

The Castaways Of Mont Blanc
Genres
Overview
This documentary is a reconstruction, based on archive footage, testimonies, and filmed reconstructions, of the Vincendon / Henry tragedy. December 1956: Jean Vincendon and François Henry, two young mountaineers, aspire to join the High Mountain Group. Lacking experience, they set out to climb Mont Blanc via the Brenva spur in the middle of winter. The weather conditions deteriorated, and they decided to give up before meeting Walter Bonatti and Sylvano Gheser. They then decided to continue the climb and set off in two different roped parties. Bonatti decided to take refuge at the Vallot refuge higher up, rather than descend. The two young mountaineers, overcome by the poor weather conditions and fatigue, remained stuck for several days at 4,000 meters. What followed was a completely disorganized rescue operation that became, for more than ten days, a spectacle for all of France and a national tragedy.
Details
Budget
$0
Revenue
$0
Runtime
53 min
Release Date
2002-01-01
Status
Released
Original Language
French
Vote Count
1
Vote Average
10
Jean Vincendon
Self (archive footage)
François Henry
Self (archive footage)
Claude Dufourmantelle
Self
Lionel Terray
Self (archive footage)
Walter Bonatti
Self (archive footage)
Pierre Couttet
Self
Gilbert Chappaz
Self
Jacques Petetin
Self
Jean Brissaud
Self
Honoré Bonnet
Self
Jean Minster
Self
Louis Piraly
Self (archive footage)
Olivier Pariset
Narrator
Jean-Yves Berteloot
Narrator
7.2
Jurek
This documentary follows the feats of high-altitude climber Jerzy Kukuczka and his ascent to higher heights before his death in 1989.
2014-10-08 | pl
0.0
The Race for Everest
The dramatic story of the British expedition that made the first ascent of Everest. Combining interviews with the surviving members of the 1953 British and 1952 Swiss attempt on Everest with rare archival material, this film tells the story of the race to climb Everest in the early 1950s and its climax in 1953.
2003-05-27 | en
0.0
Mussolini's Sister
In this documentary, we are invited to the mind of the elderly Hiam, a Palestinian woman from Nazareth. The mundanity of everyday life gives us a few sentimental glimpses of Hiam's past and present through the eyes of the filmmaker Juna Suleiman, her granddaughter.
2019-05-27 | en
10.0
L'Histoire D'un Homme Hors Norme
Director Damien Roz was twelve years old when he attended a conference by mountaineer Jean-Marie Choffat who told of his passion for the mountains and his fight against cancer. Shocked, the young boy said to himself that one day he would tell the story of this extraordinary man. 29 years ago Jean-Marie Choffat, a seasoned mountaineer, suffered from liver cancer. It was then announced to his parents that he only had a few months left to live. But Jean-Marie, who had just had a son, promised himself that he would see his son grow up until he was at least 20… His son Marcelin is almost thirty today and Jean Marie is still there. Jean-Marie lived through the golden age of mountaineering with some 1,200 ascents around the world and many firsts... If he remembers an ascent of the north face of the Grandes Jorasses between two chemotherapy sessions, he evokes his strong friendships with Yannick Seigneur, René Desmaison or Gaston Rébuffat...
2018-06-15 | fr
7.5
To the Limit
At the Limit is a documentary about extreme climbing. In this sports documentary, Pepe Danquart shows brothers Thomas and Alexander Huber climbing in Patagonia and on the granite rock "El Capitan" in Yosemite Valley (USA). A key part of the film is their attempt at a speed ascent of the 1,000-meter-high route "The Nose," in which the two athletes aim to break the then speed record of 2:48:30 hours, set by Hans Florine and Yuji Hirayama in September 2002.
2007-02-09 | de
7.2
North Face
North Face tells the story of two German climbers Toni Kurz and Andreas Hinterstoisser and their attempt to scale the deadly North Face of the Eiger.
2008-10-23 | de
0.0
Rainier the Mountain
In this retrospective tribute, acclaimed filmmaker Jean Walkinshaw hails the 100th anniversary of Mount Rainier National Park in Washington by talking to those who know it best: the scientists, naturalists, mountain climbers and artists whose lives have been touched by the peak's far-reaching shadow. The result is a harmonious blend of archival material and high-definition footage celebrating an icon of the Pacific Northwest.
1999-01-01 | en
0.0
In the Shadow of Karakorum
In 1954, a German-Austrian expedition led by Mathias Rebitsch set off for the difficult-to-access Karakoram Mountains, geographically north of the Himalayas. They come across the Hunza, a people who live in the valley of the same name and believe they are descended from the soldiers of Alexander the Great. The documentary conveys impressions of the poor life of the Hunza people, the harvest, a court hearing, festivals and the children's everyday school life. Finally, the expedition sets off again and sets up its main camp on the moraine ridge of a glacier, where they measure the glacier and the earth's magnetic field. Finally, some men from the research community set off for a sub-peak of Batura.
1955-08-03 | de
6.2
Stars at Noon
Les Etoiles de Midi is an engaging docudrama about some of the more spectacular exploits of French mountain climbers over the last several decades. In one re-enacted story, there is a wartime escape through the mountains, and in another, a daring rescue of a pair of climbers who had been missing. The actors themselves are adept at the sport of climbing, and they give the scenes an immediacy and real daring that brings the stories alive. A combination of their acrobatics and skill and the outstanding episodes in the history of French climbing creates a winning 78 minutes.
1959-01-01 | fr
7.5
Touching the Void
The true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates' disastrous and nearly-fatal mountain climb of 6,344m Siula Grande in the Cordillera Huayhuash in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
2003-09-05 | en
7.8
Man with a Movie Camera
A cameraman wanders around with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling inventiveness.
1929-05-12 | ru
5.8
The Climb
After 20 years away, Isabelle, a former climbing champion, returns to her village in the Alps for the funeral of her mountain-guide father. She decides to open up a new climbing route with the help of Kenza, her protégé - something she'd planned to do with her father. But the past and its secrets resurface through Antoine, a brilliant mountaineer who was Isabelle's first love.
2017-02-15 | fr
6.6
Dying for Everest
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 was plunged into a storm of controversy when it was learned that he had passed an incapacitated climber, Englishman David Sharp, leaving him to a lonely end high in the Death Zone.
2007-05-05 | en
6.8
The Alps - Climb of Your Life
In 1966, John Harlin II died while attempting Europe's most difficult climb, the North Face of the Eiger in Switzerland. 40 years later, his son John Harlin III, an expert mountaineer and the editor of the American Alpine Journal, returns to attempt the same climb.
2007-03-30 | en
7.2
First in Line
A screen adaptation of the well-known novel by Roger Frison-Roche about the harsh lives of mountain guides and their families in the French Alps, near Chamonix and the French/Swiss/Italian borders... Like his father, Zian Servettaz is a dedicated mountain man. His Italian-born wife Bianca does not adjust well to his mountain village in France, and to the ever life-threatening dangers presented by his mountain guiding and climbing. She briefly returns to Italy and to her family. However, after Zian's insistence and trip to Italy, she returns to mountain life in the French Alps. Once back there, events will unfold, changing their lives as well as those of other mountain people forever.
1944-02-23 | fr
6.6
Everest
An international team of climbers ascends Mt. Everest in the spring of 1996. The film depicts their lengthy preparations for the climb, their trek to the summit, and their successful return to Base Camp. It also shows many of the challenges the group faced, including avalanches, lack of oxygen, treacherous ice walls, and a deadly blizzard.
1998-03-06 | en
9.2
Art of Freedom
The documentary film Art of Freedom answers the most poignant questions on the phenomenon of Polish expeditions to the Himalayas. Poles have reigned the highest mountaintops of the world for more than 20 years. They not only set down new trails, but new rules of behavior. They set themselves apart with an original style of climbing, endurance, conscientiousness about the overall well-being of the team - and solidarity.
2011-05-21 | en
7.4
Kaizen
Becoming a mountaineer and climbing Everest in exactly one year? That’s the dream of Inoxtag, a 21-year-old very rich YouTuber who doesn’t do any sports. By following him for a year, we will discover in this documentary all the changes in his life to achieve this dream.
2024-09-13 | fr
7.2
A Night of Knowing Nothing
L, a student in India witness to the government's violent response to university protests, writes letters to her estranged lover while he is away.
2022-04-13 | bn
0.0
Antonio. El bailarín de España
2025-04-29 | es