To mark the 70th anniversary of the historic expedition, STUDIOCANAL is has announced a new
restoration of the classic British documentary, THE CONQUEST OF EVEREST. Telling the awe-inspiring story
of the first successful attempt on the peak of Mount Everest, this
thrilling and important piece of adventuring history will be available to
own on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital on May 29 - the same date the
party made it to the peak.
Narrated by Meredith Edwards (A Run For Your Money) and featuring the mountaineersSir Edmund Hillary, Wilfred Noyce and Tenzing Norgay, the documentary details the history,
preparation and description of the route as well as fascinating footage of
previous attempts and the social context of the achievement.
In order to document the entire ascent, the producers had to rely on
footage from the climbing team themselves. Select members were given
rudimentary training and equipped with cameras and a variety of lenses,
which they had to lug around in addition to the actual essentials, such as
their oxygen tanks. They also carried a few experimental automatic cameras
that were as small as cigarette packets and much easier to use. Original
cameraman Tom Stobart fell ill at the lower level, so George Lowe, Hillary’s climbing partner, took over as
director and came back with dozens of magazines of footage. The news of the
expedition’s success was received on the morning of the Queen’s coronation
and helped further cement its place in history.
Winner of the BAFTA for Best Documentary and nominated for an Oscar, THE CONQUEST OF EVEREST is a truly unique document of an
epic journey. Following a painstaking restoration process, this important
historic document is released looking better than ever before and comes
complete with new special features. A very welcome addition to the
ever-expanding
Vintage Classics collection
.
