Climbing Mount Everest is challenge that most of us can not even begin to fathom. Yet there are many people who are obsessed with the thought of this life-threatening challenge. In a single day of the 1996 climbing season (May 11, 1996) eight people died on Mount Everest during summit attempts. In the entire season, fifteen people died trying to reach the summit, making it the deadliest single year in Everest history. The disaster gained wide publicity and raised questions about the commercialization of Everest.

One weekend, we watched Into Thin Air (1997) on Netflix’ streaming service. During the movie, we sat shaking our head wondering why anyone would attempt the climb. Yet afterwards, I found myself drawn back to the events of the 1996 season, fascinated at the audacity of the climbers. As a topic, Everest has been the subject of numerous films and documentaries:

Into Thin Air: Death on Everest (1997) – An adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s best selling book, “Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster“. This movie attempts to re-create the disastrous events that took place during the Mount Everest climb on May 10, 1996. It also follows Jon Krakauer throughout the movie, and portrays what he was going through while climbing this mountain.

Everest: IMAX (1998) – An international team of climbers ascends Mt. Everest in the spring of 1996. The film depicts their lengthy preparations for the climb, their trek to the summit, and their successful return to Base Camp. It also shows many of the challenges the group faced, including avalanches, lack of oxygen, treacherous ice walls, and a deadly blizzard.

FRONTLINE: Storm over Everest (2008) – As darkness fell on May 10, 1996, a fast-moving storm of unimaginable ferocity trapped three climbing teams high on the slopes of Mount Everest. The exhausted climbers were soon lost far from the safety of High Camp at 26,000 feet. World-renowned climber and filmmaker David Breashears, who aided the rescue efforts back in 1996, now returns to Everest to shed new light on the worst climbing tragedy in Everest’s history.

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“Wait a minute. You aren’t seriously suggesting that if I get through the wire… and case everything out there… and don’t get picked up… to turn myself in and get thrown back in the cooler for a couple of months so you can get the information you need?”
– Steve McQueen, The Great Escape

Most guys enjoy a good prison break film. The stories capture the notions of freedom and the indomitable human spirit. One of my favorites is The Great Escape starring the uber-cool Steve McQueen. That said, few movies are set entirely in prisons, so I, like others, are kind of curious what the criteria were when Gunaxin assembled their list of The 15 Best Prison Movies. Was The Rock not included simply because it takes place at a decommissioned prison? And does not enough of Malcolm X take place in a prison? And what about Assault on Precinct 13, is it because it has more to do with holding cells than prisons?
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