The story of how film-makers turned the conquest of Himalayan peaks into great propaganda by Imperial Britain, Nazi Germany and superpower America from the 1920s to the 1960s.
Between the 1920s and the 1960s the world's great powers sent vast military-style expeditions to conquer the peaks of the Himalayas, with Everest at their head. This was a great game played - camera in hand - by Imperial Britain, Nazi Germany and superpower America. As a result, Himalayan mountaineering's most iconic, epic and tragic moments didn't just go down in history, but were caught on film - from the deaths of Mallory and Irvine on Everest in 1924, to Everest's final conquest in 1953 by Hillary and Tensing. Using footage never before seen on British television, this is the story how of how film-makers turned the great peaks into great propaganda.
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Clips
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The epic era of mountaineering begins
Duration: 02:03
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The first ever expedition to Mount Everest
Duration: 02:01
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The conquest of Everest
Duration: 01:47
Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
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00:40Amon Tobin
Ruthless
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00:52Boards of Canada
Sundown
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Narrator | Hugh Bonneville |
| Producer | Steve O'Hagan |
| Director | Steve O'Hagan |
| Executive Producer | Michael Poole |
Broadcasts
- Thu 29 Jan 2015 21:00
- Fri 30 Jan 2015 02:55
- Wed 4 Feb 2015 22:30
- Tue 8 Sep 2015 22:50
- Wed 9 Sep 2015 02:50
- Tue 29 Mar 2016 20:00
- Thu 31 Mar 2016 00:30
- Thu 22 Sep 2016 21:00
- Fri 23 Sep 2016 03:00
- Thu 15 Jun 2017 22:00
- Mon 19 Jun 2017 03:00
- Wed 24 Jan 2018 00:00
- Tue 11 Sep 2018 00:00
- Tue 8 Jan 2019 00:20
- Sat 6 Mar 2021 19:00
- Sun 7 Mar 2021 02:40
- Sat 27 May 2023 20:30
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