Gasherbrum - Der leuchtende Berg

In English, this film is known as "The Dark Glow of the Mountains" and it originally aired on German television. The version I saw was dubbed into English with no subtitles. The documentary is by Werner Herzog--a guy whose documentaries I really have enjoyed.

This film is a documentary about some mountain climbers who are attempting to climb two nearby peaks without fancy equipment such as oxygen tanks! I've gotta be honest about this--I really couldn't care less about the sport and I've always thought folks who attempt such crazy high climbs are nuts. So, my enjoying this one is a very difficult sell.

The first part of the film has very little narration and little is said. Mostly, the two crazy climbers mucked about their camp and interacted with villagers. I was bored. Later, when the men talked to the camera about climbing, I was more interested--particularly because this all seemed to confirm to me that they were nuts! One talked about recently losing his brother while climbing as well as losing toes due to frostbite. In many ways, the film now would have been interesting to show a psychology class to discuss what is going on with the guy--after all, MOST people would have a devil of a time understanding him. Otherwise, the film didn't do much for me--perhaps you will get more from watching it. Technically speaking, the film was competently made and a bit difficult--so I can at least respect the work Herzog and his crew did for this one.