The movie ‘Everest’ is cinematographically very beautiful and makes you wonder where it is filmed. It is inspired by eight climbers on their expedition to the world’s tallest mountain, Everest. The movie includes some of the greatest actors of our generation, like Jake Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson, Josh Brolin, Robin Wright, and Sam Worthington. Everest leaves the audience in awe as it wonderfully depicts what it takes to decide to climb the world’s highest peak, which is also the most dangerous and risk-taking peak. Each scene from the movie fills with hardship, pain, but also shows the desire for an undefined greater purpose.
The movie also shows the harsh conditions through which these climbers hike in these dangerous mountains. Imagine not getting enough oxygen and still having to climb thousands of feet! Sounds like a nightmare, doesn’t it? Well, even in these conditions, these brave heroes decide to climb Everest. The movie fully captures climbers’ fascination for their passion for life-threatening summits. Now, let us get into the details about where ‘Everest’ is filmed!
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What Is The Movie ‘Everest’ About?
The movie is inspired by the incredible adventure of eight climbers on their unfortunate ill-fated Everest expedition in May 1996. It took place in the midst of the heaviest snowstorm in recent history. The team started a journey to reach the peak of the world’s tallest mountain. They are pushed to their limits by this bad storm and struggle a lot. The climbers encounter virtually unfathomable difficulties as a lifetime obsession turns into a magnificent struggle for survival.
The movie’s cinematographer is very talented and has worked on many famous films like The Da Vinci Code, Cinderella Man, etc. While shooting the movie, the makers faced a lot of challenges. This made the filming extremely difficult. The makers were always worried about avalanches and explained how they felt very fatigued the minute they stopped working or moving around.
Where Is ‘Everest’ Filmed? Was It Really Filmed On Mount Everest?
‘Everest’ is filmed in a variety of locales throughout the cold places of Europe. Along with that, some of the scenes were shot at the Everest Base Camp as well. Some scenes were shot in Nepal, and the actors took on very real risks to shoot some scenes there.
The movie opens with scenes from Kathmandu, which is Nepal‘s capital. Some of the scenes were shot at local airports, like Tribhuvan and Tenzing-Hillary. Oh, by the way, The Tenzing-Hillary Airport was named in honor of Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing. They were the first climbers to reach the peak of Mount Everest in 1953.
Coming back to the movie, the makers had to shoot at some of Everest’s most extreme and dangerous locations. They filmed at Lukla and then a bridge which was about half an hour trek from Namche Bazaar in Nepal. Also, they filmed at the height of 1,200 feet. Along with that, they shot at a temple in Tengboche and then helicoptered up to 1,500 feet to the memorials for climbers who perished there.
Other Filming Locations Besides Nepal
One of the shooting locations is ‘Dolomites‘ which is in Italy, and you will be surprised to know that sometimes the temperature stooped down to 20 degrees below zero celsius. The makers of the movie chose to film at less intimidating peaks to climb for giving a realistic look to the film and also take care of the team’s safety. Shooting at such a height can cause a lot of problems of climate, weather, and shortage of oxygen. Even though the makers chose ‘safe’ peaks to shoot, it does not mean it was any easier in these accessible mountains.
Other filming locations included Iceland. Since the director of the movie hails from Iceland, it is understandable he filmed some of the scenes from the movie over there. The filmmakers relocated to Iceland for a month of filming. Everest was also shot at the Cincecitta studio, that is in Rome, Italy. At this point, it is clear that the filmmakers had more time to explore the city’s great history and perhaps soak up some warmth before returning to the freezing climate of other mountain ranges.
For the rest of the scenes, the movie was shot across Europe and its studios. Also, some of the scenes were shot in Schnalstal in South Tyrol, Italy. It is a very beautiful and breathtaking valley in the Alps where visitors are seen enjoying hiking and skiing.
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