Nordwand

Based on a true story, North Face (Original German title: Nordwand) is a suspenseful adventure film about a competition to climb the most dangerous rock face in the Alps. Set in 1936, as Nazi propaganda urges the nation's Alpinists to conquer the unclimbed north face of the Swiss massif - the Eiger - two reluctant German climbers begin their daring ascent.
-Taken from IMDB.com

It is hard to imagine climbing, let alone mountaineering, without the today's technology. You might see a picture of some grizzly old hardman with a piton hammer and a scowl climbing in ankle high leather boots, but after thinking, "That's crazy," you flip the page.

North Face tries exceedingly harder than any other climbing film to cultivate the harrowing sense of the risk and exposure most of us only feel when actually at risk or exposed. Capturing that feeling alone is a testament to the film, however the historical accuracy and attention to detail such as gear and clothing make this a pleasure to watch for both a climbing and non climbing audience.

-BLOCHEAD