K2 (1991)

Director:

Franc Roddam

Writers:

Patrick Meyers (play)
Patrick Meyers (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 May 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

Between the earth and the sky lies the sheer face of adventure.

Plot:

Taylor and Harold are good friends and avid climbers. While climbing one day, they meet a man who it seems might be attempting to climb K2...

Plot Keywords:

K2 | Climbing | Mountain | Bare Butt | Avalanche

Cast

Michael Biehn	...	Taylor Brooks
Matt Craven	...	Harold Jameson
Annie Grindlay	...	Lisa
Elena Wohl	...	Tracey (as Elena Stiteler)
Blu Mankuma	...	Man on Wheelchair
Charles Oberman	...	Tony
Julia Nickson	...	Cindy Jameson (as Julia Nickson-Soul)
Christopher M. Brown	...	Carl (as Christopher Brown)
Leslie Carlson	...	Dexter
David Cubitt	...	Peter
Luca Bercovici	...	Dallas Woolf
Edward Spat	...	Mike Spatt
Andrew Spat	...	Todd Spatt
Hiroshi Fujioka	...	Takane Shimuzu
Patricia Charbonneau	...	Jacki Metcalf

Also Known As:

K2: The Ultimate High

Runtime:

102 min | Canada:111 min | UK:111 min | USA:104 min

Country:

UK | Japan | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | Finland:K-8 | Germany:16 | South Korea:12 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | Norway:10

Filming Locations:

British Columbia, Canada

Company:

DENTSU Music And Entertainment

Trivia:

The New York production of "K2" opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theater in New York on March 30, 1983 and ran for 85 performances. Patrick Meyers wrote both the stage play and the screen play for this movie version.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: There is nothing in the key climbing sequence of the movie to suggest the movie was filmed anywhere near K2 - although the montagne valley locations seem to be in the Hindu Kush. For example, when they reach "the death zone" the characters engage in a walk and talk with little apparent loss of abilities due to oxygen deprivation at this altitude.

Quotes:

Harold: What about, uh, Dallas? What's his name? What's his problem?
Taylor Brooks: Dallas Woolf. We went to Law School together. He was good in the classroom... I was better in the courtroom. There's no contest in the bedroom!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Incident at Loch Ness (2004)

Soundtrack:

Ascent

Technically impressive but a bit too melodramatic for its own good

While practising a rapid ascent of a local vertical face, lawyer Brooks and physicist friend Jameson meets a part of climbers who appear to be planning for something bigger. Tragedy brings them together with the leader of the group – legendary climber Phillip Claiborne. Brooks talks his way onto the team – a team that is heading to the top of K2, one of the deadliest ascents in the world.

Having read some of the reviews for this film before watching it, they seemed to be mostly from those who embraced it as a "real" climbing movie and those that dismissed it for being unrealistic. I'm not suggesting my point of view has more validity (it doesn't) but I tried to watch it as someone who struggles to climb a ladder up a stack far less a mountain, so probably wouldn't be bothered if it was or wasn't an accurate portrayal of doing it for real. Well, I say that but I must admit that even with my limited knowledge of the subject, I'm not sure if some of the heroics seen here could really be done. Despite this the film is technically very impressive with really well directed action and some great shots. It looks the business if only the material had been there to back it up.

Instead the material feels a lot less genuine and it jars with the convincing surroundings. Here everyone gets a speech and the story is always a bit too melodramatic and chickens out of the impacting stuff too often. The cast work the best they can with it but they don't convince as to their surroundings when they have to speak, not that some of the narrative devices or convenient twists help them either. Biehn plays it cocksure and arrogant but forgets to leave a crack of a real person in there; so he is loud but when his true self comes it is unconvincing and not connected to anything we have seen in him at all. Craven is good though because his softer character does sit with being the unappreciated friend. Bercovici, Charbonneau and Barry are part of a solid enough supporting cast who do what the material requires.

Not a great film then but one that is technically impressive and easy to watch. The simple characters and overly melodramatic script and unconvincing dialogue really limit it but it is still serviceable for what it is.