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Poster for North Face

North Face

A true story

2008 · 2h 6m · Not Rated Action, Adventure, Drama, History, Thriller
Directed by Philipp Stölzl

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Overview

North Face tells the story of two German climbers Toni Kurz and Andreas Hinterstoisser and their attempt to scale the deadly North Face of the Eiger.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
84%
Tomatometer
Fresh

The mountaineers climb for reasons that have little to do with nationalism - reasons the film clumsily attempts to articulate in words. It's far more successful conveying those inspirations with stunning images of them scaling daunting heights.

Ian Buckwalter, NPR
Fresh

A straightforward, wickedly suspenseful Man vs. Nature saga of the type that rarely gets made any more.

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle
Rotten

Philipp Stolzl worked in the same dangerous conditions as the original climbers, and we can feel the chill and peril in our bones. It's a shame, then, that the screenwriter, unlike the camera crew and the characters, was afflicted with such timidity.

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Fresh

North Face" is something of an old-fashioned epic shot with modern wisdom and technique, a man vs. nature flick that also weighs the importance of the individual vs. the social while exposing the mean cost of vicarious thrills.

Tom Long, Detroit News
Fresh

The word "gripping" doesn't do it justice.

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

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