From the skillful and experienced production team at MacGillivray Freeman Films—the seasoned veterans of IMAX filmmaking—this 45-minute documentary offers the most stunning Alpine vistas you will see short of actually traveling to Switzerland: elegant, swooping, high-def aerial photography that skims across the jagged peaks of treacherous ridges to open up onto grand-scale Swiss landscapes. As usual for IMAX films, The Alps offers a short but compelling story to support the visuals: in this case, viewers follow noted Swiss-born climber John Harlin III, whose American father, John Harlin II, was the founder of the International School of Mountaineering. In 1966, the senior Harlin was killed on the legendary north face of the infamous Eiger, the most dangerous Alpine peak, memorable to filmgoers from the Clint Eastwood thriller The Eiger Sanction. In The Alps, Harlin must wrestle his inner demons to complete the task begun by his father, and then safely descend to the picturesque valley below where his wife and young daughter anxiously await his return. His climb—accompanied by veteran Eiger climbers Robert and Daniela Jasper—is presented with you-are-there intensity, along with recreations of the elder Harlin's fatal attempt (including a realistic dramatization of his deadly fall that some viewers may find unsettling). DVD/Blu-ray extras include a 38-minute “making-of” featurette, trailers for other IMAX films by MacGillivray Freeman, a Swiss Alps trivia quiz, profiles of the climbers and filmmakers, and (direct from the Swiss Tourism Board) some exquisite HD footage of stunning Swiss Alpine landscapes in summer and winter. All in all, this should appeal to armchair adventurers, with the Blu-ray version looking particularly breathtaking. Recommended. Aud: P. (J. Shannon)
The Alps: Climb of Your Life
(2007) 45 min. DVD: $19.99, Blu-ray: $24.98. Image Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). Volume 24, Issue 1
The Alps: Climb of Your Life
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