Around the World presenting a selection of outstanding feature-length travel and adventure films reflecting man's curiosity in the world around him

A French film with an English commentary and sub-titles
featuring Lionel Terray, the famous Alpine guide, who died tragically in the Dauphine Alps in 1965 and Rene Desmaison, Michel Vaucher, Rene Collet, Pierre Perret, Pierre Danny, Pierre Rousseau, Roger Blin
English commentary spoken by Max Bellancourt

The famous Alpine guide Lionel Terray convinces a film crew that a major climb is rich enough in genuine excitement and adventure to make a fictional plot superfluous.
Except for one flashback, all the incidents witnessed actually took place while the film was being shot on Mont Blanc and on the East Face of Grand Capucin, one of the most difficult climbs in the Alps. All but three of the actors, Roger Blin, Pierre Rousseau, and Pierre Danny, were either professional or amateur mountaineers. Three cameras were used and all of the difficult scenes were shot from three different angles. The Grand Capucin sequence proved the most difficult. It took thirteen men a total of 835 hours to achieve the thirteen-minute sequence in the final edited version.
(Colour)