Touching the Void (2004)
94%RT Audience Score: 92%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 BAFTA Film Award
8 wins & 10 nominations total
Gripping even though the outcome is known.
Touching the Void” is a gripping and intense docudrama that will leave you on the edge of your seat. The story of two climbers and their harrowing journey through the mountains is both emotionally and physically exhausting. But don’t worry, you won’t need to climb a mountain to experience the thrill of this film. Just make sure you have a comfy seat and a strong stomach, because this movie will take you on a wild ride. It’s like a rollercoaster, but with more snow and less screaming.
Production Company(ies)
Film Four UK Film Council Darlow Smithson Productions,
Distributor
IFC Films
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Siula Grande, Peru
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language
Year of Release
2004
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 47m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 5, 2003 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 15, 2004
Genre(s)
Adventure/Drama
Keyword(s)
Touching the Void, adventure, drama, R, English, Kevin Macdonald, John Smithson, Brendan Mackey, Nicholas Aaron, Richard Hawking, Joe Simpson, Simon Yates, box office, $4.6M, reviewed by Sheila Norman-Culp, Nell Minow, David Ansen, Todd McCarthy, Ed Halliwell, Wally Hammond, Nick Rogers, Cole Smithey, Mark Halverson, Ethan Alter, Tony Medley, MPAA rating, IFC Films, surround sound, Siula Grande, Peruvian Andes, climbers, first to reach summit, treacherous descent, disaster, broken leg, fall, ropes, storm, cut the rope, gripping, emotional, storytelling, docudrama, excitement, survival, extreme human endeavor, character, friendship, facing death, food for thought
Worldwide gross: $13,904,795
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $21,934,625
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,682
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 2,391,998
US/Canada gross: $4,593,598
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $7,246,338
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,702
US/Canada opening weekend: $96,973
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $152,974
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,774
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Nicholas Aaron – Simon Yates
Richard Hawking – Self
Joe Simpson – Self
Simon Yates –
Ollie Ryall – Show all Cast & Crew
Director(s)
Kevin Macdonald
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
John Smithson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 BAFTA Film Award
8 wins & 10 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (139) | Top Critics (51) | Fresh (130) | Rotten (9)
In the right hands, a docudrama can deliver all the excitement, emotion and storytelling of the very best feature films — and director Kevin Macdonald has done that with startling clarity in the mountaineering adventure Touching the Void.
January 23, 2019
Sheila Norman-Culp
Associated Press
TOP CRITIC
Excruciatingly tense story of a terrible accident.
December 29, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
Touching the Void leaves you emotionally and physically spent, and grateful it was only a movie, not a mountain, you had to endure.
March 26, 2007
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
Awesome and harrowing.
March 26, 2007
Todd McCarthy
Variety
TOP CRITIC
A slow starter which builds into a chilling depiction of the agonising disintegration of body and mind as they are exposed to the elements.
April 1, 2006 | Rating: 4/5
Ed Halliwell
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
As a meditation on extreme human endeavour, character, friendship and the mysteries revealed by facing death, it provides much food for thought.
February 9, 2006
Wally Hammond
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
“Void” plummets into the nucleus of instinct and consciousness – survival a near-primordial pursuit beyond bravery or weakness. It concocts no comfort about what was gained, but stares in transfixed, unforgettable awe at the horror of all that was lost.
November 4, 2010 | Rating: 4/4
Nick Rogers
The Film Yap
“Touching the Void” towers above the rest of that rarest of all film genres, the docudrama.
August 9, 2009 | Rating: A+
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
This harrowing, white-knuckle tale of human endurance and gut-wrenching dilemma mingles the dramatization of these events and interviews with both climbers into an unforgettable, sometimes comically deadpan nightmare.
August 7, 2008 | Rating: 5/5
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review
It’s certainly a far better thriller than anything Hollywood has churned out lately.
March 5, 2005 | Rating: 4/5
Ethan Alter
NYC Film Critic
This is a gripping tale of courage and survival with gorgeous cinematography.
October 7, 2004 | Rating: 9/10
Tony Medley
tonymedley.com
With his new film Macdonald has achieved, if not physical elevation, then at least spiritual soaring.
October 6, 2004 | Rating: 4/4
Jeffrey M. Anderson
SPLICEDWire…
Plot
In 1985 two friends, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, set out to climb Siula Grande in Peru via the West Face, a hitherto unaccomplished feat by any climber. After a tough ascent they succeed but on the descent they run into significant problems. Soon they are both in dire danger and the chances of surviving are slim.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t provide any goofy or funny comments about the film, but it does mention the cast, which includes Brendan Mackey, Nicholas Aaron, and Richard Hawking.
Kevin-Macdonald.jpg
