Bringing to life Joe Simpson's book of the same name, TOUCHING THE VOID details the near-death experience he endured during a 1985 attempt to climb the only mountain in the Peruvian Andes that had not been scaled--the 21,000-foot Siula Grande. With his partner Simon Yates, Simpson successfully reached the peak after a three-day climb. During the descent, however, he fell and shattered several bones in his right leg. Yates attempted to lower Simpson down the mountain 300 feet at a time, but the process was slow and painful for both men. With no food or water, they would both surely die--which left Yates with a painful choice to make--cutting Simpson loose, thus ensuring at least his own survival. This was only the beginning of Simpson's mind-boggling odyssey.

Director Kevin McDonald (ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER) tells this compelling story by combining talking-head interviews with Simpson and Yates and stunningly photographed narrative footage--in which Simpson and Yates' ordeal is actually reenacted on Siula Grande. McDonald's reenactment footage is both engrossing and eye-popping and it could easily stand alone as its own one-of-a-kind adventure film. The interviews, however, add depth that make this a unique, thrilling, and emotional piece of cinema.

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Additional Release Material:
Featurette:
1. "Making of TOUCHING THE VOID"
2. "Return to Siula Grande"
3. "What Happens Next?"
Trailers:
1. Original Theatrical Trailer
2. CASA DE LOS BABYS
3. OSAMA
4. BUBBA HO-TEP
5. BARBERSHOP 2

Brendan Mackey: Actor, NINE DEAD GAY GUYS (2003)
Aaron Nicholas: British Actor, TOUCHING THE VOID (2003)

Kevin MacDonald: Director

John Smithson: British Producer, TOUCHING THE VOID (2003)

Justine Wright: editor, ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER

"[A] rousing tribute to the human survival instinct."
"This is compelling stuff."
"The result is not only stunning imagery but a sense of actually being there, experiencing the horrific journey with Simpson and Yates."
"The real-life Simpson and Yates narrate in straight-to-camera close-up, lending an edge of docu-realism..."
"[S]killfully conceived and assembled documentary that comes to the screen with a double pedigree."
"[T]he film manages a very convincing replication of climbing under adverse conditions."
"[D]aring, Articulate, intense, and framed in talking-head intimacy, Simpson and Yates vividly describe the accumulating horrors."