MAJESTY OF EVEREST ON IMAX LESSENED ON TV.Byline: Eric Mink New York Daily News New York Daily NewsMorning daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson and his cousin Robert McCormick as a subsidiary of the Tribune Co. of Chicago. The first successful tabloid-format newspaper in the U.S. Having seen the original IMAX IMAX Noun a film projection process that produces an image ten times larger than standard version of ``Everest'' four times, I have some advice for anyone planning to watch its world television debut at 8 tonight on TNT TNT: see trinitrotoluene. TNT in full trinitrotoluene Pale yellow, solid organic compound made by adding nitrate (−NO2) groups to toluene. : Sit really close, and turn up the volume really loud. Assuming your TV is superb and your reception flawless - hardly minor qualifications - you will see stunningly sharp, clear, vibrant images shot during a May 1996 film-making expedition to the top of the world. Your memory is correct if you recall 1996 as the year eight Everest climbers lost their lives. The IMAX crew, led by Ed Viesturs Ed Viesturs (born June 22, 1959) is one of the world's premier high-altitude mountaineers. He is the first American, and 12th person overall, to summit all fourteen mountains over 8000 meters (collectively known as the eight-thousanders), and the sixth climber to do it without of the U.S. and Jamling Tenzing Norgay Jamling Tenzing Norgay (b. April 23 1965 in Darjeeling) is an Indian Sherpa mountain climber. He is the son of Tenzing Norgay, who first climbed Mount Everest in 1953 with Edmund Hillary, and Daku, his third wife. of India, was on the mountain at the time. Indeed, as ``Everest'' recounts, the crisis halted production of the film for a period of time, first to allow Viesturs and his colleagues to assist in rescue efforts and then to allow them to recover from the emotional shock of the events. To its credit, ``Everest'' is restrained in its account of these matters, touching on the inherent drama of the deaths and the miraculous survival of Texas doctor Beck Weathers, but exploiting neither. The meat of the film is the step-by-step efforts of the Viesturs/IMAX team to reach the top of the world's tallest mountain. A simple and direct narration read by Liam Neeson (written by Tim Cahill
The photography (by cinematographer/co-director David Breashears and his colleagues) is as dazzling as you'd expect, with climbers using ladders to bridge deep crevasses, battling the strength-sapping, mind-numbing lack of oxygen and picking their way up a wall of snow and ice in the blackness of midnight, their way illuminated only by the battery-powered lights strapped to their heads. The emotional center of the film, though, lies mainly with the summit attempt by Jamling. In 1953, his father, Tenzing Norgay Tenzing Norgay (born May 15, 1914, Tshechu, Tibet [now Tibet Autonomous Region, China]—died May 9, 1986, Darjeeling [now Darjiling], India) Tibetan Sherpa mountaineer. , and Sir Edmund Hillary were the first humans to ascend to the top of Everest and live to tell about it. Before Jamling's ascent on this expedition, nine other members of his family had reached the mountain's peak. Make no mistake: Even with the finest home equipment and connections, the TNT experience of ``Everest'' can be no more than a faint approximation of the multistory mul·ti·sto·ry also mul·ti·sto·ried adj. Having several stories: a multistory hotel. Adj. 1. images and multichannel Using two or more paths for transmission or processing. It can refer to a variety of architectures including (1) multiple I/O channels between the CPU and peripheral devices, (2) multiple wires in a cable, (3) multiple "logical" channels within a single wire or fiber or (4) multiple sound in an IMAX theater. Is it worth seeing? Yes. But keep in mind that after you've seen it on TV, you still haven't really seen it. Earlier in the day, ``The Making of `Everest:' On Location in the Death Zone'' offers some insights into IMAX film making and the equipment developed to shoot in the often brutal environmental conditions of Everest. Produced and directed by Laura Davis, it's an enlightening 30 minutes. The facts The show: ``Everest.'' What: A team of climbers took on Mount Everest in 1996, and you get to see it all via this 1998 film. Repeats at 10:30 p.m. Why? Because it's there. Where: TNT. When: 8 and 9 tonight, repeating at 7 and 10:30 p.m. Sunday. The show: ``The Making of `Everest:' On Location in the Death Zone.'' What: Discusses the making of the documentary. Where: TNT. When: Noon today. |
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