Three high-profile documentaries from the Hopscotch catalogue collected in a 3 disc box set.
Touching The Void (2003) The closer you are to death. The more you realize you are alive. Based on the bestselling novel by Joe Simpson, Touching The Void recounts the mountain climb Simpson and his partner Simon Yates undertook in 1985. The film follows the two young men from the North of England, both in their early twenties, as they set out to climb the 21,000 foot ice-face - the Siula Grande - in the Peruvian Andes. Simpson and Yates embark on an "Alpine style" climb - with no backup team, no helicopters and no equipment other than what they carry on their backs. Theirs is the purist technique: roped together, and utterly dependent on each others skill. Simpson and Yates have guts, youthful arrogance and talent. They climb up icicles, dangle over 1,400m drops and spend three hours making a cup of tea at -62 degrees! Making it to the top in three days, they run into blizzard weather on a treacherous ridge on their way down, where Simpson falls and shatters his leg - a veritable death sentence. A heroic battle for survival unfolds in which both men are faced with life or death decisions that test the human spirit to its limit.
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) Academy-Award winning documentary. Acting as narrator, but on screen less than usual, Moore looks at Bush's family ties with the Saudis. He questions how just after September 11 24 members of the Bin Laden family were allowed to leave the US with White House approval. Moore examines his country's war with Iraq and its consequences, making observations that are both scathing and revealing. Along with the sardonic and often humorous approach that we have come to expect from the movie maker (his efforts to persuade certain Congressmen to enlist their own kids for the war, for example) there are disturbing images associated with the war and moving ones such as his interview with a woman who reads the last letter from her son who died in Iraq.
Soundtrack to War (2004) Soundtrack to War showcases spontaneous music performances by a striking cast of the battle weary. Performances made without rehearsal, under the blaring Iraqi sun, with a destroyed city and the distraction of gunfire and bursting mortar shells forming a frightening backdrop. American culture came into Iraq, wired into its tanks and helicopters a live soundtrack to war, with lyrics such as Let the Bodies Hit the Floor, Round Out the Tank and Bombs Over Baghdad being memorised by every soldier and forever linked to the violent events they accompanied. As the war extended into its second year, many started writing and performing their own songs. It was rock, rap & roll.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Features: Fahrenheit 9/11
90 Minutes of Additional Footage
Features: Soundtrack to War
Audio Commentary: George Gittoes (Director)
Interviews-Crew: George Gittoes (Director)
Featurette: Freidburg, Germany - Battle In The Park
Featurette: Sgt. Maj. Schindler - Soldiers And Music
Featurette: Hagos And Hunter - Hit By A RPG
Featurette: Spike And Corkins - War And Heavymetal
Featurette: Jeff Knoop - The Flag Song
Featurette: The Golden Group
Featurette: The Pink Flamingo
Features: Touching The Void
\'Making of Touching The Void\' Featurette
Original Theatrical Trailer
\'Return To Siula Grande\' Featurette
\'What Happens Next\' Interview with Joe Simpson and Simon Yates
