`INTO THIN AIR' CLIMBS WITH PARTY IN ITS TERRIFYING ASCENT OF EVEREST.Byline: Irv Letofsky Hollywood Reporter There may be few sights more majestic than Mount Everest - and few feats more ugly and deaths more foolish than last year's climbs and falls. And there are few accounts more brutal to watch than the ABC TV
That is, it's excellent work - but watching people tumble off mountains or freeze to death is unsettling un·set·tle v. un·set·tled, un·set·tling, un·set·tles v.tr. 1. To displace from a settled condition; disrupt. 2. To make uneasy; disturb. v.intr. . The version is based on ``Into Thin Air,'' Jon Krakauer's best-selling book on the matter, and the writer - who survived the climb (eight didn't) - helped enforce the authenticity by attending the shoot in May in the stand-in Austrian Alps. That locale offered more congenial shooting. And as a grim irony, even as the crew was filming and the actors acting, they learned of eight new deaths at Everest. Producers insist that every scene here is a truthful rendition of the book, and survivors endorse Krakauer's report. At the heart of the truths is the gut stupidity, even by two of the most veteran mountaineers who were team leaders - Scott Fischer Scott E Fischer (December 24 1955 – May 11 1996) was an American climber and guide. Fischer spent his early life in Michigan and New Jersey and took two years of climbing courses after being inspired at the age of 14 by a show he saw on television. (Peter Horton Peter Horton (born August 20, 1953) is an American actor and director. He is perhaps best known for his role as Prof. Gary Shepherd on the popular television series thirtysomething. He left the series in 1991 to pursue an interest in directing. ) and Rob Hall (Nathaniel Parker) - both of whom violated their own specific, irrefutable irrefutable - The opposite of refutable. rules on the climb. The strong cast includes Christopher McDonald as Krakauer, who gives vital narration along the route. Robert J. Avrech adapted the book and did a fine condensing con·dense v. con·densed, con·dens·ing, con·dens·es v.tr. 1. To reduce the volume or compass of. 2. To make more concise; abridge or shorten. 3. Physics a. job, considering the large number of players and the likewise large numbers of dangers in the climb, especially including the desperate need for oxygen at those terrible, airless heights. Director Robert Markowitz begins the foreboding before the trek, with climb monitors such as Fischer and Hall repeatedly warning about the dangers, then ignoring them. This is enforced by Neil Roach trying to photograph through the swirling snow, with the help of an apparently solid technical crew. We can't see much through the storms and the masks and goggles goggles, n the protective eyewear worn by dental personnel and patients during dental procedures. goggles see periocular leukotrichia. and caked ice. (When we can see, we can appreciate Meg Speirs' makeup crew.) That is, you can't always tell who is doing what or where; all you know watching whatever you can see is that everybody is in the wrong place. THE FACTS The show: ``Into Thin Air: Death on Everest.'' The stars: Peter Horton, Nathaniel Parker and Christopher McDonald. Where: KABC KABC Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (Channel 7) When: 9 tonight. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Peter Horton stars in ``Into Thin Air: Death on Everest.'' |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion