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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.85:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Dual Layer (RSDL )
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  Subtitles
    English, Hebrew, Czech, Greek, Polish, Hungarian, Dutch, Arabic, Turkish, Icelandic, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Hindi, Bulgarian
  Extras
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Audio commentary
  • Featurette
  • Behind the scenes footage
  • Awards/Nominations
  • Documentaries
  • Discography

Vertical Limit

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 98 mins . M . PAL

  Feature
Contract

I reviewed this disc cold; the most I have seen about this movie were the various trailers on TV. I expected a big budget action film set on the sides of K2 in Pakistan. It looked like a mix of 'Cliffhanger' and one of the IMAX features. The story is much less fanciful than Stallone's effort however it too has its own unbelievable sequences. It also mimics the opening scene 'Cliffhanger' by striking the main characters with a common tragedy. At its heart, 'Vertical Limit' is a rescue movie where a brother must put his demons behind him to rescue a group of climbers stranded on K2, the second tallest mountain with the number one lethality rating. Stallone had that demon on his shoulder as well which was judiciously set up during the opening sequence.

Chris O'Donnell and Robin Tunney are brother and sister mountain climbers. They get their passion from their father. They are enjoying a family outing in native Utah which degenerates from a comfortably paced vertical face climb into a tragedy that involves a question of sacrificing one life for another. This event would provide the undercurrent for the events to happen several years later.

This time Chris is a nature photographer and Robin is a celebrated climber. They meet on the foot of K2 during a promotional event held by Bill Paxton who is a Richard Branson clone; an airline owner who wishes to publicise its inauguration by 'waving off' the first flight from the summit of K2. The weather turns suddenly and the climb team is decimated. The survivors include Tunney and Paxton and their climb leader. Any rescue attempt is against the clock, the survivors have a limited lifeline due to injuries and the inhospitable conditions. Even if the rescue climb goes perfectly, they may not reach them in time. And the climb does not go to plan...

There are a number of strengths in this film. Firstly, the cinematography is incredible. How can it not be? I was surprised that most of the action sequences were live and not CGI. The avalanches were caused deliberately for the filming. There was considerable use of mattes especially when helicopters were involved. The vast majority of the mountainside scenes are actually Mount Cook in Otago, New Zealand. Certain scenes were K2 in Pakistan but conditions were impossible most of the times. The cinematographer, David Tattersall, does a great job of melding the two different mountains and the various film techniques and the sets into one seamless representation of K2.

Secondly the cast is truly international and surprisingly, very Australian. You will recognise Ben Mendelsohn and Temuera Morrison. Ben is an Australian climber with the sort of characterisation you'd expect - alcohol and pissing in the snow and 'bloody this and bloody that' Australians. The Aussies here tend to vacillate between stoic and solid citizens to outright larrakins. Ben's brother is named 'Cyril' and they're both brave to the point of stupidity. It's nice to see how Americans see Australians.

Morrison is a Pakistani UH-1 pilot on loan from the Army on a generous stipend from affluent American climbers.

Star Trek fans will recognise Alexander Siddig. He plays a Pakistani guide. Izabella Scorupco is almost unrecognisable in blonde hair - she was the brunette Bond girl opposite Pierce Brosnan in 'Goldeneye'. She is a French-Canadian climber who has a very French temper and very beautiful blue eyes.

Veteran Scott Glen plays the inscrutable 'old man of the desert' in this one. His life is one of tragedy - K2 has taken someone he loves (and some digits!). He is seeking a measure of revenge on the mountain and one of the survivors.

This film represents the third recent big budget film for director Martin Campbell and is arguably his weakest. He was more successful with 'Mask Of Zorro' and 'Goldeneye'.

I was most surprised by the rather predictable and sometimes incredible elements in the film. The survivors fight over a antidote that will prolong their lives long enough to survive the rescue - one of them contemplates murder in order to save more or the antidote for themselves. Ok you've probably heard that one before but what about this one: The rescue party each carry an evacuated flask holding a charge of liquid nitroglycerine in order to extricate the survivors from the crevasse with predictable results. Given the turbulent helicopter ride and arduous climb, would you carry unstable nitroglycerine on your person? Would another high-order explosive be more suitable given the hostile environment?

The title refers to the altitude at which life becomes unsustainable, that is the vertical limit for life itself.

"Hold your breath - tagline (*and potential warning?)"

  Video
Contract

Well Columbia Tristar do not disappoint here. The anamorphic 1:85.1 presentation is nothing short of astounding. New Zealand has never looked better. They should have been sponsored by the New Zealand Tourism Board. The transfer highlights the various subtle shades of grey and white of the landscape and the snowdrifts. While your eye may get used to the often drab sequences especially in the snow caves, the bright colours of the snow suits and tents will burst out of this drabness to show that this is indeed a superior transfer. There are superb black/grey shadow levels and extreme sharpness - so sharp I can tell you the exact models of Nikon cameras O'Donnell uses and the make and model of helicopters fielded.

There are many scenes that rely of exceptional depth of field. Examples or this are the numerous helicopter and landscape shots. Also there are shots that are pointing straight down into ravines that have meandering rivers at the bottom. Obviously these are mattes but they are in perfect focus and help to establish the height of the scene's focus.

Columbia Tristar have an enviable reputation here. Since the birth of DVD, the compression labs at Sony's DVD Center has consistently been at the forefront of DVD technology. Indeed this synergy between a manufacturer of broadcast quality audio and video equipment and a film and recording studio seems to have helped produce reference quality material on DVD.

Some people have complained about the use of 1.85 vs. 2.35 especially in epics like this which would benefit from the widest scope available. Obviously 1.85 is cheaper in effects heavy productions. Columbia do like 1.85 so I expect that ratio on their movies without complaint. It is a good compromise between 1:33 full frame and 2:35 widescreen.

Flawless. Sony-Columbia-Tristar take a bow. Perfect 1.85 is fine over imperfect 2:35...

  Audio
Contract

There are two tracks, Dolby 448k/s 5.1 in English and Hungarian (!). Like other Columbia titles, this one is quite exceptional. I think that something like Zorro beats it for sheer dynamics but there is quite a lot of bass and directional sound on this disc. Anytime an avalanche goes off or there's an explosion, you'll get a heap of subwoofer. The Pakistan/India conflict is given short shrift here in the form of a volley of howitzer shots over the border. The numerous helicopter and snowstorm scenes will show lots of directional pans in all directions. The different makes of helicopters is also quite apparent.

Vocals are quite clear except in some sections where there is high wind or with high noise levels. Strangely they have quite silent helicopter those Pakistani's. Their Huey transports are silent enough for conversation without raising voices. It's not one of those discs that require the use of subtitles in certain places even though you're listening in English. I quite liked the abundant Australian accents on the track.

Audio fidelity is quite good although the score is never exceptional except in its overuse of subwoofer to highlight action. James Newton Howard has done better in the past notably on the evocative 'Snow Falling Over Cedars'.

There has been some controversy over Columbia's use of dialnorm or dialogue normalisation. This is when the studio decides to boost the centre channel over the other channels in order to make the dialogue clearer. In cases such as this effects such as LFE and rears become diminished. This benefits those who use stereo mixdown rather than multichannel users.

This has already been reported and measured on the American release (as high as 6 or 7dB over which is over twice as loud). I am unsure of its status on the Australian release. I was quite happy overall with the sound but I'm unsure whether my processor can correct for overly high dialnorm (some processors especially from Denon, can counteract dialnorm).

Purists are quite unhappy about dialnorm as it tends to alter the original track as heard in the cinema. A way to please everyone would be to include a Dolby 2.0 track along with the original 5.1 track.

  Extras
Contract

Starts with Dolby City again... hmmm...

I applaud both the quantity and quality of extras here. Not all of us are familiar with mountain climbing and we don't know what 'crampons', 'pulmonary/cerebral oedema' and 'dexamethazone' really are. The extras clear that up for us.

Firstly there's a full commentary by director Campbell and producer Lloyd Phillips. This is another good commentary with a lot of detail into what is typically a very difficult shoot.

There are a number of features, a 25 minute 'Surviving the Limit' documentary and a 13 minute teaser for National Geographic's 'Quest for K2'. Variable quality audio and video in both.

There's a short filmography of some of the stars.

There are three trailers, one for 'Vertical Limit', for 'Mask of Zorro' and 'All the Pretty Horses'. The latter is Matt Damon, Penelope Cruz lovefest. They vary in audio and visual quality with Zorro predictably with the best.

The most valuable portion is a Q&A style section called 'Search and Rescue Tales'. This is an eight part section which has a chapter title and a short feature which explains some of the questions you may have after seeing the movie.

A chapter called 'Avalanche' explains how they filmed a deliberate avalanche detonation.

The chapter called 'Elixir of Life' explains the use of the steriod dexamethazone in staving off oedema which is the buildup of fluids in the lungs or the head caused by dehydration and high altitude.

  Overall  
Contract

I know this isn't the best movie on ice you're likely to see. I don't think that one's been made yet. However it is a rather tight movie at 119 minutes with only one or two flat spots. This is however balanced by some interleaved plots that tend to leave the audience as breathless as the climbers.

If you liked 'Cliffhanger' you'll love this. There's not a step wrong with the production of this disc so it comes down to how much you like this movie. I can forgive its more melodramatic moments and it's rather comedic plot turns. Even the professional climbers hired to train the actors and act as 'technical consultants' state that the film is like a list of what might go wrong of a number of climbs - and for dramatic purposes they all go wrong on one climb.

So if professionals find it unrealistic in that extent, how should lay people take it? Perhaps as sheer tour de force of Hollywood entertainment and not as some accurate portrayal of mountain climbing. It is accurate in parts at least. You just have to work out which parts.

Recommended.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=537
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      And I quote...
    "Columbia Tristar delivers another perfect audio and video experience... film needs work however..."
    - Tony Lai
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Rom:
          Pioneer 105(s)
    • MPEG Card:
          Geforce2 32MB AGP
    • Projector:
          Panasonic 1024x768 LCD Projector
    • Decoder:
          Sony TA-E9000ES
    • Amplifier:
          Parasound HCA-1206THX
    • Speakers:
          Mission 763
    • Centre Speaker:
          Mission 75c
    • Surrounds:
          Mission 760
    • Subwoofer:
          Mission 75as
    • Audio Cables:
          rca coaxial SPDIF
    • Video Cables:
          VGA connector
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