“Man on Wire” – Movie Review

Part of my childhood is disappearing with the end of Blockbuster chain stores; however, their loss is ultimately my gain–thanks to these awesome closing sales.  Last week I picked up a couple of documentaries that I have been eager to watch and while I was suffering from Norovirus this weekend I was able to sit back and enjoy this unbelievable film called Man on Wire.

If you are wondering if the image on the left is real, I can assure it there is no Photoshop magic here. Man on Wire recounts the mind-blowing high-wire act that took place at the top of the World Trade Center in 1974.  Phillipe Petit saw the initial drawings for the towers in a magazine years before they were built.  Over the course of a decade he researched and studied the design of the towers, and then lived in New York to learn every possible way to pull off this “coup”, as he called it–remember this wasn’t exactly legal.

The film interviews every individual who had a role in the event and reenacted many of the moments leading up to it. What the filmmaker did brilliantly here is he captured the emotions of stress, fear and excitement that the event caused everyone.  The film also does a brilliant job of dissecting the personality Petit, who seems like part madman part icon.  Petit simply follows his dream, but in the process he drags everyone through an emotional rollercoaster that he didn’t quite seem to understand; and ultimately his actions after the big moment between the towers further shows us that.

This film does a brilliant job of mixing lightheartedness with suspense, ecstasy and triumph. The images and old footage paint a beautiful picture of Petit as a young man completely engulfed in a dreamworld that relied on the rational people around him to keep him tied to reality.  When Petit finally steps foot on the wire, standing between the two tallest buildings in the world at the time, it immediately takes your breath away despite knowing he survives.  But part of you is waiting still for that tragedy, which in a sense does occur, just not on the wire at that moment.

Growing up across the Hudson River, the Towers were a major part of my childhood and 9/11 is a day that will forever be stained into my mind.  I did not learn about Petit’s high-wire act until long after 2001 and to see him in the film, in what is now considered haunted air space, is unbelievably breathtaking.  The details of his 45 minutes on the wire are humorous, entertaining and terrifying at the same time.

If you like documentaries that do an excellent job of telling the full story of an historic event than this film is for you.  I highly recommend Man on Wire.

Categories: art, documentary, movies, New York, profiles, reviews | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

“Not Without Peril” – Book Review

The White Mountains of New Hampshire continue to inspire me every time I visit.  It is was where my passion for mountaineering history began and it is where I continue to feed that passion today.  So, you may find it unusual that it took me so long to read Nicholas Howe’s book, Not Without Peril, documenting the tragic history of the Presidential Range.  It took me a long time because I wasn’t in a rush to spoil the secrets of these mountains.  After finally reading this book, however, I think many of these mountains’ secrets haven’t lost their mystery.

Howe’s book starts off slow, documenting the first, careless tragedies on Mount Washington.  The retelling of the events lack authenticity and I feel the writing was as elementary as a high school book report.  To Howe’s credit, however, he increasingly makes up for this poor storytelling as the book goes on.  As the book climbs up the 20th century, you can tell that his access to information increases, making his retelling of some of the tragedies much more focused, engaging and suspenseful.

The strongest part of Not Without Peril comes very late in the book; the last chapter in fact.  The chapter covers one of the darkest and deadliest years on Mount Washington – 1994. Unlike, the 1996 tragedy on Everest, which saw 15 people die in one season (eight in one day), the 1994 tragedies were mostly all separate and lacked any kind of Hollywood appeal, so to say.  They are, however, a part of the history of the White Mountains and an important reminder of the dangers that still await for anyone who is ill-prepared to venture on them.

If Howe is to ever release a new edition, I would suggest to him that he combine the early chapters together and get rid of the useless stories and focus more on the clear mountain tragedies to will affect all of those who climb these mountains today.  The inexperience of the early climbers is not comparable to the tragedies of the experienced hikers, climbers and skiers that come about later.  I would love to read a book documenting just the early history of the Presidential Range, covering up until modern-day mountaineering took over.  I would then love to read a history of American mountaineers on the range, such as Bradford Washburn, during the early 20th century–what I like to consider the Golden Age of Mountaineering.

Howe’s book  does not quite grab a reader’s attention as I would have hoped, nor does it provide an exceptional history lesson of the White Mountains.  It merely retells tragedies, some old–some new, in basic detail.  Only a few stories stand out in book, due to the research and interviews he was able to conduct.  Overall, I would not put this in the upper echelon of climbing books, but its a good reference for the Presidential Range to add to your library.  One aspect that I like is the list of deaths on the Presidential Range in the back of the book.  Although not detailed, it is an interesting look at just how perilous these mountains are.

 

Categories: books, Hiking/Outdoors, mountaineering, New Hampshire, reviews, writing | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

“North Face” – Movie Review

It’s rare to find a fictional climbing film that is gripping, emotional and, most importantly, realistic.  The German Film, North Face, or Nordwand in German, is that one climbing film that can pull the viewer onto the mountain with the actors.  This is a movie that, probably because it is in German with American subtitles, seems to have been overlooked.  Director Philipp Stolzl was given the difficult task of recreating one of the most tragic mountaineering stories in history, on the surface of the legendary Eiger North Face, and did it justice.

The Eiger is a 13,000 foot peak in the Bernese Alps of Switzerland.  Although the Eiger summit is relatively easy to bag by a modest mountaineer taking one of its ridge routes, the North Face of the Eiger is another story.  Facing several Swiss ski towns, the 5,900 foot rock north face of the Eiger is a sight unlike any other outside the Himalya.  It’s intimidating size, notorious snow storms and rock falls helped earn the Eiger the nickname “Death Wall” in the early 20th Century.  And in the 1930s, when climbers first decided to try to tackle the infamous north face, under the reign of Hitler and the Nazi’s, it would mean a symbol of German dominance–if they could be the first to climb it.

North Face, takes on the story of German climbers Toni Kurz (Benno Furman) and Andreas Hinterstoisser (Florian Lukas) in 1936 who are two of the worlds best.  Their close friends, Karl Mehringer and Max Sedlmeyer, made the second ever attempt on the Eiger North Face in 1935, and tragically froze to death.  Despite Kurz desire not to climb the Eiger, his old flame, Luise, returns from Berlin and plants the seed of climbing the Eiger in their heads. Luise is attempting to become a photojournalist and if she could convince them to take on the Eiger it would make her career. Kurz first refuses, but when Hinterstoisser threatens to leave the military to try climbing it on his own, Kurz decides he can’t leave his partner on his own.   It was time to climb the Eiger.

The film does a brilliant job of transporting the viewer back in time to 1936 Europe–The reign of the Nazi’s and the impending war, the drama surrounding Germany’s desire to conquer everything in its path, including the Last Great Problem of the Alps – The Eiger. What the film also does is show us how climbing the Eiger was more than just a Man v. Mountain Endeavor.  Because of the Eiger’s location facing ski villages and towns in Switzerland, tourists and the media could watch every step of a climbers ascent, including the horror of the accidents.  It became a living theater–a flashback to a time a when people would watch others die in the Coliseum. Towatch people in the film staring through binoculars and telescopes to witness what would happen is both intriguing and disturbing.  To show the contrast of luxury versus ambition, Stolzl constantly switches scenes from the quiet elegance of a chalet to the chaos of the face.  The clean-cut suits of the reporters and tourists would quickly change back to the rugged, filthy and painful scenes of the climbers trying to survive.

North Face is a gripping, heart-wretching and masterful film that will leave you on the edge of your seat and in fear of a mountain so monstrous that most of the significant climbing points on the wall are named after those who died there.  The cinematography encapsulates everything from majestic to terrifying to peaceful.  The film portrays early 20th century mountaineering the way it should, and the story of Toni Kurz and Andreas Hinterstoisser will live on in mountaineering lore forever.

You do not have to be a climber to watch this film.  North Face is made for all audiences to understand.  You won’t find a movie so brilliantly filmed about mountaineering’s history like this one.

Categories: art, climbing, fiction, Hiking/Outdoors, horror, mountaineering, movies, reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Getting Ready to Watch “North Face”

I just wanted to share with everyone this awesome trailer for a movie I just purchased. The North Face of the Eiger has been an essential part of climbing lore for centuries and it wasn’t summitted until 1938 by two Germans and two Austrians. But during the early part of the 20th century it was easily the greatest climbing achievement imaginable–the last great climbing problem in Europe

North Face
is a movie about a 1935 attempt by German climbers to be the first to conquer the Eiger. As you’ll see from the trailer, this is more than a movie about climbing. I am looking forward to watching and reviewing this movie for you soon. Let me know what you think of the trailer.

Categories: climbing, Hiking/Outdoors, mountaineering, movies, politics | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

2012 = No Holding Back

Sitting at Johnny’s Bagels this morning in Bethlehem, Pa., my friend Mike discovered the motto for 2012: No Holding Back.  He said it in a joking manner, but the words struck a chord and I felt he was on to something.  At midnight, while we celebrated the start to another new year, people were discussing what the year’s motto should be.  Last year, my friend Nick (who raced in the Lake Placid Ironman) declared that the 2011 motto was Dominate.  By finishing the Ironman and graduate school, and starting his new teaching career, you could say he fulfilled that goal.  But did I?

In retrospect, 2011 was a year unlike any other for me.  At the beginning, I was working fulltime while planning a wedding; however, by my birthday in February I was laid-off, depressed and lost.  Finding yourself stuck in a dark hole, especially when the dark hole symbolizes your career, it is a daunting feeling.  Fortunately, I have a great family, amazing wife and great friends that helped me get through some of the more difficult times.  But when looking back at the year I certainly can say I ”dominated” other aspects of my life.

First, I climbed Mount Washington–a goal that I had been looking to achieve for several years–I got married to my best friend, went scuba diving for the first time, climbed Mount Marcy, became a better Scout leader for my troop, published more articles, became a devoted tutor, and ended the year by becoming a new Adjunct faculty teacher at Fairleigh Dickinson University.  Overall, I did a lot; and I know I haven’t mentioned everything.

So what will make 2012 better than last year?  I know the cliché is to say I’m going to workout and eat healthier.  Truthfully, I started this back in June and other than this one month rough patch I’ve had with the holidays, I know I will kick-start back up on this tomorrow.  What I really want to accomplish this year is to figure out my path.  I will be teaching three courses this spring, which I know will provide me with a new and exciting experience.  Whether it leads to a fulltime teaching career or not is yet to be determined.  Hopefully, I will gain a new perspective and understanding of what my career goals will be going forward.

Once again I have numerous hiking/climbing achievements planned (this will be discussed in greater detail in another post).  I also want to get involved in the 2012 election, possibly by volunteering or in other ways.  What I don’t want to do is leave any regrets on the table. No Holding Back.  I’m not going to second guess myself and talk myself out of trying new things.  I want to give it all I have and take risks, especially when it comes to my career.  I want to write more, publish more and have a greater impact as a writer.  2012 is not the end of the world; I refuse to believe that.  It is, however, the beginning.  The beginning of a new chapter in my life, one that will be filled with new challenges, both positive and negative.  Now is the time to face each challenge head on and not hold anything back.

No Holding Back–Join me in making 2012 the next best year of your life.

Categories: Health, Hiking/Outdoors, mountaineering, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, newspapers, politics, Scouting | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

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