5 Best Climbing Movies

If you enjoy mountain climbing or rock climbing, you'll certainly enjoy the 5 best climbing movies of all times. They're also great for those who love adventure movies and are seeking thrilling films. The themes and stories vary greatly among the films on the list, and these five great movies have climbing at the heart of their stories. See which ones you have seen. Check out the ones you haven't.

1. "The Eiger Sanction" with Clint Eastwood is one of the greatest climbing movies of all time. He plays an agent on a mission; he must sanction a climber. This mission takes him to Europe. The film comes to an exciting climatic scene on Eiger. Clint Eastwood does some of his finest acting in this acclaimed–yet not widely seen–climbing movie.
2. "Touching the Void" is often considered the best climbing movie. It's an incredible documentary, although the climbing scenes shown are all recreations of the story it tells. It's based on Joe Simpson's book, "Touching the Void," and the movie is both beautifully shot and told. It's one that you'll want to buy instead of rent, as you'll likely watch it time and again.
3. "The Third Man on the Mountain" is a terrific Disney movie about a climbing legacy. In this enchanting, dramatic movie, a young man is determined to climb the mountain that his father died trying to climb. The movie has astounding cinematography, and it was shot on location in Switzerland. It's a movie that shows the spirit of climbing, its reality and what drives some people to face the risks of climbing for its joy and glory.
   
4. The cleverly titled "Cliffhanger" is a climbing movie starring Sylvester Stallone. It was a Hollywood blockbuster movie. Although it is not big on realism about climbing, such as the misrepresentation of the harness buckle being super pliable, there are few action movies that concentrate on whether the action is realistic. It is an enjoyable, fun mainstream movie on climbing. If hard core climbers can ignore several aspects of climbing being fictionalized and use the suspension of disbelief, they're sure to enjoy this mainstream climbing movie.
5. "The Mountain" is a classic, timeless climbing movie made in 1956. Starring Spencer Tracy and Robert Wagner, it tells the story of brothers who are climbers. The movie finds them climbing to reach plain wreckage on a mountain. With an original tag line of "It feels the screen with excitement and suspense," the movie doesn't disappoint. The acting in "The Mountain," is superb, as is the important story of two brothers and life choices.