Released in 1998, “Everest” is the highest grossing IMAX film in the history of the medium as well as the most successful documentary of all time. It was also the first IMAX film to crack Variety’s weekly top 10, according to the Milwaukee Public Museum’s Web site.
Jamling Norgay is following in the footsteps of his father, Tenzing Norgay, who, along with Edmund Hillary, completed the first successful ascension of a mountain. Araceli Segarra, from Spain, is a rock climber attempting to become the first Spanish woman ever to climb the mountain. And Ed Viesturs of Seattle has climbed Everest four times and thinks that it would be nice to bring his new wife to Everest for their honeymoon. On their way to the top, they face hard decisions and adversity, learning volumes about themselves in the process.
Through detailing this expedition, many interesting aspects of mountain climbing are explored. In such a dangerous climb, there is a constant struggle between the ego of the climbers and the decisions they make.
Many of the 170 people who have died on Everest have met this fate because they refused to take the necessary precautions due to an ego-fueled desire to reach the top. Viesturs, Norgay and Segarra fight constant mental battles as they see other expeditions continue to ascend in conditions that they have deemed unsafe.
“Everest” utilizes the many visual and auditory capabilities of the IMAX theatre. There are stunning aerial shots of Everest in all its majesty throughout the film. The cameras reach places that are seemingly impossible, obtaining incredible footage of deep crevasse, snowy peaks and ant-size people.
Although reenacted on other mountains in the Northwestern United States, the shots of the climbers capture the physical agony experienced at 29,000 ft.
Every time there is an avalanche or icefall, the grumbling of frozen matter can be heard and felt by every audience member.
“Everest” runs from Friday until June 2004 at the Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 W. Wells St. Tickets are $7 for adults free for museum members. Show times and other information can be found at the Museum’s Web site, www.mpm.edu.