MovieChat Forums > The Summit (2013) Discussion > A distracting mess

A distracting mess

posted 10 years ago by Youwillhateme
12 replies | jump to latest

It's all over the place in need of a serious re-edit. Whoever edited or directed the editor did a terrible job. It kept going from one thing to another, but not in a good way.

[–] ssarmazi 10 years ago

100% agree.

And the bits with Walter Bonatti were unnecessary - that's a fascinating and controversial piece of K2's history, but it should've either had more depth in this movie or eliminated altogether. The way it was just added to the confusing mess.

[–] daddie0 10 years ago

the bits with Walter Bonatti were unnecessary

I couldn't agree with you more. It seemed that could have perhaps used it's own treatment, or if it was intended to inform this documentary, make the connection more clear.

[–] mag900-1 10 years ago

i agree. it repeated several of the re-enactments and it made no sense to add the italian guy who was on the first team to summit but who apparently wasn't recognized for decades. the cinematography was great though.

[–] WhoisThePrisoner1 10 years ago

Yes, totally confusing. The reenactments were not labeled, nor were the actors identified to the actual climber. No way to know who was talking and what was being seen/discussed and from whose perspective. No way to know the timeline at any given point. Confusing and unnecessary flashbacks.

[–] BB-15 10 years ago

There was lots of great material in the movie. It just needed to be organized better.

The film should have been done in chronological order.
Instead the story of the climb got about half way done and then it began again.

The Italian climber's story needed a reedit to focus only on the dangers of K2 and how a team can fall apart.

BB ;-)

it's just in my opinion - imo -

[–] melinda2001 9 years ago

The film should have been done in chronological order.

I'm sure they would love to have done that, but they did spend a fair bit of time talking about how there were so many conflicting stories. I also have to wonder just how well a hypoxic brain can create new memories when it's struggling to simply stay awake and not die.

[–] aidave 10 years ago

Nearly impossible to follow this, had to keep rewinding. This would have really helped with some computer animations to show where everyone was on the mountain.

We'll settle this the old Navy way. First one to die, loses!

[–] sandifay62 10 years ago

I didn't have trouble following the story. I realized the difference between the actual footage and re-enactments after a few minutes. I understood the purpose of tying the Italian guy's story to this one.

I agree that it could've been edited more smoothly, but the fascinating story made up for it's flaws.

[–] strongbad-274-706634 10 years ago

A compelling story told terribly. It was like trying to follow a David Lynch movie. Whoever edited the movie must have done so in "The Danger Zone". Just a muddled mess.

[–] hisxlnc 10 years ago

You absolutely hit the nail on the head...The entire documentary was very poorly directed and narrated.An incoherent mess and a sheer waste of time.

[–] sambda 9 years ago

Yes, it was like a first effort from somebody at Film School. A first edit of a first effort.

Or did somebody just chuck the film up in the air and edit it together in the order it came down?

If you want to see how to do this sort of thing properly, see "Touching The Void".

[–] Heresy 9 years ago

Completely agree, I would have been completely lost if I had not read the book 'Burried in the Sky' which is an account of that day on K2. Very good book if you want to learn more about the tragedy and those involved.