My top 12 favorite mountaineering documentaries and movies
by JurijFedorov | created - 06 Nov 2016 | updated - 12 Sep 2022 | PublicThe best movies and documentaries about climbing tall and snowy mountains. Sorted by my personal rating. Also, Seven Years in Tibet is rated low on this list because it doesn't have that much climbing in it.
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1. Touching the Void (2003)
R | 106 min | Documentary, Adventure, Drama
The true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Simon Yates, Joe Simpson, Brendan Mackey, Nicholas Aaron
Votes: 38,112 | Gross: $4.59M
2. Everest (2015)
PG-13 | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
On May 10, 1996, mountain guides Rob Hall and Scott Fischer combine their expedition teams for a final ascent to the summit of Mount Everest. With little warning, a storm strikes the mountain and the climbers must now battle to survive.
Director: Baltasar Kormákur | Stars: Jason Clarke, Ang Phula Sherpa, Thomas M. Wright, Martin Henderson
Votes: 232,480 | Gross: $43.48M
3. Meru (2015)
R | 90 min | Documentary, Sport
Three elite climbers struggle to find their way through obsession and loss as they attempt to climb Mount Meru, one of the most coveted prizes in the high stakes game of Himalayan big wall climbing.
Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi | Stars: Conrad Anker, Grace Chin, Jimmy Chin, Amee Hinkley
Votes: 19,059 | Gross: $2.33M
4. The Summit (II) (2012)
R | 95 min | Documentary
The story of the deadliest day on the world's most dangerous mountain, when 11 climbers mysteriously perished on K2.
Director: Nick Ryan | Stars: Christine Barnes, Hoselito Bite, Walter Bonatti, Marco Confortola
Votes: 5,428 | Gross: $0.22M
5. Beyond the Edge (2013)
Unrated | 90 min | Documentary, Drama, History
Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary's monumental and historical ascent of Mt. Everest in 1953 - an event that stunned the world and defined a nation.
Director: Leanne Pooley | Stars: Chad Moffitt, Sonam Sherpa, John Wraight, Joshua Rutter
Votes: 1,920
6. K2 (1991)
R | 104 min | Adventure, Drama, Sport
A U.S. climbing team, funded by millionaire Clairborne is determined to conquer K2.
Director: Franc Roddam | Stars: Michael Biehn, Matt Craven, Annie Grindlay, Elena Wohl
Votes: 7,226 | Gross: $3.11M
7. Vertical Limit (2000)
PG-13 | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A climber must rescue his sister on the peak of K2, the second highest mountain in the world .
Director: Martin Campbell | Stars: Scott Glenn, Chris O'Donnell, Bill Paxton, Robin Tunney
Votes: 65,363 | Gross: $69.24M
8. Cliffhanger (1993)
R | 113 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A botched mid-air heist results in suitcases full of cash being searched for by various groups throughout the Rocky Mountains.
Director: Renny Harlin | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, Michael Rooker, Janine Turner
Votes: 140,003 | Gross: $84.05M
9. Miracle on Everest (2008)
Documentary, Adventure
The legendary story of Australian climber Lincoln Hall, who was pronounced dead close to the summit of Mount Everest and lived to tell the tale.
Director: Jennifer Peedom | Stars: Wayne Alexander, Johno Carr, Daz Caulton, Nick Flyvberg
Votes: 221
10. The Beckoning Silence (2007 TV Movie)
PG | 73 min | Drama
After a mountain climber's severe injuries and near-death accident, he's told he'll never climb again. His recovery left him to confront the question: why, after coming so close to death, did he feel compelled to continue climbing?
Director: Louise Osmond | Stars: Roger Schäli, Simon Anthamatten, Andreas Abegglen, Cyrille Berthod
Votes: 1,394
11. Seven Years in Tibet (1997)
PG-13 | 136 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian climber, breaks out of prison and travels to the holy city of Lhasa. He is employed as an instructor to the 14th Dalai Lama and soon becomes his close confidante.
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud | Stars: Brad Pitt, David Thewlis, BD Wong, Mako
Votes: 156,009 | Gross: $37.96M
12. Dying for Everest (2007 TV Movie)
53 min | Documentary
On 15 May, 2006, double amputee Mark Inglis reached the summit of Mt Everest. It was a remarkable achievement and Inglis was feted by press and public alike. But only a few days later he ... See full summary »
Director: Richard Dennison | Stars: Wayne Alexander, Clemens Gerhard, Volker Hanisch, Edmund Hillary
Votes: 240
13.
Nova (1974– )
Episode:
Everest: The Death Zone
(1998)
TV-PG | Documentary
Because it is there is the reason so many men and women have risked death to climb Mount Everest, the tallest mountain on earth. NOVA follows a scientific investigation of high-altitude physiology in Everest: The Death Zone.
Directors: David Breashears, Liesl Clark | Star: Jodie Foster
Votes: 15
14. Mountain Men (2001 TV Movie)
50 min | Documentary, History
The story of the explorers who climbed four of the world's tallest mountains, the Matterhorn, Mount McKinley (now called Denali), Mount Everest, and K2, first.
Stars: Bob Bates, Fred Beckey, George Bell, Luca Bich
Votes: 14
15. Ultimate Survival: Everest (2004– )
Documentary
This critically acclaimed six-part mini-series... Shot between March and June 2004, Ultimate Survival: Everest chronicles the Everest efforts of Team Discovery, which included two Canadian ... See full summary »
Stars: Jim Conrad, Pemba Gyalje Sherpa, Shaunna Burke, Mr. Chongba Sherpa
Votes: 137
16. North Face (2008)
Not Rated | 126 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
A secretary at a Berlin newspaper in 1936 gets to write about two Alpinists, as she knows them well. She later gets to report on and photograph her friends' and other Alpinists' climbs of the dangerous Swiss Eiger north face.
Director: Philipp Stölzl | Stars: Benno Fürmann, Florian Lukas, Johanna Wokalek, Simon Schwarz
Votes: 16,435 | Gross: $0.71M
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