Himalaya | 
| Director: Eric Valli
Actors: Thilen Lhondup, Gurgon Kyap, Lhakpa Tsamchoe, Karma Wangel, Karma Tensing
Studio: Kino International
List Price: $24.95
Buy Used: $1.49
You Save: $23.46 (94%)
New (2) Used (16) from $1.49
Rating:  57 reviews
Sales Rank: 20813
Format: Color, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: German (Original Language), Tibetan (Original Language)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 104 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
UPC: 738329039431
EAN: 0738329039431
ASIN: B00005UQC7
Theatrical Release Date: 2000
Release Date: March 5, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 52 more reviews...
 Real People, Rugged Place September 5, 2007
Craig Connell (Lockport, NY USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The film, set in a remote Himalayan village in Nepal, is gorgeous start-to-finish, a labor of love by those who made it over a long period of time. The cinematography gets a lot of good "press," and rightfully so, but what I really enjoyed was the soundtrack. I expected the good visuals, and got them, but I didn't expect such wonderful music.
As for the look, it's different, with rugged barren mountain village terrain and snow-topped Himalayas in background. What's really different, however is the fact the film employed no professional actors. These were real people of that area! They are fascinating faces you won't soon forget.
As for the story, the treks don't begin until 45 minutes hav gone by in the film. You have to be patient. I's an adventure story that will reward you if you can hang with it that three-quarters of an hour. It also will make you grateful you weren't born in this part of the country.
Beautiful look at a fascinating culture December 21, 2006
Eduardo Nietzsche (Houston)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
As filmcraft, this film could use tighter editing and more skillful camera work (not to mention a bigger budget) to make it a more viscerally involving experience. I did find the plot a tad simplistic and the subtext (=both the old and the new have their own place in harmony with each other, and are not separate from each other) rather pat and clumsily expressed. It helped that as a practicing Buddhist I already had a keen interest in this place and people, for someone wholly unfamiliar with this subject area this film might be on the slow side, with more of a documentary feel.
However, it is a very rare treat for Western audiences to gain exposure to the stunning natural beauty of Tibet and the fascinating culture of its people (also very beautiful) on film---especially a film entirely devoid of cheesy Western characters and storylines. That alone makes it worth watching.
4 1/2 stars!
 Stunning epic, but 30 bucks? November 10, 2006
J. P. Becker (Dallas, TX USA)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have been an avid hiker and armchair mountaineer for a decade, and have read many accounts of Tibet and Nepal, so was jazzed to see some of the austere beauty. The story is wonderful, the scenery SPECTACULAR!, the acting very good. But with S&H, this costs $30--way too much. If it was Cliffhanger, Caddyshack, Butch Cassidy, etc. (the kind of movie you watch 4 or 5 times a year), I could understand the price. I will watch this movie perhaps another 3 times in my life, probably to introduce someone else to it. Great movie, but rent it if you can.
A story about life October 30, 2006
Ayako Miura (USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a beautiful movie about life: about growing old and learning to let go; the conflict between the new and traditional beliefs; and the tension between the young and the old. It also demonstrates that true communication between people does not need many words. This human drama is set in a backdrop of the magnificent Himalayan mountains. The attention to detail in this film is amazing. I have watched it six times and discover something new every time.
"Himalaya" is a real treat August 26, 2006
Timothy D. Naegele (Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
For those of us who are hikers, "Himalaya" is a real treat. Beautifully filmed--as they were climbing with their yaks, I only wished that I had been there. The mountains of the Himalaya are a dream for most who hike--a sense of what God must have chosen above all else to be His best.
The Himalaya mountain system is the planet's highest and home to all fourteen of the world's highest peaks, including Mount Everest.
At times, the Himalaya's grandeur and majesty--and brutality too--reminds one of the Antarctica shown in the "March of the Penguins," which of course has become a classic. When one hikes, vistas are seen like those in this film, which reinforce the fact that God exists and each of us is blessed.
Without giving away too much of the story, at one point the trail falls away and it is literally straight down. Anyone who has hiked the somewhat-wider trails of the Grand Canyon, for example, knows that feeling well. An experienced hiking partner of mine got vertigo; and I certainly did not get any closer to the edge than I had to--nor look down in some spots.
It is partly a love story, and a story of the generations, and the mountains of which they are a part. It is small wonder that it was nominated for an Academy Award as "Best Foreign Film."
The scenery is spectacular--and it rates "four stars" for that alone; the acting is terrific, certainly given the fact that most are first-time actors; the photography is excellent, which captures life at the "top of the world"; portable altitude chambers were used to keep members of the film crew healthy at more than 19,000 feet; and the temperatures were freezing.
Yet, it is a beautiful film and a tribute to those who made it; and more importantly, to those who live in the Himalaya full time, about whom their story is told. Last but not least, there is a fine "Special Feature" by Debra Kellner, about how the film was made and the difficulties that were encountered, which ought to make any wannabe filmmaker take heed.
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