I lived in the Valley (summers only) from 1981 - 1990, working for the park concessionaire and climbing everything I could. I was passed on a few routes by John Bachar since he moved a lot faster than I did. Pete and Nick did an excellent job with Valley Uprising. Anyone that has ever stayed a while and slept under the stars there, either from a portaledge or campground, or both will appreciate the film. The comparing and contrasting of the different eras is excellent and the overall accuracy of the material is spot-on. The credits are sensitively done as there were many legends of the Valley and none probably ever worked for the NPS.

Great film! I agree that the film did leave out some extremely important events and people like Peter Croft, who with John Bachar was the first to climb El Cap and Half Dome in a Day and free soloed Astroman and the Rostrum. Not to mention all those backcountry free solo linkups. Not to mention he is the soul of traditional climbing. The omission of Peter Croft is pretty unimaginable. It's like the filmakers completely skipped the years between 1980 and 1990. Whatup? Nevertheless, there's a lot to cover in the history of Yosemite Climbing, so that aside, the film was great!

I started climbing the year JB and Peter climbed El Cap and Half Dome. The valley was like a playground and Camp 4 was free-spirited and full of climbers. The Rangers had not cracked down so hard and Tucker's milk truck was still in Camp 4. This film captured the spirit of those days in a way that made me long for those days of focus and freedom. The film conveys the extent to which climbing captures the imagination and obsession of people who are called to that lifestyle.

There is some great history in the film and in light of Jim Bridwell's passing, it seemed a fitting memorial.

there was a freedom to living back in the 70's that probably looked a little tighter than in the 60's and even the 50's, but it's the decade i remember. This movie will take you back to when, as Chouinard said: 'The rangers had degrees in biology not in marksmanship.' G.E.D. badge wearing, thugs have no appreciation for freedom and art.
The great outdoors got polluted by litter bugs, but it got constricted by legislation and storm troopers.
Millions of slack-jawed, couch hogs carting their flabby kids around on open air trams with million dollar RV's guzzling gas and spewing prime time shows take over the pristine, primeval forest.
Yes there were tragedies and we all got burned at some point, but the freedom to fall was enough to take the risk.

This is NOT he valley Uprising movie! It is a sanitized version edited for both tie and content for TV. Entire scenes have been removed. About 10 or 15 minutes of running time is missing. Amazon should have made this clear -- I wish I could get my money back. Go to sender films' website and buy the actual movie there.

OK, Amazon has different versions of this movie and I discovered one that plays on my system. So my original comment is no longer valid.
Three stars because I was perhaps expecting something more. What exactly it's hard to say, but as a viewer, not a skilled reviewer, I can't say what exactly what. Perhaps the film-makers tried too much by attempting to combine an overall history of climbing with the actual uprising. Anything as complex as the evolution of climbing would be, I think, better presented as a series of films focussing on smaller bites from which an interested viewer could integrate his/her own conclusions. For example, I learned as much about Harding from not-in-the-Valley experiences as from the climbs done with him.

kick all the tourists out of Yosemite. Ok, overstatement but it was sad to see such a gorgeous place turn into a giant wilderness mall. While the idea of freedom can be subjective the wars between the climbers ad the rangers and their increasing rules & regulations made me want to punch someone. Ultimately the rangers realize the climbers and they have the same respect for the great land. Highly recommend.

This is probably my favorite movie ever. Seriously it’s the best, it will inspire you to do crazy things just because you feel like doing them! Do yourself a favor, watch this movie!

It's great to see this visual representation of a history that has been mostly available in books and photos. It's great to hear and see some the real people involved - the people that built the Valley culture and history that reaches well beyond Yosemite. I could do with a little less 'artful' dramatizing, but there isn't too much of such editorial intrusion as to overwhelm what is so very, very good about the film.