Free solo

gmisk · 30-12-2018 9:53pm #1

Just wondering if anyone else seen this doc?
In a word..gripping!

al87987 · 02-01-2019 2:27pm

Gonna watch this week, heard great things.

Just watched The dawn wall yesterday which is also at El Capitan. Would highly recommend.

NIMAN · 03-01-2019 1:47am

All those guys are clean mental. Thats all I can say.

mloc123 · 03-01-2019 9:53am

Netflix had/has a good docu about the history of free climbing in Yosemite Valley, un-surprisingly most of the people they discussed had died since in climbing accidents.

https://www.netflix.com/title/80084836

Shelga · 05-01-2019 3:20pm

Saw Free Solo a couple of weeks ago, really interesting documentary. It really makes you think and provokes good discussion afterwards.

Plus the cinematography is incredible!

Aisling(",) · 07-01-2019 3:44pm

I'm going to see this this afternoon in the IFI.I can't wait I'd imagine I'll be chewing my knuckles though! High tension

gmisk · 07-01-2019 3:46pm

Aisling(",) wrote: »

I'm going to see this this afternoon in the IFI.I can't wait I'd imagine I'll be chewing my knuckles though! High tension

Hope you enjoy it!
I was in the lighthouse yday seeing the favourite and noticed the screening there was sold out, so seems to be doing well!

johnny_ultimate · 07-01-2019 4:57pm

While the feat is obviously impressive and utterly mental, as a film I thought it was most worthwhile as a portrait of Honnold himself. In some ways he’s unknowable and mysterious, but the fact he’s often inscrutable makes him interesting to watch. I don’t mean that in a wholly positive sense - there’s a sort of pathological selfishness that’s probably necessary to do this sort of thing, but leads to some bizarre relationships with others. Left with a conflicted opinion of the guy, but that’s more interesting to me than something which was just celebrating his accomplishment.

Said accomplishment is well presented, mind you - great to see some of the behind the scenes logistics and indeed ethical considerations of filming something as perilous as this.

Agent Coulson · 14-02-2019 4:36pm

A stunning documentary.

[Deleted User] · 14-02-2019 8:17pm

how does this compare to "Dawn Wall" . didn't find that any good.

is it much better?

Agent Coulson · 15-02-2019 7:39pm

It's much better than Dawn Wall for me.

I would say watch them in this order Valley Uprising, Dawn Wall and then Free Solo and watch the evolution of the climbing in Yosemite finishing with the most amazing climb in human history by Alex Honnold.

Regarding Dawn wall the more interesting story there was the hostage taking.

ISOP · 15-02-2019 10:14pm

awesome, has to be seen on IMAX, mindblowing

smurf492 · 16-02-2019 12:55am

Valley uprising and free solo for me... Found the dawn wall lacking... Caldwell is a great climber and probably the only one with sense to use a rope... Plus a scene in free solo is much better after seeing Valley uprising... The director, Jimmy chin also has another great climbing documentary called Meru

yerwanthere123 · 20-02-2019 5:34pm

I didn't enjoy this is much as I hoped I would. I'd have rathered more time given to the actual free solo climb itself and less build up.

cozar · 04-03-2019 11:03am

it was an unbelievable achievement. could hardly watch the climb itself it was terrifying. i dont think the girlfriend was an asset to him thought she was kinda in the way.

yerwanthere123 · 04-03-2019 11:08am

cozar wrote: »

it was an unbelievable achievement. could hardly watch the climb itself it was terrifying. i dont think the girlfriend was an asset to him thought she was kinda in the way.

I'm amazed they're still together, I didn't know anything about them beforehand but throughout the film I was expecting him to say he'd ended the relationship.

KOR101 · 04-03-2019 11:10am

Better than Meru IMO.

I like the way they left the most exciting shots until the climb itself. Thumbnail impressions of parents a weakness.

cj maxx · 04-03-2019 2:08pm

I got dizzy watching it. Some of the shots from the cliff are scary. He's a mad bast@rd !

mooseknunkle · 04-03-2019 11:02pm

I had sweaty palms watching him!,i couldn't get over how long his laces were they looked like they could easily get caught on something..

Sugarlumps · 05-03-2019 9:45am

Amazing documentary.

branie2 · 06-03-2019 1:45pm

It'll look fantastic on Blu-ray

Ant · 22-03-2019 12:55am

I finally got to see this in The Lighthouse over the bank holiday weekend. We had gone to see it twice before since it came out in December – but each time it had been sold out. This time we booked the tickets in advance and even now, 4 months later, the cinema was still three quarters full. It was worth the effort as the excellent cinematography shone through on the big screen. The focus on the climber himself – his emotional compartmentalisation and restraint (referred to as being like Spock by one of the film-makers), his relationship with his girlfriend, his preference for living in a van rather than a house, etc. – provided plenty of material for discussion over a post-film pint.

One thing I liked about the film was that it showed a lot of the preparation that went into making the attempt, i.e., multiple rehearsals with ropes, with meticulous note-taking so he had pretty much every nook and cranny committed to memory – along with a plan for overcoming all the (many) challenging sections of the climb. For a non-climber like myself, it gave me an insight into how difficult this feat really was: climbing El Capitan is actually much harder than it looks!

mloc123 · 22-03-2019 11:30am

Netflix have another good docu up now called "Dawn Wall" worth checking out

silverharp · 01-04-2019 11:13am

Is it showing in any Dublin cinemas? , the lighthouse had it last weekend but it was at a stupid early time. It seems like one to see on a big screen

NIMAN · 01-04-2019 9:05pm

mloc123 wrote: »

Netflix have another good docu up now called "Dawn Wall" worth checking out

What those guys done was impressive, but compared to Alex Honnold it paled into insignificance

p to the e · 08-04-2019 10:00pm

Was very enjoyable and looked amazing but as has been mentioned this documentary ended up being more of a character study of Honnold.

I've gone through the comments and no one seems to be pointing out the obvious that this guy is obviously on the spectrum. His father was diagnosed with aspergers, he clearly has trouble showing emotions and he is definitely socially awkward. His girlfriend is either very unaware or in denial thinking she can change him.

cj maxx · 23-05-2019 9:37pm

Just heads up it’s on ch4 now

Dades · 24-05-2019 10:49am

Watched this last week, and caught half of it again last night on C4.

Unbelievable feat. I couldn't shake a niggling feeling that the documentary was putting him under serious pressure personally to do something that he knew had every chance of killing him. Sure, he may have done it anyway eventually, but I believe he felt he owed it to the guys who had filmed him for years.

Have been watching stuff like this on Youtube since.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7qSiEKntQA

c.p.w.g.w · 24-05-2019 11:40am

Really like to watch it, but I'm terrified of heights. And watching even the ads for it, I was feeling sick just at the thought. Is it all the climbing or mostly training and background of the climber

Dades · 24-05-2019 12:57pm

c.p.w.g.w wrote: »

Is it all the climbing or mostly training and background of the climber

Mostly training (involving climbing!) and background. I'd say the last 30 mins is the attempt.

You should watch it - you might get more out of it being afraid of heights. :pac:

Stone Deaf 4evr · 24-05-2019 1:02pm

p to the e wrote: »

Was very enjoyable and looked amazing but as has been mentioned this documentary ended up being more of a character study of Honnold.

I've gone through the comments and no one seems to be pointing out the obvious that this guy is obviously on the spectrum. His father was diagnosed with aspergers, he clearly has trouble showing emotions and he is definitely socially awkward. His girlfriend is either very unaware or in denial thinking she can change him.

I might be mixing up my climbing films, but didnt they subject him to an MRI and discovered he had a low functioning amygdala (spelling?) in his brain - the fear centre as such.

And I'd wager that all extremely driven people are all 'on the spectrum' to some extent - at the end of the day, we're all made up of chemicals, and slightly different balances gives different outcomes.

Free solo

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