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TOUCHING THE VOID (2003) (import)

DVD
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
Price: £16.98
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TOUCHING THE VOID (2003) (import) + The Beckoning Silence [DVD]
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Product details

  • Subtitles: French, Dutch
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B007JUSDVM


Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant and harrowing 31 Mar 2008
By D. I. Shipley VINE™ VOICE
Format:HD DVD
In 1985 two young mountaineers - Joe Simpson and Simon Yates decided to climb the so far unclimbed West Face of Siula Grande, a remote peak of 21,000 ft. in the Peruvian Andes. So remote is this mountain that it could only be approached on horseback and then by walking the rest of the way that is unpassable to horses or donkeys...
Using "the Alpine technique" of literally just packing everything into a rucksack and doing the climb in one hit, instead, of the more conventional method of doing the climb in stages and using various camps along the way, they make it to the top of the previously unclimbed Siula Grande.
On the way down, tragedy strikes when Joe falls and horribly smashes his lower leg through his knee cap. Simon then tries to lower the injured Joe down from the mountain. However, when Joe is left hanging over a ravine and dragging Simon inexorably towards a 300ft drop, Simon makes the decision to cut the rope and Joe falls 150ft into a ravine. Simon believing Joe to be dead then makes his way back down the mountain.

Miraculously, Joe survived the fall and despite his shattered leg, slowly and painfully crawled back down the mountain becoming ever weaker and going into delirium. Against all the odds he made it down to be found by Joe at the bottom and rescued.
Both returned to the UK and Simon faced considerable hostility from many within the UK climbing community including leading climbers for cutting the rope on his climbing partner.
Joe however backed Simon's decision and both climbers maintain to this day that they would have both died, if that rope had not been cut....

This is a superb reconstruction of that fateful climb and is shot on location at Siula Grande which is one of the most beautiful, desolate, and terrifying places on Earth.
The climb is incredible in its reconstruction and the Andean scenery is simply stunning. Throughout the re-enactment, the real Joe and Simon tell their stories via interviews.
Watching this film is excruciating at times because of its harrowing subject. Joe's descent into delirium is underlined by the sound in his head of the Boney M song "Brown Girl In The Ring" which replays over and over for hours, all the time making him more determined not to die to the music of Boney M!

This is an HD DVD film but because much of the mountain footage was presumably shot on small climbing helmet mounted cameras, the resolution on these scenes is very grainy and in sharp contrast to the pristine real time interviews with Joe and Simon. To overcome this, I lowered the resolution on my HD DVD player to 720p and this worked very well, almost completely obliterating the graininess from the mountain shots that was too prominent in both 1080p and 1080i.
Sound is DTS-HD and is absolutely superb. All channels are beautifully balanced and clear on a home cinema set up, particularly if your receiver can decode DTS-HD.
Extras include:
- Return to Siula Grande
- What happened next
- Trailer
There is also an HDi trailer at the start of the disc that gives the old speakers a pretty robust workout.

Summing up, this film is a must have and I recommend it unreservedly.
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39 of 40 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Gobsmackingly good! 13 April 2008
Format:DVD
I reluctantly went to see this with a friend of mine,expecting to be bored out of my mind. After all a documentary about climbing isn't exactly my usual idea of fun. However, I was absolutely blown away. I remember coming out of the cinema and actually being speechless. This was a true story which is absolutely unbelievable. The beauty of this is that the real people are narrating the story, not actors. This is a really inspirational film for anyone, not just climbers. It really expresses the human instinct to stay alive and to not be alone. It makes you realise how through sheer willpower and determination human beings are capable of very extraordinary things. an awesome film!
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Edge of the Seat Stuff!! 12 Jan 2005
Format:DVD
This is an amazing piece of film work. Its not fiction - but a reconstruction of an actual event that occured in the Andes. I was gripped from beginning to end. The story is interspersed with interviews with the two climbers and a colleague who stayed at the base camp. The re-telling of the sequence of events is so real that you almost feel that you are there with them ....... all I can say is that I'm really glad I wasn't.
What really struck me was the emotive aspect of the story - without giving too much away, how both climbers responded to the situations they found themselves in - in realtion to each other also.
Fantastic stuff, a triumph of human spirit and strength. Watch and be amazed!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars did not see it
did not see it as it does not work on my dvd..not sute why i thouht it was a regional 2 dvd?
Published 1 day ago by Mr Brando
5.0 out of 5 stars Great movie
This is a great story and movie all my friends also enjoyed watching it .

So good i watched it twice
Published 13 days ago by degu
5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping!
If you're into mountains you've probably seen this or at least heard the story, if not watch it, true life doesn't get more gripping!
Published 13 days ago by Rippin
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Story of the will to survive
Fantastic docu/film about survival in the harshest of environments. The contrast between interviews with Joe and Simon and the live action sceness which act out what they are... Read more
Published 22 days ago by Paul Quinn
5.0 out of 5 stars Edge of seat stuff
Even though this is a documentary and the story is being told by the people involved, I still found myself on the edge of my seat wondering if he would survive!
Published 1 month ago by E.M.H
5.0 out of 5 stars Great film
I didn't expect very much from this film before I watched it. Sort of thing you expect to see on TV and almost instantly forget. I was wrong! This is an amazing piece of work. Read more
Published 1 month ago by JonRev
5.0 out of 5 stars Ace
I met Joe at a recent conference - His talk was compelling - The result was the purchase of the DVD - and I was not disappointed. A great view - and of course a TRUE story !!! Read more
Published 1 month ago by MR S J KEMP
5.0 out of 5 stars Exellent Film
Very well reanacted film of a true story,i found it to be a film which kepted you glued to the screen all the way through, with a happy ending for once. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Graham Little
5.0 out of 5 stars A very very good film...must see.
A friend recommended me this film and after watching last week, i'm still getting goosebumps!
A must see creation. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Veggie Alien
5.0 out of 5 stars GRIPPING STUFF
Straightforward but nonetheless riveting account of a mountaineering accident and the subsequent fight for survival of those involved. You'd be odd not to enjoy this.
Published 2 months ago by K MOS
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