The Wildest Dream
Altitude Films presents The Wildest Dream. This stunning feature documentary directed by Emmy® award winning filmmaker Anthony Geffen retraces British explorer George Mallory’s final attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1924 and become the first person to conquer the world’s highest peak.
Dressed in gabardine and wearing hobnailed boots, Mallory risked everything in pursuit of his dream. He was last seen alive just 800 feet below the mountain’s peak, before the clouds closed in and he disappeared into legend. Mallory’s death stunned the world.
In 1999, renowned mountaineer Conrad Anker discovered Mallory’s frozen body high in the mountain’s 'death zone' and his life became intertwined with Mallory’s story.
Remarkably, all Mallory’s belongings were found intact on his body. The only thing missing was a photograph of his wife, Ruth, which Mallory had promised to place on the summit if he succeeded.
Haunted by the story, Anker returns to Everest to solve the enduring mystery surrounding the ill-fated expedition and the disappearance of one of the world’s greatest explorers.
The Wildest Dream is a story of obsession and breathtaking adventure, told through the explorer’s poignant and evocative correspondence with his wife and using previously unseen photos and archive footage.
Anker and British rock-climbing prodigy Leo Houlding embark on their own quest to conquer Everest, following the original North East Ridge route taken by Mallory in 1924 to discover whether he and fellow climber Andrew 'Sandy' Irvine could have reached the summit.
In their attempt they must free climb the infamous Second Step, a 90 foot sheer rock wall, just as Mallory and Irvine would have had to do eight decades earlier.
The Wildest Dream is narrated by Liam Neeson and features the voices of Ralph Fiennes as George Mallory, the late Natasha Richardson as Ruth Mallory, Hugh Dancy as Andrew 'Sandy' Irvine and Alan Rickman as Noel Odell, the last person to see Mallory alive.
Serengeti Entertainment and National Geographic Entertainment (giant screen) present The Wildest Dream, an Altitude Films Production in association with Atlantic Productions.
It is directed by Anthony Geffen, in his first collaboration with executive producer Mike Medavoy, who has been behind seven Best Picture Academy Award-winning films.
Produced by Anthony Geffen and Claudia Perkins with Peter Miller as the editor. Directors of photography are Ken Sauls and Chris Openshaw. Joel Douek composed the music, which was recorded with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Wildest Dream will open in select cinemas across the UK from 24 September, 2010