After what seems like a good 10 minutes’ worth of blissfully (boastingly?) unmotivated aerial camera movements, writer-director Jennifer Peedom sets her documentary to doing what it does very well: detailing the history of (and fascination with) mountaineering. A mere three centuries ago, people believed that only lords and lunatics dwelled in the heights, and deliberately setting out to climb a mountain would have been considered an act of insanity. All due respect to our beloved Ken, but it was just as crazy to eschew filming this in IMAX. Then again, IMAX houses have always been more concerned with profiting off of busloads of children, skipping out on school to watch classroom films writ large. It’s a pity, because I can’t imagine a better film, with a narrative both illuminating and artful, to see in a domed setting than this one. And gosh only knows when you’ll ever have another chance to see a blooper reel of spills set to Vivaldi. Willem Dafoe narrates. (2017) — Scott Marks
This movie is not currently in theaters.