Because The Mountain Was There (1971): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1971, Because The Mountain Was There is a documentary and adventure film directed by Jean-Pierre Janssen, running about 32 minutes.

What it’s about. On May 23, 1971, a French expedition led by Robert Paragot successfully climbed Makalu via its west pillar. Makalu is one of the five highest peaks in the world, located in the Himalayas on the Nepalese-Tibetan border. Jean-Pierre Janssen and Lucien Bérardini filmed this expedition, where Robert Paragot spoke about the expedition conditions, life at altitude, and his state of mind as expedition leader. On the return to base camp, Jean-Pierre Janssen interviewed Lucien Berardini, Georges Payot, Jean-Claude Mosca, François Guillot, and Jean-Paul Paris, all of whom played a key role in bringing Bernard Mellet and Yannick Seigneur to the summit. Expedition members: Robert Paragot (expedition leader), Georges Payot, Yannick Seigneur, Claude Jager, Jean-Claude Mosca, François Guillot, Bernard Mellet, Lucien Bérardini, Jean-Paul Paris, Robert Jacob, Jacques Marchal (surgeon).

Who’s in it. Because The Mountain Was There stars Robert Paragot as Self, Georges Payot as Self, Yannick Seigneur as Self and Claude Jager as Self, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 5.5/10, Because The Mountain Was There has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Because The Mountain Was There page.

If you liked it. Fans of Because The Mountain Was There tend to enjoy One Direction: This Is Us, Burn the Stage: The Movie, BTS World Tour: Love Yourself - Japan Edition and Senna.