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Perilous Ascent of the Zinal-Rothorn poster

Perilous Ascent of the Zinal-Rothorn

1921 · 0h 4m · Documentary, Adventure

If you're a film history buff or adventure junkie, absolutely watch this rare 1916 gem tonight—it's a pioneering piece of cinema that literally invented the mountain film genre. Fair warning though: it's silent, archival footage with zero modern production value, so skip it if you need plot-driven entertainment or pristine picture quality.

Plot

The ascent of the Zinalrothorn filmed by Frederick Burlingham in September 1916. Burlingham, known at the time as 'The man who kinematographed the Matterhorn', was a traveller, cinematographer, and one of the mountain film pioneers. Continuing the mountain film tradition established by Ormiston-Smith, Burlingham filmed several mountaineering films largely in Switzerland, taking mountain film in a new direction of immediacy and perceived peril. In the early history of factual filmmaking, Burlingham played a substantial role in developing the related genres of the mountaineering and the exploration film.

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