The true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.The true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.The true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
- Won 1 BAFTA Award
- 8 wins & 10 nominations total
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAt the end of the movie, there's a written line claiming that Simon faced "strong criticism" from the climbing community after his return to England. This claim has been repeated in several press statements and reviews, but it's not correct. What really happened is that, one month after his return in Europe, Simon went climbing in the Alps, unaware that the Daily Mail newspaper had published a wildly incorrect version of the Siula story, implying that Simon had tried to kill Joe. This was of course absurd, and the British climbing community dismissed it immediately as nonsense. However, back home Simon discovered that a small group of senior members of the Mount Everest Foundation (the body that manages founding for climbing expeditions in the Greater Ranges) had misjudged the story and now wanted Simon excluded in the future from the MEF funds - a move that could basically kill Simon's climbing career. At this point however, Joe Simpson had a correct version of the Siula story published in a respected climbing magazine, and the whole issue was cleared. However, in the DVD commentary, Joe Simpson himself clearly says that Simon came under much criticism after returning home, and that he wrote Touching the Void to defend Simon.
- GoofsWhen Joe reaches the bottom of the crevasse (00:59:57) and starts crawling on his stomach towards the sunlight, you can clearly see the blue helmet of another person.
- Quotes
Joe Simpson: You gotta make decisions. You gotta keep making decisions, even if they're wrong decisions, you know. If you don't make decisions, you're stuffed.
- Crazy creditsDuring the first part of the closing credits (before the crawl), the credits are accompanied by black-and-white pictures showing the three men's journey back into civilization; the final picture is of Joe in the hospital.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Making of 'Touching the Void' (2003)
Featured review
I work at a cinema in norwich (UCI) i was checking our listing and saw this film on them, thought what the hell is that!? i asked a friend and he said it was about some climbers, i remember catching a breif review on some tv show ages ago. Being a climber myself i decided to go see it asap. A few guests asked me whether to see Out of Time or this and i said i'd go with this coz it sounds much better. They went into see it, I had a few minutes to kill at work so i went and watched the first 10mins, i really struggled to pull myself away. I was standing at the exit to the screen when the film finished, and i noticed a strange things happen, nobody left till the end of the credits!!! I went and saw it the next day with a few friends. As the trailers rolled i started munching on my bag of chocolates and sipping at my pepsi, then as the film started i just couldn't take my eyes off the screen, the cinematography is amazing (i studied film) the shots are just fantastic, tremendous scenery.
The film builds up the tension and sheer drama of what they are attempting well. After a while u forget you are watching a documentary and just start watching it like any other film. as the excitement built up i realised i like Joe was frozen still, unable to move i felt his pain and the moment when he has the song in his head just gets right in your head as well and you start to feel sick as well.
I've never been as moved by a film as i have with touching the void with the exception of Schindler's List. When the film moved i realised i still had most of my chocolate and pepsi left, and everyone around me were just sitting there, me and my mates just slowely got up and walked out of the cinema not saying a word, we were all just so gobsmacked by what we had just witnessed.
If you get a chance, see ths film, it's one of the best movies i've ever seen. 10/10
David Wortley
The film builds up the tension and sheer drama of what they are attempting well. After a while u forget you are watching a documentary and just start watching it like any other film. as the excitement built up i realised i like Joe was frozen still, unable to move i felt his pain and the moment when he has the song in his head just gets right in your head as well and you start to feel sick as well.
I've never been as moved by a film as i have with touching the void with the exception of Schindler's List. When the film moved i realised i still had most of my chocolate and pepsi left, and everyone around me were just sitting there, me and my mates just slowely got up and walked out of the cinema not saying a word, we were all just so gobsmacked by what we had just witnessed.
If you get a chance, see ths film, it's one of the best movies i've ever seen. 10/10
David Wortley
- How long is Touching the Void?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,593,598
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $96,973
- Jan 25, 2004
- Gross worldwide
- $13,905,522
- Runtime1 hour 46 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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