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Absolutely the worst movie.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

I really enjoyed this film, finding it particularly engaging and informative, especially after having just watched the poorly crafted mountaineering documentary 'The Summit.'It was clearly a passion project, and it also revolved around attempting to recreate the fated Mallory expedition, so, unlike others, I wasn't too bothered by the fact that Conrad Anker featured a lot in this documentary. It felt a little bit forced in places (he clearly seemed to be reading from a script or reciting practiced lines, rather than speaking from the heart, at times) but there were still enough fascinating insights to overlook this sort of stuff (remember, he's an experienced climber, not a documentary filmmaker!)The one aspect of the documentary that I did find frustrating, and thus the lower rating, was the fact that it was clearly built on endorsing one particular theory about the Mallory expedition, rather than taking a more unbiased approach and allowing their conclusions to simply be part of the wider speculative mix.This bias meant that we did not get to hear all of the various theories about what possible route they could have taken or whether they even made the climb, let alone the summit, etc.It also created a situation in which some rather glaring holes in their re-creation attempt of Mallory's possible final climb were completely ignored.For example; even though he was inexperienced at altitude, Conrad Anker's partner for the re-creation attempt was a very capable rock climber, whereas Mallory's partner was a rower with no climbing experience.Or the fact that they made their re-creation climb dressed in modern climbing gear, whereas the clothes and boots used by Mallory were very rudimentary and would not have afforded the same advantages to him.In fact, aspects of their modern re-creation expedition were a little bit gimmicky in places and really added nothing of substance to the documentary - like the very brief use of old style climbing clothes and boots similar to the ones worn by Mallory and his team.If they'd carried out their whole re-creation expedition wearing the old style gear (something I would never expect them to do in a million years) then that would have added something truly important to the documentary. Simply putting it on for a brief period was merely a gimmick and it really only resulted in one interesting piece of information - that the old style clothing provided far less protection from the elements, and the boots were far less suitable for climbing than modern gear is. This really should have featured in the final narrative as evidence that challenges the theory that the documentary was proposing, but, alas, it is simply mentioned and then quickly moved on from.There are also other issues around the timing of the original attempt, and whether they had appropriate oxygen supplies, etc, to complete the climb.All in all this is a very watchable and interesting documentary that is let down by one simple flaw: it doesn't document all of the evidence, and it really only presents their preferred theory about Mallory's summit attempt (and even then, it's only a very brief examination of that attempt, and a lot of unwarranted conclusions are drawn from it.)That being said, I'd still highly recommend this movie to others.

Stories of mountaineering and of Everest have always fascinated me. So often, facts make better stories than fiction, and this is another example. I first remember hearing about the discovery of George Mallory's body on what turned out to be a PBS/NOVA special "Lost on Everest" made shortly after the discovery of his body by Conrad Anker, which shows the actual footage of the discovery. The story of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine is overshadowed by the story of Sir Edmond Hillary, who is the first person to officially summit Everest. Mallory and Irvine's story and efforts are no less dramatic considering they attempted the summit 30 earlier, along a more difficult route. Even if they did not succeed in reaching the summit, the fact that they were 800 feet within the summit is in itself astounding. Using up to date technology and filming techniques, along with rarely seen archival footage, this documentary complements the story and narration, and the repeat attempt along the same route replicating similar conditions back then are equally dramatic. Along with "Touching the Void", "The Beckoning Silence" and the current Nova special "Chasing Shackleton" captures the adventurous spirit of the Golden Age of Exploration.

What happened to British climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine after their associate Noel Odell saw them disappear into the clouds on Mt. Everest's Northeast Ridge has been perhaps mountaineering's greatest mystery. Wildest Dream begins with the discovery of George Mallory's frozen body on the North Face of Mount Everest. Conrad Anker, who made the discovery, felt compelled to learn about Mallory, and eventually decided to re-create Mallory's last climb, in order to answer the enduring question, Could Mallory and his companion Sandy Irvine have reached the summit? Using archival footage and photographs, letters between Mallory and his wife Ruth, and interviews with Mallory's granddaughter and Irvine's great niece, the film traces Mallory's life and his role in the British Everest expeditions of 1921 and 1922, as well as the fatal 1924 expedition. Combined with this is the story of Anker's 2007 attempt to repeat Mallory's final climb. As Mallory had selected the athletic, but inexperienced Irvine as his climbing partner, Anker chose the similarly athletic but inexperienced Leo Houlding to accompany him. Of course, Anker enjoyed many advantages that history denied to Mallory. Nonetheless, during his attempt to climb the second of three steps (large rock outcroppings) along Mount Everest's Northeast Ridge, Anker slipped. Thus, in a film about how Mallory and Irvine fell to their deaths, we come chillingly close to seeing Anker and Houlding fall to their deaths. Wildest Dream passes over some of the more gruesome aspects of the story—the fact that a rock had punctured a hole in Mallory's skull during his fall, perhaps killing him, and the presence, in this same area, of 17 other bodies. But its major flaw—and, because it seeks to establish what actually happened, it is a major flaw—is its implied conclusion that if Mallory and Irvine mastered the Second Step they must have reached the summit. In fact, the film neglects much of the evidence from their last hours. For example, there is a variation of opinion about the Second Step. In 1995, Mallory's grandson pronounced it "easy" and climbed it without trouble. Apart from that, Mallory, who had no experience climbing under the conditions on the Northeast Ridge, may well have overestimated the speed with which they could reach the summit. In any case, he may have underestimated the amount of oxygen they would need, perhaps thinking that if they each carried two oxygen tanks, rather than three, they would be better able to "rush the summit." Students of the 1924 expedition have expatiated at length on evidence relating to Mallory and Irvine's final summit attempt. One key piece of evidence is the 12:50 p.m. sighting of the pair by Noel Odell. If they had reached only the First Step by that time, they were seriously behind schedule; but, if they had reached the Third Step (at the base of the final pyramid), their prospects for reaching the summit were excellent. Unfortunately, Odell changed his account over time, so we do not know for certain on which of three steps he saw Mallory and Irvine. Another piece of evidence is Mallory and Irvine's oxygen supply. The conventional assumption seems to be that they each had two full oxygen bottles--at the maximum rate, that would have provided them with oxygen for about 8 hours. In this scenario, their oxygen would have been exhausted before they reached the summit, perhaps before they reached the Third Step, quite possibly forcing them to turn back. But others have argued that Mallory and Irvine each had a partially full oxygen bottle in addition to two full ones, enough perhaps to get them to the summit or close to it. But again, unfortunately, we do not how much oxygen they had; nor can we be sure that all their oxygen bottles were functioning (many had leaked or malfunctioned). More generally, many modern climbers allow 12 hours for the ascent from their high camp to the summit. British climbers on the 1924 expedition seem not have begun their climbs until about 6:00 a.m. Following such a late start, Mallory and Irvine would not have reached the summit until late afternoon. And it would have been dark at 7:00 p.m. At some point, it may have become clear to Mallory, even if he still had oxygen, that he could not summit and still descend in daylight--and some modern climbers have concluded that it is impossible to descend the Second Step in darkness. In this situation, would Mallory have yielded to his urge to summit, or turned back in recognition of his responsibility to his companion and his wife? Since Mallory intended to place a photograph of his wife on the summit, its absence from his personal effects has been adduced as evidence that he did reach the summit. But it seems quite possible that Mallory left Ruth's picture, not at the summit, but at the highest point that he did reach, knowing that she was more anxious to have him back alive than to have her photograph on the summit. (As an example of how far the existing evidence can be pushed, there is also a theory that Mallory appropriated whatever oxygen was available for his own solo attempt on the summit, and told Irvine to return to the high camp or wait along the route.) Wildest Dream provides a good portrait of Mallory and his climbing career. But it does not persuade this reviewer that Mallory reached the summit of Mount Everest.

In 1924, English mountain climber George Mallory attempted (for the third time) to be the first man to climb Mount Everest—the highest point on Earth. It was a daunting challenge of a magnificent kind. As he and his climbing partner Andrew Irvine made their way up the slopes and the sheer cliffs, one has to wonder, why? Why would a man attempt such a thing. What would posses a man with a wife (with whom he was madly in love) and three children at home to attempt a feat unknown to man at that time? Whatever the reason, Mallory pursued this wildest dream of his, even to his death upon the mountain side. He went up, and never came down. Nobody really knows if he reached the top or not. But one thing is for certain, had Mallory failed and survived, passion would have sent him up there again.Unfortunately Anthony Geffen's documentary about this man is much less passionate. It is somewhat of a half-hearted attempt at an emotional connection with the audience. The film itself tells two stories. The first is a weak and dull documentation of Mallory's home life and his conquest of the mountain. The second is the true yet still preposterous story of Conrad Anker's attempt to climb the mountain using the same gear as Mallory (Anker was the man who finally found George Mallory's body upon the mountainside in 1999). And then of course the film also explores Anker's feelings and his compulsion to climb mountains. Now Mr. Anker must be as passionate about climbing Everest as Mallory certainly was, but he comes off as more of a sideshow that one wants to laugh at. The film makes no attempt to be poetic or emotionally insightful. Instead it is completely naked, laying the story out in front of you without the slightest bit of artistry or professionalism. The end result is a bland and uninteresting hour and a half of counting ceiling panels in the theater. I know for certain that a movie is disappointing if I begin counting the ceiling panels at the top of the theater. I've seen documentaries about the life and times of Barney the Dinosaur that were more compelling than this loaf of bread. The inspiration that fueled Mallory and that must have also fueled Anker is hardly evident in this clunker.Perhaps the film's biggest problem is not its difficulty in connecting to the audience, but perhaps the fact that it is just plain boring. You would think that any story about people risking their lives to achieve glory would be suspenseful and intriguing, but, alas this is not the case. There is not an ounce of tension anywhere to be found. The film begins with a particularly uninteresting static shot of the mountain and most of the other shots follow suit. The most interesting any single frame of film gets is an obviously computer generated shot that swoops through the valleys and up onto the side of the mountain. From there we get a pleasing vista of the snow. It is unfortunate that, given such great subject matter, this film utterly fails in capturing the interest or emotional excitement of its audience. And I kid you not, this is the only picture I've ever seen in which the credits were more interesting than the film. As soon as the first ten minutes I was counting the seconds until it was over.Of course, the film has a few redeeming qualities. The first and most obvious is the voice actors who narrate. The narrator is the great Liam Neeson, who can make any role seem worthwhile, even stupid ones. The voice of George Mallory as he reads his letters is the ever-welcome Ralph Fiennes—who has worked with Liam Neeson before as the evil Amon Goethe in Schindler's List. Mallory's wife Ruth is voiced by the late Natasha Richardson (who also happened to be married to Neeson before her untimely death). The voices make up for some of the drag in the picture, but of course not all. The other element that saves this form being a total flop is its often stunning pictures of the Mountain in all its glory and magnificence. But other than this, the picture has little going for it. Perhaps I am being too harsh on it, but then again I always go into a film expecting it to be good. Not that I always truly think it will be good, but if I go to a movie, I demand a good experience. This film did not give me that. The story, although very compelling and fascinating, was not executed well at all. Instead it seems as though it has fermented too long and gone sour. It is like a soda that has lost its carbonation. It just lays there in front of you, and once you start drinking, you have to finish, but it is an unpleasant experience. Just like the soda, this film has gone flat. If this was the last film I saw before I died, I would demand that I be sent back to Earth to watch something even remotely better than this.But here I am again, taking a movie apart that no doubt many people will find interesting. But as for me, I was bored beyond belief (except in the scenes where the narrators chime in). Perhaps the problem is mine and I was the one who didn't connect. But of course we can never know, so for now I am blaming the film. It didn't affect me in any way, and I just felt dull and indifferent after leaving the theater. Oh well, every director lays an egg every now and again, although I don't see any hope for Geffen. If only he could add a little art and poetry to this film, it would have been much more intriguing and enthralling. Thus concludes my review of The Wildest Dream—happy movie hunting!www.colewebbharter.com