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Touching the Void

MikeR

20-Dec-2003
7:47:14 PM

That great read (and true story), Touching the Void by Joe Simpson, has finally been made into a movie. It was released recently to moviegoers in the Lake District, UK. My friends tell me that it is documentary style with Joe and Simon Yates narrating. I saw Simon on a UK lecture tour - he was very entertaining. The movie should be a must see for all mountaineers if the book is anything to go by.

Is anyone aware if it is scheduled to be shown in Australia. If not - could we collectively petition Cinema Europa (e.g. Knox) to show it?

glacier-rat

20-Dec-2003
9:50:27 PM

there is a trailer here http://www.cinemas-online.co.uk/trailers/touch_void_trailer_lo.mov

looks good :)


Romfrantic

22-Dec-2003
8:50:12 AM

Cool! a movie of it.....the book had me on the edge of my seat, can't wait to see what this movie/doc would be like.....please let all of us know about it through the forum when/if the movie come sto Aust.


Monkey Face

4-Jan-2004
10:30:19 PM

i go the book from my Old Boy for chrissy,
in side it said one of the most profound things i have read in a long time,

"it is true that a father will always find his sons choices in life hard to understand. it is basically the difference between youth and age. i hope you find the book enjoyable, as i now see that the choices you make in your life, must be your own.
love dad
christmas 2003."

and i have to say i dont enjoy reading, but i found my self staying up till 2 am trying to get through it, id recomend it to every one out there get your hads on a copy and sit down and live through what Joe and Simon both went through.
Great book...one of the best!~

dodgy

5-Jan-2004
10:21:59 AM

Gotta recommend all his books, he seems to put far more of "this is how I felt", rather than just "this is what I did" or "this is what happened" in. Makes them great reading...

jjobrien

5-Jan-2004
12:20:42 PM

Touching the void should be sold with a prescription for vallium, it is so nerve racking. I read it years ago and I couldn't put it down till I'd finished it. I was trembling and sweating the whole way through it. (much like my climbing) I've given it to non climber/adventurers and it had the same effect.


Phil S

5-Jan-2004
2:09:24 PM

The British Mag "The Climber" had a short story competition last year. The winning entry was a gem featuring Winnie the Pooh, who had a relative in the Andes (in a home for aged bears) whom he hadn't visited in some time. It can be hard for Pooh-bears to fly inconspicuously on international flights so he stowed-away with some convenient mountaineers who, although curious about their dwindling supplies of honey failed to discover him.

It is a little known fact that bears of Pooh's linage are extraordinary alpinists and, to cut a great story short, Pooh was required to rescue the hapless folk from, you guessed it, the flanks of Siula Grande. Back at base camp, after coming to terms with the unusual circumstances of their rescue , the pair invent a story to tell at home - a horrible fall, an abandoned partner and a long agonising crawl. All to avoid the ridicule of their bar-room buddies.

If you ever come across the mag (at Barker Hut in Arthurs Pass NP for example)... well, sorry for spoiling the ending.

kieranl

6-Jan-2004
11:28:38 PM

Whatever, it was a good book. I had a very good time getting pissed with Joe outside the Bar National in Chamonix after his ledge fell off on the Dru in 1983. He wasn't famous then and I'm not famous now (positions unlikely to change)

gfdonc

23-Jan-2004
10:11:48 PM

OK, on the basis of the posts about I bought the book and managed to read the whole thing on the flight Melbourne to Auckland (non-climbing holiday).

Awesome story. Also read "Into thin Air" by Jon Kakauer while minding a beach or two .. does anyone have more info on why he felt so bad he had to write a whole book to (try to) clear his conscience? The account in his book doesn't explain the angst.

kieranl

23-Jan-2004
10:39:14 PM

I felt the same way about JK : didn't warm to him at all. Maybe it's an American thing. That could be a gross simplification.


mousey

23-Jan-2004
11:11:37 PM

i felt that JK offered a very single minded and even egotistic view of the events of '96. maybe being such an Anatoli Bourkreev fan gives me too much of a bias (john states that anatoli acts irresponsibily as a guide which is about as far from the truth as it gets) but JK definately plays down the abilities of the other climbers, and in doing so bignotes himself and pisses off at least one reader....


Pei

24-Jan-2004
2:51:22 PM

On 23/01/2004 Mighty Mouse wrote:
>i felt that JK offered a very single minded and even egotistic view of
>the events of '96. maybe being such an Anatoli Bourkreev fan gives me too
>much of a bias (john states that anatoli acts irresponsibily as a guide
>which is about as far from the truth as it gets) but JK definately plays
>down the abilities of the other climbers, and in doing so bignotes himself
>and pisses off at least one reader....

That's sort of how I felt about the book, though I'd never heard of Anatoli Bourkreev before (I don't know a lot about mountaineering). But I still found it well written and a good read. I haven't read Touching the Void, maybe I'll see if the library has a copy.

(removed)

25-Jan-2004
7:24:05 PM

Joe Simpson was on Letterman on Saturday night (absurdly late). Quite a long interview - spanned 3 ad breaks - and well worth watching. I accidentally taped it and my wife accidentally watched it, asking me when I got back from work, "Have you heard of a mountaineering dude Joe Simpson ?" Does the pope shit in the woods ?

About the only thing that surprised me was that he and Simon no longer speak (a recent event apparently - Joes blames Simon's family troubles). I didn't know either (but I hear it's common knowledge) that Simon was assaulted by another mountaineer when he got back to England - and was generally abused until Joe exonerated him in the book. For the record, Joe didn't mind the movie - has come to like it - but says that he sees a different movie from all of us. No shit.

The movie itself is reviewed very, very well. 91% on the Tomatometer as it stands at present (www.rottentomatoes.com - the definitive movie review site). Definitely sounds like it's worth the $13 price of admission.

Well, it's cheaper than Vic Ranges, anyway ...

MikeR

26-Jan-2004
10:23:45 PM

In his lecture, Simon was reflecting on how hard it was to get work between expeditions and so ended up window washing sky rises. He said that most of the guys doing the work were ex-cons and didn't stop giving him gip about his reputation. They knick-named hime "The Slasher". He soon put it to rest when the worst of his colleagues was hanging off a rope he appeared over the roof with a knife between his teeth.

The rest of the lecture was very entertaining - with stories of climbing in the alps when Joe passed out or something Simon pulled out a bag of sweets and started munching on them until he came to. They were passed by French climbers who refused to rescue the 'lazy English' so they just had to make it to the top.

I've been scouring the internet to see if this film is going to be shown in Australia but haven't seen any listings yet. If anyone knows of it being shown anywhere around Melbourne can they please leave a posting here.

Cheers,

Mike

James

27-Jan-2004
12:27:05 PM

I have been told that Krakauer utilised an amount of 'journalistic licence' in Into thin Air. Afterall, he is a journalist & he wrote a book to sell to the masses. Some other climbers there at the time (i.e '96) were not aware of some the events/things mentioned in the book.

But I certainly hope that Touching the Void comes to Australia. Given the great reviews & the relative success of the book, surely its just a matter of time before its shown.

climbingjac

27-Jan-2004
12:35:22 PM

Hey FatBoy, did he mention anything about where & when we might be able to see it (the movie)?

jac

(removed)

27-Jan-2004
2:08:48 PM

On 27/01/2004 climbingjac wrote:
>Hey FatBoy, did he mention anything about where & when we might be able
>to see it (the movie)?

Nope, only that it was already out in the States ... you recovered yet Jac ?


Nich

6-Feb-2004
11:32:44 PM

Now this might have been disturbing! From:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003/11/21/touching_the_void_2003_review.shtml

"Based on Simpson's bestselling book, Touching The Void was originally planned as a Tom Cruise movie. Fortunately, sense prevailed and this carefully balanced blend of talking heads and dramatic reconstructions saved the story from becoming yet another brainless blockbuster."

Tom Cruise??????

It is being progressively released in the US and I am told it will almost certainly get an indie release here in a few months.


Garrath

8-Feb-2004
12:02:57 PM

The Sunday Age has a decent article on Joe and the new film. The article makes no mention of an Australian release. Bummer!!!!

Garrath

James

16-Feb-2004
10:49:14 AM

there was a extended version of the article on the Age's web-site. I also saw a reference to the movie being released here next month.

http://www.google.com.au/search?q=touching+the+void&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&meta=cr%3DcountryAU

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/02/07/1075854104640.html

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