Autour d'un Film de Montagne

Desperate Housewives, les secrets de la série

August 2006 •French

A French documentary offering a behind the scenes look at the American television series.

Making Frankensense of Young Frankenstein

January 1996 •English

Via reminiscences from writer/actor Gene Wilder and others, this documentary recalls the making of the 1974 film Young Frankenstein.

The Making of 'Riverplay'

January 2001 •German

Behind the scenes of Olaf Ittenbach's 2001 thriller

Dhaulagiri

October 2022 •English

Esteban ‘Topo’ Mena is an Ecuadorian mountain guide and rising star in alpine climbing whose dream is to climb the first ascent of a new route on Mount Everest. He teams up with Cory Richards, a National Geographic photographer and the first American to climb an 8,000-meter peak in winter, and they attempt a never-before-tried climb on the north face of Everest. Though they fail on their first attempt, they vow to return the following season. However, due to the global pandemic, the North side of Everest remains closed, so the ambitious duo turns their attention to a futuristic new route on Dhaulagiri, the seventh highest mountain in the world. When the risk of death on Dhaulagiri stresses the team to a breaking point, the climbers are forced to confront the question of why they climb—and why it’s all worth it.

Statement of Youth

May 2019 •English

At the start of the 80’s sport climbing was in its embryonic stages. Bolted routes were beginning to make a regular appearance, indoor climbing walls as we know them nowadays had not yet been invented and there was no such thing as being a pro athlete. During that period standards rose exponentially, from 7b+ as the cutting edge to 9a becoming the new world standard at the end of the ’80’s. In such a short period the sport changed beyond recognition and, in Britain, was fuelled by a small group of climbers who would do anything to climb full-time: sleeping in sheds underneath crags, shoplifting for food and clothes, and living off unemployment benefits. As illustrated in this film directed by Nick Brown, these climbers were living outside the rest of society and went on to become the most influential figures in the history of British sport climbing.

Kukuczka

October 2015 •Italian

Faces Nord

January 1987 •French

March 12, 1987. The young French mountaineer Eric Escoffier prepares his equipment, very reduced in material and food. He leaves the next day and intends to chain three north faces in the Alps: Eiger, Matterhorn and Grandes Jorasses. The ascent of the first summit, the Eiger is slow, difficult and full of pitfalls. It takes 17 hours to reach it. Without recognizing the terrain -he prefers to improvise- the mountaineer continues through the Matterhorn. When night falls, anxiety is felt on Zermatt's side. Help is organized to pick him up. Despite his refusal to return, Escoffier is finally hoisted. Christophe Profit, a few hours earlier, managed the chain of three summits.

Evolutions: The Making of Phase IV

February 2024 •English

A brand new documentary by Elijah Drenner featuring interviews with Jeffrey Bass, co-star Michael Murphy, screenwriter Mayo Simon, archivist Sean Savage and design historian/Saul Bass biographer Pat Kirkham.

Return to Sweethaven: A Look Back With Robin And The Altmans

December 2020 •English

A look at the making of Popeye(1980) featuring interviews with Robert Altman, Stephen Altman, and Robin Williams

La Voie Terray

June 2007 •French

Terray. This name sounds like a challenge and evokes deep respect in the memory of every mountaineer. For all, Lionel Terray remains forever the "Conqueror of the useless", the example of a generous and mature mountaineer, far from any egocentrism and any ambition. Not only a pioneer and witness to the history of mountaineering, Terray is also remembered as a man and a master more than an athlete. Forty years after the tragic death of this extraordinary mountaineer and guide, who liked to think of himself as a "simple mountaineer", his former friends and the youngest generation of mountaineers come together in this film to celebrate and remember his legacy.

The Giant's Dream: The Making of the Iron Giant

September 2016 •English

A documentary about how the critically acclaimed film wound up being a box office disappointment, only to become regarded as a classic over a decade after its initial release.

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse

November 1991 •English

A chronicle of the production problems — including bad weather, actors' health, war near the filming locations, and more — which plagued the filming of Apocalypse Now, increasing costs and nearly destroying the life and career of Francis Ford Coppola.

Edlinger, la liberté au bout des doigts

January 2023 •French

In the 1980s, Patrick Edlinger, nicknamed "Le Blond", painted with the grace of a poet the first chapter in the world history of free climbing. In his hands, marginal exercise has become a real lifestyle, carrying a message of freedom. His famous solos, beyond the proven feat they represent, bear witness to this. Life at Your Fingertips, the first internationally known climbing film, touched and inspired by generations of climbers; Edlinger was one of the meteors that shone light on the cliffs of the world by following the trajectory of a single idea: to be free to live only by "climbing". Yet the man capable of concessions in the face of the necessities of life (competitions, advertisements) and pressure from the media, his public and the desires he aroused.

Making All Quiet on the Western Front

November 2022 •German

Go behind the scenes of Edward Berger’s WWI epic and see how the cast and crew crafted its amazing authenticity — from the sets to the SFX prosthetics.

Riccardo Cassin, 100 Anni - Un secolo di alpinismo passato alla storia

January 2009 •Italian

Behind the Scenes at Daria

February 2000 •English

Hosted by Janeane Garafalo, this made-for-TV documentary treats animation fans to a behind-the-scenes look at the making of DARIA, the spin-off from BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD about an intelligent teenage girl surround by a world full of idiots. Features various interviews with the cast and crew of the series who share insights into what goes into making an episode.

A Love Story of Today

February 2008 •English

A discussion of the very important and highly controversial film, GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER, featuring interviews with people like Katharine Houghton, Martin Baum, Louis Gossett, Jr., Norman Jewison, Garry Marshall, Karen Sharpe and Salome Thomas-El.

Touching the Void

September 2003 •English

The true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates' disastrous and nearly-fatal mountain climb of 6,344m Siula Grande in the Cordillera Huayhuash in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.

The Swiss Machine

September 2010 •English

Ueli Steck may be the greatest speed alpinist the world has ever seen. In this film he tells the stories of his record-breaking ascents in the Alps, accompanied by stunning aerial footage of him racing up 8,000 foot alpine faces. Ueli joins Alex Honnold in Yosemite to attempt speed records there. His ultimate goal: take his one-man alpine speed game to the largest, highest walls in the world.

How we made Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra

August 2002 •French

Behind the scenes of Chabat's take on Asterix.