''Scream of Stone'' () is a 1991 film directed by

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusu ...

about a climbing expedition on Cerro Torre. The film was shot on location at Cerro Torre, with several scenes filmed close to the summit.

Plot

Two champion climbers, young Martin and experienced Roger, compete to be the first to conquer a daunting snow-covered peak.

Production

The film is based on the history of the supposed first conquest of the summit of Cerro Torre in 1959, by the Italian climber Cesare Maestri and his partner, the Austrian Toni Egger, who died during the descent. Cerro Torre is known as one of the most difficult climbs in the world due to difficult weather conditions and lack of a clear ascent route. Maestri's claim was later challenged as he failed to give substantial proofs on reaching the summit. The script was written principally by longtime Herzog production manager Walter Saxer, based on an idea from mountaineer

Reinhold Messner Reinhold Andreas Messner (; born 17 September 1944) is an Italian climber, explorer, and author from the German-speaking province of South Tyrol. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent o ...

, with whom Herzog had worked in his documentary '' The Dark Glow of the Mountains''. Herzog, usually an author of screenplays to his films, believed that the script was weak, especially the dialogue, and even commented that he didn't consider ''Scream of Stone'' to be his film. Still, he praised some mountain climbing sequences of the film as "the most impressive thing you can see on screen, much more ... than anything in a Hollywood blockbuster", because Stefan Glowacz climbed the mountain in single takes without safety lines.

Home media

A DVD transfer of ''Scream of Stone'' was released in Australia by Payless Entertainment cat. PEL031.

References

Sources

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External links

* * 1991 films 1990s adventure drama films German adventure drama films English-language German films Climbing and mountaineering films Films directed by Werner Herzog Films set in Argentina Films set in Chile Films shot in Argentina Films shot in Chile Golden Osella winners 1991 drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s German films English-language adventure drama films {{1990s-adventure-film-stub