Mount Everest is impressive for many reasons – not just its height. Climbing this super tall and cold mountain is not an easy feat. Still, people from all over the world attempt. The first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest and climb down alive were Edmund Hillary and Tibetan mountaineer Tenzing Norgay on May 29, 1953. They were the first of many.
What better way to learn about the awes and wonders of Mount Everest than watching films? While most of us won’t ever get close to climbing this incredible mountain, we can still discover its stories. Follow along for 12 movies featuring the power and awe of Mount Everest. Some of these films are dramatizations while others are informative documentaries.
“14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible” (2021)

- Director: Torquil Jones
- Starring: Nirmal Purja
- Release Date: November, 29, 2021
“Everest” (2015)

- Director: Baltasar Kormákur
- Starring: Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, Martin Henderson and Emily Watson
- Release Date: September 18, 2015
“Beyond the Edge” (2013)

- Director: Leanne Pooley
- Starring: Chad Moffitt, Sonam Sherpa, John Wraight, Joshua Rutter, and Dan Musgrove
- Release Date: October 22, 2013
“The Climbers” (2019)

- Director: Daniel Lee
- Starring: Wu Jing, Zhang Ziyi, Zhang Yi, Jing Boran, and Hu Ge
- Release Date: September 30, 2019
“Sherpa” (2015)

- Director: Jennifer Peedom
- Starring: Phurba Tashi
- Release Date: June 7, 2015
“Into Thin Air: Death on Everest” (1997)

- Director: Robert Markowitz
- Starring: Christopher MacDonald, Nathaniel Parker, Peter Horton, and Richard Jenkins
- Release Date: November 9. 1997
“Mountain” (2017)

- Director: Jennifer Peedom
- Starring: Willem Dafoe
- Release Date: June 12, 2017
“The Man Who Skied Down Everest” (1975)

- Director: F. R. Crawley and Bruce Nyznik
- Starring: Yuichiro Miura
- Release Date: September 19, 1975
“Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa” (2023)

- Director: Lucy Walker
- Starring: Lhakpa Sherpa
- Release Date: July 31, 2024
“The Wildest Dream” (2010)

- Director: Anthony Geffen
- Starring: Conrad Anker, Leo Houlding, Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, and Hugh Dancy
- Release Date: August 6, 2010
“The Summit” (2012)

- Director: Nick Ryan
- Cinematography: Robbie Ryan
- Release Date: December 12, 2012
“High Ground” (2012)

- Director: Mike Brown
- Starring: Erik Weihenmayer, Cody Miranda, Chad Jukes, and Steve Baskis
- Release Date: August 2012
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