With Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air still a sensation, along comes Everest, a 44-minute companion film of sorts that takes the ultra-widescreen Omnimax experience past its typical thrill-ride boundaries. Using specialized technology, a team of Omnimax cameramen accompanied an expedition to the top of the world's tallest mountain. But what could have been just another splendorous nature film was transformed by fate into a chilling document of disaster. While the filmmakers and their subjects attempted to scale Everest, a storm struck the mountain's peak, taking the lives of eight climbers in another party. The footage of Everest is, of course, glorious; the mountain is a towering wonder that, like the Grand Canyon, can barely be contained on even the giant Omnimax screen. But the intrusion of death casts a somber pall, and the tiny human specks peppering the side of the mountain gradually steal the focus from nature's greatest achievement. Everest puts the accomplishments of mankind in perspective, and, as narrated by Liam Neeson, packs a dramatic punch that never sinks to exploitation.