MATTERHORN - DAS IST DER GIPFEL
MATTERHORN - DAS IST DER GIPFEL
JOCHEN WOLF
Germany / 1998 / 60'
MATTERHORN - DAS IST DER GIPFEL
JOCHEN WOLF
Germany / 1998 / 60'

It was the day of riots at the Bastille, 14th July 1865, when the English climbers Whymper, Douglas, Hadow and Hudson became the first men to conquer the summit of the Matterhorn. Howerver, four of the first climbers perished during the descent... until then this mountain had taken 500 victims. Death in a paradise did not only attract the men of the 19th century. The Matterhorn turned into an obsession, a place of escape and purpose for many mountaineers. The town of Zermatt became the destination of mountaineers and tourists from all over the world, and the same can be said of Cervinia. The Matterhorn is certainly the most beautiful mountain in the world. The drama of the first ascent and today's commercialisation are features in the long journey between the romantic admiration and exploitation of the Alps with mass tourism. The film travels between the criticism of the mass phenomen in various periods and the history of the ascent, relived with old photographs and prints and extracts from famous films dedicated to Matterhorn and the attemps to conquer it.

Director

JOCHEN WOLF