The climbing sport, which we call mountaineering, actually emerged as a result of the local people trying to climb the mountains at thousands of meters in the region. Over the years this sport has evolved and this fearful climbing adventure has become much safer thanks to solid equipment. Still, we’re sure no one would call mountaineering movies boring, let alone climbing itself.
This is the biggest purpose of movies anyway, maybe we watch an adventure that we can’t take in our lifetime as if we were living those moments on the screen. Although mountaineering movies are a title that includes many different genres, especially documentaries and biographies, namely true stories, are seen as the most exciting productions. Let’s take a closer look at the best mountaineering movies recommendations we have listed according to IMDb scores, and briefly the stories they offer to the audience.
The best mountaineering movies according to IMDb ratings:
- Valley Uprising
- Touching the Void
- Meru
- 127 Hours
- sherpa
- Nordwand
- Everest
- L’ascension
- The Summit
- Cliffhanger
American climbing culture: Valley Uprising
- Year: 2014
- Genre: Documentary
- Director: Peter Mortimer, Nick Rosen, Josh Lowell
- Cast: Peter Sarsgaard, Alex Honnold, Yvon Chouinard
- IMDb: 8.1
Yosemite National Park in the United States has an almost flat climbing point. Mountaineers first started to climb this point in the 1950s. Climbing adventures, which started as a simple activity, have become a way of life for climbers over the years.
The mountaineer who didn’t leave his friend behind: Touching the Void
- Year: 2003
- Genre: Documentary, Adventure, Drama
- Director: Kevin Macdonald
- Cast: Nicholas Aaron, Joe Simpson
- IMDb: 8.0
Two climbers, Simon and Joe, successfully climb the seemingly impossible summit of Siula Grande in Peru. However, on the way back, Joe’s leg is broken. Simon has to cut the rope at some point, even as he continues to descend, pulling her with the rope. But Joe does not die and somehow completes the descent. You will find yourself in the story while watching this event that actually happened in the movie Touching the Void.
Shark fin climb: Meru
- Year: 2015
- Genre: Documentary, Sports
- Director: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
- Cast: Conrad Anker, Grace Chin, Jimmy Chin
- IMDb: 7.7
There is a steep path to climb to Meru Peak, which is part of the Himalayas. The journeys of Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and Renan Öztürk, who climbed the 4,000-meter wall called Shark Fin, are presented to the audience in the documentary film Meru, with footage recorded by them.
A magnificent one-man performance: 127 Hours
- Year: 2010
- Genre: Biography, Drama
- Director: Danny Boyle
- Cast: James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara
- IMDb: 7.6
127 Hours fascinates the audience with James Franco’s performance. Adapted from a true event, the movie begins with a young mountaineer’s arm getting stuck in a rock as a result of an accident. Despite trying to somehow survive without losing hope, the mountaineer, whose arm is stuck to a rock for five days, finally finds a solution that gives you goosebumps even watching it.
Tibet’s unique culture: Sherpa
- Year: 2015
- Genre: Documentary
- Director: Jennifer Peedom
- Cast: Russell Brice, Tim Medvetz, Pasang Tenzing Sherpa
- IMDb: 7.6
The Sherpa are an ethnic group living in Tibet. The most important feature of these people is that they have climbed Mount Everest countless times. The main story of the Sherpa documentary, which tells about this unique culture, is the avalanche disaster on Mount Everest in 2014, which caused the death of dozens of people. But even this calamity is not enough to destroy tradition.
The Nazis climb too: Nordwand
- Year: 2008
- Genre: Adventure, Biography, Drama
- Director: Philipp Stölzl
- Cast: Benno Furmann, Florian Lukas, Johanna Wokalek
- IMDb: 7.4
Adapted to the cinema from a true story, Nordwand takes place in 1936, when the Nazis were at their strongest. A group of mountaineers, who are asked to demonstrate the power of the superior race by climbing the northern slope of Switzerland’s Eiger Mountain, reluctantly accept the task. A climbing race with an Australian group turns into an adventure full of deep questions.
Survival in the storm: Everest
- Year: 2015
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Biography
- Director: Baltasar Kormakur
- Cast: Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin
- IMDb: 7.1
We are watching a real struggle for survival in the movie Everest, which is adapted for the cinema from an event that a group of people trying to climb to Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, actually experienced in 1996. The paths of two teams trying to climb to the summit of Mount Everest somehow cross. A blizzard that makes it impossible to even breathe ignites a fearful adventure.
What can you do for your loved one: L’ascension
- Year: 2017
- Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Director: Ludovic Bernard
- Cast: Ahmed Sylla, Alice Belaïdi, Kévin Razy
- IMDb: 6.9
The Netflix original L’ascension follows the story of a teenager living in the French suburbs. This young man falls in love with a woman and decides to climb Mount Everest to prove that he will do anything for her. Of course, when this news is heard, the eyes of the whole country are turned on this young man. But there is a small problem, this young man gets tired even while running, let alone mountaineering.
Climbing the second highest mountain: The Summit
- Year: 2012
- Genre: Documentary
- Director: Nick Ryan
- Cast: Christine Barnes, Niall Foley, Cecilie Skog, Pat Falvey
- IMDb: 6.8
A group of mountaineers who want to climb Mount K2 in Pakistan, the second highest mountain in the world, embark on an expedition in 2008. While 11 climbers in the group were killed, three were seriously injured. In the documentary film The Summit, we watch this gruesome event with its witnesses and reports.
Full of action: Cliffhanger
- Year: 1993
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
- Director: Renny Harlin
- Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Michael Rooker, John Lithgow
- IMDb: 6.5
In the movie Cliffhanger, we get involved in a story of mountaineering that we don’t know much about, the world of the rescue team. Deciding to quit his job because he couldn’t save a trapped mountaineer, Gabe receives a signal while in the center and goes to the area to do his job for the last time. However, when he embarks on a rescue mission, he realizes that the signal he received was not actually sent by a group of trapped innocents.
We have listed the best mountaineering movies according to IMDb scores, which you can watch as a guest in the life of mountaineers, and we briefly talked about the stories these movies offer to the audience. Of course, this list could have been much longer. You can share the movies you want to be on our list in the comments.
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