Nanga Parbat
Record of the 1934 German expedition to Nanga Parbat, led by Willy Merkl and with the full backing of the new Nazi government. Peter Aschenbrenner and Erwin Schneider reached an estimated height of 7,895m on July 6, but were forced to return because of worsening weather. On July 7 they and 14 others were trapped by a ferocious storm at 7,480m. During the desperate retreat that followed, three famous German mountaineers, Uli Wieland, Willo Welzenbach and Merkl himself, and six Sherpas died of exhaustion, exposure and altitude sickness, and several more suffered severe frostbite.
Z Tatr
Released in 1930. Direction, production, writing & cinematography by Adam Krzeptowski
Kamet Conquered
Following in the footsteps of Captain John Noel and his immensely popular documentaries taken on the Mount Everest expeditions of the 1920s ("Climbing Mount Everest"/"The Epic of Everest"), Frank Smythe hoped to help finance his 1931 attempt on Kamet, another Himalayan peak, by bringing back film footage of a successful ascent including summit shots which were at that time the highest ever taken in the world.
Fruitful Florida
"We have only one really tropic state in the good old U.S.A., and that is Florida, and so, just returning from the tropics of the Far East, Mr. Holmes suggests taking up his travels in his own country with what we have to compare with the sunny lands of the Orient. Therefore, it is to the place from which alligators, oranges, grapefruit and many of our cigars come from that he will take your patrons in this delightful tropical journey. While the little journeyette introduces them to many unusual sights in Florida there is one we are holding in reserve."
White Marathon
Documentary on one of the first editions of the Trofeo Mezzalama, the highest ski mountaineering race in Europe, at more than 4,200 meters above sea level, which takes place on the glaciers of Monte Rosa, from Breuil to Gressoney-La-Trinité, crossing the summits of Castor (4,199 meters) and Nez du Liskamm (4,100 meters). The film recounts the last hours of feverish preparation before the start, the teams preparing for the race linked in ropes, then follows the stages of the competition by following the groups of skiers from a plane. Created in 1933, the Trofeo Mezzalama was contested until 1938, before falling into oblivion during the war. A second version was organized from 1970 to 1973. A third biannual version has been organized since 1997.
Three Lives and a Rope
The idea is a simple one: three alpinists climb in the Mont Blanc Massif. This situation brings one face to face with the dangers of the mountain: avalanches, crevasses, fog, the climbing of the rocks, roping up, etc. All of this is magnified, transcended by a remarkable and strong use of the language of cinema. One of the first films about high mountains with Roger Frison-Roche and magnificent music by Maurice Jaubert
Deutsche Eisenbahner im Kampf um den Nanga Parbat
Short version of 'Nanga Parbat' (1936), the record of the 1934 German expedition to Nanga Parbat, led by Willy Merkl and with the full backing of the new Nazi government. Peter Aschenbrenner and Erwin Schneider reached an estimated height of 7,895m on July 6, but were forced to return because of worsening weather. On July 7 they and 14 others were trapped by a ferocious storm at 7,480m. During the desperate retreat that followed, three famous German mountaineers, Uli Wieland, Willo Welzenbach and Merkl himself, and six Sherpas died of exhaustion, exposure and altitude sickness, and several more suffered severe frostbite.
Battle for the Himalaya
Epic documentary about the German expeditions to Nanga Parbat up to 1937. After a first unsuccessful attempt in 1932 and the tragic second expedition led by Willy Merkl in 1934, in 1937 Karl Wien led another expedition to the mountain following the same route as Merkl's expeditions. Progress was made, but more slowly than before due to heavy snowfall. About 14 June seven Germans and nine Sherpas, almost the entire team, were at Camp IV below Rakhiot Peak when it was overrun by an avalanche. All sixteen men died. The film was assembled in 1938 with rescued 16mm material shot during the 1937 attempt and footage from the previous expeditions.
TRAMBÓLIKA
Bonnie Scotland
Travelogue released on September 25th, 1916. Produced by Burton Holmes.
In Switzerland
Released on September 4th, 1916. Produced by Burton Holmes.
Cervino 1901
On September 28th, 1903, the Urban Mountaineering Expedition, headed by Frank Ormiston-Smith, left Zermatt to attempt the conquest of the Matterhorn. On the 29th, the conquest was completed by the filming of the panorama from the actual summit of the mountain. The film consists of 20 scenes and illustrates the whole ascent from Zermatt through the Hornli Ridge. A copy of the film was found in Zermatt in 1953 and was was erroneously attributed to Frederick Burlingham and dated 1901. Since then, the film has been widely publicized as the first mountain film under the title of 'Cervin 1901', but this is incorrect. Ormiston previously had made 'Alpine series' (1901), 'The ascent of Mont Blanc' (1902), 'Climbing the Great Schreckhorn' (1902) and 'Ascent of the Jungfrau' (1903). The pictures and descriptions of the Charles Urban Trading 1903 film catalogue show without any doubt that 'Ascent of the Matterhorn' and 'Cervin 1901' are the same film.
Bangkok
Released on August 3rd, 1919.
El capitán
Snow Flight
The film was produced by Jerome Hill as 'a document of skiing according to the principles of Hannes Schneider.' It features Otto Lang, director of the Mt Rainier and Mt Baker ski schools. As the film opens, Otto emerges from a cabin beneath Table Mountain at the Mt Baker ski area with his canine friend. He applies wax-on climbing skins to his skis. Then he steps into his bindings and climbs to a scenic ridge. The narrator describes each technique in detail as Otto demonstrates again. Several of the maneuvers are done in slow motion on a slope meticulously packed by side-stepping.
Batavia, the Javanese Capital
In this trip Burton Holmes takes your patrons to Java, the richest island of the Dutch East Indies, and Batavia, its capital city, one of the most picturesque and interesting cities of the Far East. We see many unusual sights, such as the embarking of the Dutch troops for Sumatra, another Dutch possession, to quell a revolt. Then a Dutch treat. How many have wondered where the expression Dutch treat came from? We are shown an original one. An important feature concerning this so-called "treat," which is termed by them as the "Rice Table," is the amount of service required to serve the courses, of which there are as many as there are varieties of Heinz's pickles. It takes seventeen waiters or attendants to make the meal complete.
Colorful Ceylon
It is not often that your patrons will get a chance to take a trip through a veritable Garden of Eden. On his trip Burton Holmes will show them many strange and unusual sights of the Far East that they never before have witnessed, such as a Buddhist funeral procession of a much beloved saint. Don't run away with the idea that this is going to be sad, far from it. It will appeal to them the more like a joyous Carnival when they see it, the beautiful water falls of St. Clair, the tea fields and hosts of other sights equally interesting, finally the journey ends up with a water scene, showing the Cingalese people taking on the best sport in the land, bathing.
The Evidence of the Termites
What is the middle class? Is it a set of encyclopedias, the tupper ware in the freezer, tha family vacation, working as a babysittter? Is it something that is no longer here? Is it the bus, the park near my childhood house, the evidence of the termites?
Snowbound
Released on April 11, 1920. Directed & produced by Burton Holmes.
Ski Flight
Shortened version of the film 'Snow flight' distributed by Warner Bros. The film was produced by Jerome Hill as 'a document of skiing according to the principles of Hannes Schneider.' It features Otto Lang, director of the Mt Rainier and Mt Baker ski schools. As the film opens, Otto emerges from a cabin beneath Table Mountain at the Mt Baker ski area with his canine friend. He applies wax-on climbing skins to his skis. Then he steps into his bindings and climbs to a scenic ridge. The narrator describes each technique in detail as Otto demonstrates again. Several of the maneuvers are done in slow motion on a slope meticulously packed by side-stepping.