Summit Fever

The writers, producers, and directors put a lot of love into this movie. The actors were excellent and the climbers were superb. The story line was actually great... a lot of characters you really feel for in the end. The shots were amazing, really took my breath away. For any climbers out there, they actually had real climbers doing crazy stuff; awesome to see. In most climbing movies, the story lines are cheesy and just TOO fictional; they also usually have non-climbers trying to act out climbing scenes and it just looks BAD. Definitely NOT the case in Summit Fever. You can tell the actors actually trained in the sport before climbing, and the stunt doubles were real pros. Plus the stories of love and friendship were genuine and real. Icing on the cake was the super 8 film video at the end. Overall the movie was beautiful and acting was phenomenal!

Ok, this isn't a masterpiece. But negativity it gets is totally undeserved. I mean, if you just want a simple movie to pass some time, I can totally recommend it. If you are a climber and have been to Chamonix yourself - even more so, since it is realistic enough to bring some memories back.

Acting and story are fine. Sure, there was a couple of times when I rolled my eyes and scoffed, but "a couple of times" is actually quite good by my standards. I mean, take almost any Oscar-winning blockbuster with some insane budget and it will be yet another mind-numbingly stupid piece of crap. Yet people still like it somehow, it will have 7+ score on IMDB and might even become a classic.

Now, here is a pretty solid drama/adventure movie. Honestly, I was even touched by it. Is it plausible? Well, yeah, as I've said, there are some questionable moments, technical stuff being done incorrectly, totally unrealistic timing and such, but given how bad climbing/mountaineering is usually represented in the movies - wow, this one is actually super realistic. Usually it doesn't even make sense what gear they use, and here they even manage to use it correctly most of the time. Places are totally real, scenery is real and recognizable, dangers are (mostly) real.

All in all, if you've never been to mountains - it's a nothing out of ordinary drama, don't expect anything special and you won't be disappointed. It surely isn't awful. And if you've been there yourself, you may as well appreciate how familiar all of this is instead of complaining over relatively minor details.

And, once again: this is NOT a masterpiece. Normally, I wouldn't even bother to comment, but it just felt so unjust that it currently has IMDB rating of below 5, while being a better adventure and love story than 90% of all Hollywood.

I really like climbing/mountain films generally. K2, everest, touching the void etc.

This film is very similar so if you enjoyed those you'll likely enjoy this.

Typical kinda story where you have 2 friends who like to climb together. One starts to grow up getting into an apprenticeship while the other continues on his adventures. Cue lots of luring and next min they're back together with a bunch of other climbers to take on some challenging (once in a lifetime opportunity) mountains.

Things inevitably take a turn for the worse and drama ensues!

You'd think the story ends there but nope! Get back on the horse and all that jazz, next min they're climbing another mountain. And guess what? Things take an inevitable turn for the worse and drama ensues!!

The acting was a mix, some good some not so much but nothing super terrible.

I enjoyed it and would watch it again for sure.

Mountain climbing has been one of my great lifelong passions, therefore I rate this film highly. It captures the beautiful romantic but sometimes tragic obsession of the mountaineer for climbing higher. And it recognizes their sacrifices - of their personal relationships and often of their very lives. Climbing can be an aesthetic madness, an unquenchable fever that drives one to the very heights of extreme sport. It's not for everyone.

The photography of the Alps is simply breathtaking, highlighting the sharp, impossibly rugged summits in every direction. The technical climbing details portrayed are very accurate - the filmmakers here obviously know the climbing arts very well.

A couple of times a year, this film is shown on a local TV movie channel, and I always watch for it and never miss it. I love its homage to heroic mountaineering, and I appreciate it more each time I see it.

SUMMIT FEVER is one of the more disappointing mountaineering films out there, mainly because it has no real plot. At least thrillers like CLIFFHANGER and A LONELY PLACE TO DIE (which director Julian Gilbey also made) had thriller plots with a mountaineering backdrop, which gave them drive and narrative coherency. Here, we just get a group of dull young friends (and added Hollywood star Ryan Philippe for name value) who decide to go climb a few mountains. Tragedy strikes on occasion, but it's not very thrilling or indeed involving. Gilbey obviously has a real-life passion for mountaineering but I do wonder if this would have just worked better as a documentary.