Film •  The Epic of Everest This year’s pre-monsoon climbing season on

Film

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The Epic of Everest This year’s pre-monsoon climbing season on Mt. Everest has-on the Nepal side of the border, at least-been canceled owning to that country’s cataclysmic earthquake. Guided expedition climbing on the Seven Summits is now a profitable niche business, with several Seattle companies serving high-altitude clients. In such a contentious climate, where the average Nepalese citizen is dirt-poor and rich Google executives die on their paid adventures, this 1924 silent film will transport viewers back to the colonial era when mountaineering was a relatively pure, unmonetized pursuit. Recently restored, this is a chronicle of the doomed Mallory-Irvine expedition, which features amazing photography by John Noel (black-and-white, with some scenes tinted). A new orchestral score by Simon Fisher Turner has been added to the account, which also includes much ethno-documentary footage of Tibetan tribes and customs. (Be prepared for the imperialist condescension of the period, 20 years before Heinrich Harrer set foot in Tibet.) Noel could lug his gear only so high up the Himalayas; Mallory and Irvine’s fate lies beyond his lens. This is a film about the approach to a fatal adventure, and also a record of lost Tibet. (Through Thurs.) See grandillusioncinema.org for showtimes. BRIAN MILLER Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 N.E. 50th St, Seattle, WA 98105 $5-$9 Saturday, May 16, 2015

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The Epic of Everest This year’s pre-monsoon climbing season on Mt. Everest has-on the Nepal side of the border, at least-been canceled owning to that country’s cataclysmic earthquake. Guided expedition climbing on the Seven Summits is now a profitable niche business, with several Seattle companies serving high-altitude clients. In such a contentious climate, where the average Nepalese citizen is dirt-poor and rich Google executives die on their paid adventures, this 1924 silent film will transport viewers back to the colonial era when mountaineering was a relatively pure, unmonetized pursuit. Recently restored, this is a chronicle of the doomed Mallory-Irvine expedition, which features amazing photography by John Noel (black-and-white, with some scenes tinted). A new orchestral score by Simon Fisher Turner has been added to the account, which also includes much ethno-documentary footage of Tibetan tribes and customs. (Be prepared for the imperialist condescension of the period, 20 years before Heinrich Harrer set foot in Tibet.) Noel could lug his gear only so high up the Himalayas; Mallory and Irvine’s fate lies beyond his lens. This is a film about the approach to a fatal adventure, and also a record of lost Tibet. (Through Thurs.) See grandillusioncinema.org for showtimes. BRIAN MILLER Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 N.E. 50th St, Seattle, WA 98105 $5-$9 Sunday, May 17, 2015

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The Epic of Everest This year’s pre-monsoon climbing season on Mt. Everest has-on the Nepal side of the border, at least-been canceled owning to that country’s cataclysmic earthquake. Guided expedition climbing on the Seven Summits is now a profitable niche business, with several Seattle companies serving high-altitude clients. In such a contentious climate, where the average Nepalese citizen is dirt-poor and rich Google executives die on their paid adventures, this 1924 silent film will transport viewers back to the colonial era when mountaineering was a relatively pure, unmonetized pursuit. Recently restored, this is a chronicle of the doomed Mallory-Irvine expedition, which features amazing photography by John Noel (black-and-white, with some scenes tinted). A new orchestral score by Simon Fisher Turner has been added to the account, which also includes much ethno-documentary footage of Tibetan tribes and customs. (Be prepared for the imperialist condescension of the period, 20 years before Heinrich Harrer set foot in Tibet.) Noel could lug his gear only so high up the Himalayas; Mallory and Irvine’s fate lies beyond his lens. This is a film about the approach to a fatal adventure, and also a record of lost Tibet. (Through Thurs.) See grandillusioncinema.org for showtimes. BRIAN MILLER Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 N.E. 50th St, Seattle, WA 98105 $5-$9 Monday, May 18, 2015

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The Epic of Everest This year’s pre-monsoon climbing season on Mt. Everest has-on the Nepal side of the border, at least-been canceled owning to that country’s cataclysmic earthquake. Guided expedition climbing on the Seven Summits is now a profitable niche business, with several Seattle companies serving high-altitude clients. In such a contentious climate, where the average Nepalese citizen is dirt-poor and rich Google executives die on their paid adventures, this 1924 silent film will transport viewers back to the colonial era when mountaineering was a relatively pure, unmonetized pursuit. Recently restored, this is a chronicle of the doomed Mallory-Irvine expedition, which features amazing photography by John Noel (black-and-white, with some scenes tinted). A new orchestral score by Simon Fisher Turner has been added to the account, which also includes much ethno-documentary footage of Tibetan tribes and customs. (Be prepared for the imperialist condescension of the period, 20 years before Heinrich Harrer set foot in Tibet.) Noel could lug his gear only so high up the Himalayas; Mallory and Irvine’s fate lies beyond his lens. This is a film about the approach to a fatal adventure, and also a record of lost Tibet. (Through Thurs.) See grandillusioncinema.org for showtimes. BRIAN MILLER Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 N.E. 50th St, Seattle, WA 98105 $5-$9 Tuesday, May 19, 2015

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The Epic of Everest This year’s pre-monsoon climbing season on Mt. Everest has-on the Nepal side of the border, at least-been canceled owning to that country’s cataclysmic earthquake. Guided expedition climbing on the Seven Summits is now a profitable niche business, with several Seattle companies serving high-altitude clients. In such a contentious climate, where the average Nepalese citizen is dirt-poor and rich Google executives die on their paid adventures, this 1924 silent film will transport viewers back to the colonial era when mountaineering was a relatively pure, unmonetized pursuit. Recently restored, this is a chronicle of the doomed Mallory-Irvine expedition, which features amazing photography by John Noel (black-and-white, with some scenes tinted). A new orchestral score by Simon Fisher Turner has been added to the account, which also includes much ethno-documentary footage of Tibetan tribes and customs. (Be prepared for the imperialist condescension of the period, 20 years before Heinrich Harrer set foot in Tibet.) Noel could lug his gear only so high up the Himalayas; Mallory and Irvine’s fate lies beyond his lens. This is a film about the approach to a fatal adventure, and also a record of lost Tibet. (Through Thurs.) See grandillusioncinema.org for showtimes. BRIAN MILLER Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 N.E. 50th St, Seattle, WA 98105 $5-$9 Wednesday, May 20, 2015

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The Epic of Everest This year’s pre-monsoon climbing season on Mt. Everest has-on the Nepal side of the border, at least-been canceled owning to that country’s cataclysmic earthquake. Guided expedition climbing on the Seven Summits is now a profitable niche business, with several Seattle companies serving high-altitude clients. In such a contentious climate, where the average Nepalese citizen is dirt-poor and rich Google executives die on their paid adventures, this 1924 silent film will transport viewers back to the colonial era when mountaineering was a relatively pure, unmonetized pursuit. Recently restored, this is a chronicle of the doomed Mallory-Irvine expedition, which features amazing photography by John Noel (black-and-white, with some scenes tinted). A new orchestral score by Simon Fisher Turner has been added to the account, which also includes much ethno-documentary footage of Tibetan tribes and customs. (Be prepared for the imperialist condescension of the period, 20 years before Heinrich Harrer set foot in Tibet.) Noel could lug his gear only so high up the Himalayas; Mallory and Irvine’s fate lies beyond his lens. This is a film about the approach to a fatal adventure, and also a record of lost Tibet. (Through Thurs.) See grandillusioncinema.org for showtimes. BRIAN MILLER Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 N.E. 50th St, Seattle, WA 98105 $5-$9 Thursday, May 21, 2015