Im a mountain climber and love to watch movies about climbing, that stated most movies in this genre usually have really fake seaming climbing scene for example Cliff hanger with S Stalone climbing a huge wall in the Rockies(really Dolomites in Italy) with all the gear but using none of it or the bolt gun?(no such thing). Scream of Stone has plenty of fake stuff to stay in my contrived genre but is way more real, shot in Patigonia with a story by very famous climber (R Messner). There are some very real seaming climbing in this film. For a climbing film this is a ten as a real movie its really a five I gave it a eight as a compromise. All climbers will love this film enjoy

I must say that I'm little disappointed after watching this movie. It's not this way because I've heard so much about it earlier. It's more like, Werner is trying to do His best because the industry is watching and He wants to show Hollywood His best (this one is even English, not German spoken film).Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know. I've seen it few minutes ago (it's 7:54 am, 20/5/2002) and I consider this picture as one of Herzog's worse creations/works (from what I've seen so far). Why is it so? Well..Firstly I do miss quotes! I cannot forgive this one! I love'em. Quote at the beginning of "The Mystery Of Kaspar Hauser", quote at the end of "Woyzeck"... These are just unforgettable. Here We've got none of this sort.Second issue is this constant lack of feeling, feeling like "are We there.? Is it a dream?"... I personally caught myself few times changing into a daydreamer while watching "Aguirre Der Zorn Gottes" or "Herz Aus Gold" and believe my I am not addicted to drugs ;). Next case here is baddish script (I mean it). After all I gave "Cerro Torre..." 6/10. You may ask why... Well.. again: Donald Sutherland may wake You up if You fell asleep. There's one scene with cigarette (very short, but kept in lively manner) I really like. In my opinion Herzog doesn't focus on the main guy in the story as he did in His previous pictures. Shame on Him! :) This guy isn't bad at all, and PLEASE all of You... do me a favour ... Try to imagine that Kinski plays Roccia,okay? thanks. Mentioning actors, I cannot forget about Brad Dourif.. You'll love this fella. You could see Him in: "One flew over cuckoo's nest" for instance. What Herzog is doing with camera is His business, but I preferred when it was more static, showing more landscapes... etc. We saw it during "Aguirre", "Fitzcarraldo"... Well ! mr Herzog! these are mountains ... shouldn't We watch'em some more, instead of some naked bodies? Sounds coming from the screen are not those of heart-shaking type. One last thing, I believe. You liked it the way Werner put some music here, some music there in "Woyzeck"? Well forget about it... CONCLUSION is: That's not the step forwards, it's .. oops! I don't know exactly where I am, Klaus Kinski is dead (Great Man) and I feel like I must do something completely different. Hello? Is it Hollywood? I'm sorry I'm lost. I must have dialed the wrong number...

It's hard to imagine that a great director (Herzog), a famous film actor (Sutherland) and one of the greatest climbers in the world (Messner) could have gotten mixed up in this mess. What little plot there is doesn't explain itself and the aimless acting rises so above criticism that it's almost interesting. Still . . . the Patagonian backgrounds are a plus, the brief insight into the new, frantic European competition-climbing scene had promise and the shots (many from high altitude helicopters) of the incredible Torres del Paine and Cerro Torre were spectacular. How they did the last ascent scenes on the frozen whipped cream summit of Cerro Torre is something I'd love to read about. Warning: If you don't love the mountains don't even think of going near this movie!

I saw this at the Telluride Film Festival and was impressed by Herzog, but not in a positive way. He's a pompous ass. That doesn't necessarily detract from a movie, but I thought I'd mention it. This film has some absolutely stunning shots (especially of the incredible peak, Cerro Torre), but the human elements are a complete waste of time and film stock. There's actually not much climbing in it.I liked "Fitzcaraldo" and "Aguire" quite well; check those out instead.