climbers in this film is the bolt gun, which shoots bolts directly into the wall.
Definitely very entertaining, and with the pistol, a dream for some route setters. The film is highly recommended by the community for a rainy popcorn evening while camping.
The Ledge (2022)
A thriller on the rock. And even more chilling for climbing enthusiasts. In "The Ledge," Kelly chronicles the murder of her best friend and thus becomes the target of a close-knit group that will do anything to eliminate evidence and witnesses. She now flees – quite clearly – up the steep Dolomite wall. The group of men manages to overtake her, and Kelly – after an impressive free solo – finds herself trapped on a portaledge that was conveniently left behind in the wall.
Another highlight is the knife fight for survival – unprotected, of course!
The film has a 31% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. IMDB says it's "so bad it's almost good." For anyone who's never seen a camera before: please don't take this as an example.
Our Conclusion
These four films combine some great visuals with technical climbing dramas. They're cult classics and truly entertaining (especially Cliffhanger), but at times difficult to watch for those with any climbing knowledge. These films particularly challenge confidence in cameras, or equipment in general, as most of the falls are caused by cameras explosively shooting out of the wall.
Climbing fans who want to see good technique might prefer to stay with »Free Solo", "Meru," or "The Wall of Dawn." We can still recommend the films presented above for a relaxing evening in front of the TV or a fun movie night while camping. Just don't take them too seriously.
That might interest you
- So the film crew trembled at freerider Alex Honnold's free solo celebration
- Trailer for Alex Honnold's freestyle free-ride on El Capitan
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Credits Cover image: Screenshot Video YouTube Channel: Movie Clips
You've nailed it... We should let the Messners and Honnolds of this world make films like this, then we climbers would also get to see something challenging. An interesting side fact about Cliffhanger, though: The climbing scenes were played by none other than Wolfgang Güllich, who doubled for Stallone, and the two even reportedly became friends. Perhaps Stallone, at least, learned something about real climbing this way.
Hello Donato,
That's true, some of the climbing scenes were doubled by Wolfgang Güllich. Unfortunately, Wolfgang didn't have the chance to see the film's premiere, as he was killed in a motorway accident on August 29, 1992, less than two weeks after filming ended.
Another exciting side fact – the story behind Cliffhanger isn't entirely fictional; a plane actually crashed in the Sierra Nevada, not far from Yosemite Valley, in 1977. However, the cargo back then wasn't money, as in the film, but rather large quantities of marijuana. There were rumors that Jim Bridwell and other Yosemite climbers had found this plane and helped themselves to its cargo (Robert Steiner mentions this, for example, in "Alone Among Russians" on page 46).
Regards,
Philip
Cliffhanger:
Why was the article not mentioned that Wolfgang Güllich climbed some scenes as a stand-in double?
Or is that not true?
Kind regards
Manuel Pfeiffer
Did anyone see the movie "Scream of Stone"? Stefan Glowacz, on top of the summit ice mushroom of Cherro Torre, actually encounters a snow avalanche from above...
The whole cinema, filled with mountain enthusiasts, was laughing their heads off!
Hello Patrick,
Unfortunately, I've never seen it, but from what I hear about the film and its creation, a "making of" might have been a more exciting film. In his book "On the Rocks," Stefan Glowacz writes a few lines about how the filming with Werner Herzog went.
Regards,
Philip