Into the Thin Air of Everest - Mountain of Dreams, Mountain of Doom [DVD]

This two-sided DVD is an overview of western interaction with Mt. Everest from the middle of the 19th century to the end of the 20th. It embodies the strengths and weaknesses that one might expect in such a production--apart from the successful British expedition of 1953, which is the subject of a lengthy documentary on Side B, events in"Into the Thin Air of Everest" receive coverage that is wide, but not deep.The first section, "Everest: The Quest" (40 minutes), begins with a reminder of the disastrous 1996 storm and its consequences, then moves into a chronological presentation of events, beginning with the naming of the mountain after George Everest (the Surveyor General of India), and the 1856 survey that established the mountain as the highest in the world. Using archival footage, it recounts the 1920s British expeditions, which established the route to the mountain, and were the first to rely on Sherpas for transportation, and on oxygen equipment for high altitude climbing. This section describes the mysterious final climb of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine. This DVD went into production too late to incorporate information about the discovery of Mallory's body in 1999. "Into the Thin Air of Everest" provides a brief account of the 1953 British expedition that finally conquered the mountain. We learn that the subsequent climbing craze brought substantial financial rewards, but also dangerous work, to the Sherpas. The story of the 1953 expedition is illustrated with original British film taken from the documentary on Side B.The second section ("Everest: Temping Fate" [51 minutes]) is essentially a continuation of the first. It alludes to the 1920s and 1953 British expeditions, then moves on to describe the Chinese ascent of the mountain's north side (1960), Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld's successful traverse of Everest in 1963 (the first), Christian Bonington's assault on the Southwest Face (1975), and Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler's successful 1978 climb (the first without oxygen). The DVD also includes a section on women climbers. Women were not allowed on the earliest expeditions; and it was not until 1975 that a woman reached the summit. We learn in some detail about Marty Hoey's fatal attempt to become the first American woman to climb Mt. Everest (1982), a mission accomplished by Stacy Allison six years later. There is a description of the 1990 International Peace Climb, which involved mountaineers from the U.S., China, and the U.S.S.R. Finally, there is a discussion of the commercialization of climbing, in conjunction with an account of the 1996 disaster in which 8 climbers lost their lives.Interspersed with these historical sketches are commentaries provided by Edmund Hillary, Hornbein, Bonington, Todd Burleson, Audrey Salkeld and Eric Simonson. Simonson demonstrates climbing equipment, including down suits, boots, crampons, harnesses, ascenders, ice axes, and oxygen masks. Physiologist Robert Schoene explains the effects of altitude on the human body. The supplementary material includes biographical information about Hillary and Bonington, a brief interview with Hillary and a substantially longer one with Bonington, as well as photographs of mountain scenery, the climbers, and their camps.Side B is occupied by "The Conquest of Everest" (78 minutes), a British documentary about the 1953 expedition that finally reached the top of the mountain. This production was nominated for an Academy Award as the Best Documentary Feature film. Beginning by recounting the history of European interest in Mt. Everest, it features footage from the 1922 and 1924 British expeditions, and aerial photography by the Indian Air Force, but consists mainly of film shot by George Lowe, who was a member of the 1953 expedition. "Conquest" traces that undertaking from the testing of oxygen equipment, windproof tent material, boots, and dehydrated rations, through the 175-mile foot journey from Katmandu to the base of Everest. It describes how climbers established multiple camps along the route up the mountain. One of the most memorable scenes shows Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay crammed into their small tent on the South Col while a violent storm raged outside. Unfortunately , there are only a few still photographs, and no film footage, to document Hillary and Tenzing's actual attainment of the summit. This is a good account of the 1953 expedition. But many viewers will be disappointed by the film's low resolution and poor color reproduction.

I have many dvd's covering Mt. Everest expeditions but this dvd is one of the best. I highly recommend it to anyone who has a real interest in the mountain and its history.Pro: The dvd covers the history of climbing Mt. Everest from the earliest time to more recent times. It shows how some of the climbing gear works, it highlights some of the many expeditions, and it shows historical footage of the Hillary/Tenzing expedition in 1953. Although it does not have film footage of them actually on the summit it does cover their ascent to almost the summit.I like the way the dvd highlights the various routes and shows the various base camp stops along the way and why they were chosen. I also like the way that the video highlighted the first women to make the summit.The dvd has a lot of "old" film footage and still pictures as well. Program #3 is devoted to the complete Hillary/Tensing climb.I have been disappointed with some of the newer MTV type "reality" television videos I have purchased. I really don't care about the manufactured personal conflicts between the climbers I want to feel as if I am an integral part of the climb.Con: There is no written information on the inside of the dvd carrier. In addition, the actual dvd is not labeled in the conventional manner and it is not evident that the dvd is 2 sided (if you look closely at the sides you can see that it has been recorded on both. After you view the first 2 programs you are instructed to flip the dvd to the other side for the 3rd program.Final thought: After purchasing a number of Everest dvd's they all started to look the same and did not answer the questions that I had about the mountain. This dvd hit the nail on the head and is exactly what I had been looking for. If you are looking for 3 hours of Imax 3-D video you will be disappointed. If you want to know the history of Everest then this is it.

Excellent DVD. Has the original 1953 documentary about Hillary conquering Everest as well as two other documentaries. One has lots of original footage from the early expeditions of Mallory and Hillary. The other is about the later, more modern expeditions.Lots of footage, very good DVD.

I was encourged to order this film of the Climb on Everest by the Mallory Team, because somewhere in the distance past, he might have been related to my husbands Mallory family. It was very exciting and interesting, I probably will watch it over again, the pictures of Everest are fantastic.....

Into the Thin Air of Everest - Mountain of Dreams, Mountain of DoomFantastic history of the mountain as well as those who sought to conquer it. Very imformative and enjoyable. This is as concise as you can get but still with great detail and history.

Great thriller!

If you are an Everest nut, like me, you'll enjoy watch and re-watching this DVD. Very good photography and historical data.

Nice item, a little grainy but content is excellent RECOMMEND!