Many of us know that Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first men to summit Mount Everest back in 1953, but we don’t necessarily know how they did it. Director Leanne Pooley combines archival footage with the latest 3D technology to recreate their historic journey in her visually stunning documentary, Beyond the Edge.
It was interesting to hear the Canadian-born Pooley talk about the filmmaking process at the TIFF premiere – to make it appear as though the actors playing Hillary and Norgay actually reached the world’s highest peak, she filmed part of the documentary in the Southern Alps of New Zealand (where Pooley now lives), with other visuals shot by a professional climber who’s scaled Mount Everest on multiple occasions.
The moment when the audience gets to experience the 360-degree view from the top of Everest is truly breathtaking, and alone worth the price of admission. But on the 60th anniversary of the British expedition, the story of how Hillary and Norgay almost didn’t get to be the ones who would attempt the ascent to the top, and what it took for them to get there, is equally fascinating.
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Still from Beyond the Edge.