Really wanted to like 'Storm Over Mont Blanc'. While Arnold Fanck is not one of my favourite directors, when it comes to films set in the mountains and his capturing of alpine scenery he was one of the best at the time. Have liked some of Leni Riefenstahl's other work, both as actress and director, her personal life makes no difference to me and have always judged the person and the artist separately. 'Storm Over Mont Blanc' did sound quite interesting.
Quite a lot more interesting in the concept than the actual execution of the overall film. Which had its moments/good things, but struck me as rather lacklustre which was somewhat disappointing. Fanck did do much better ('White Hell of Pitz Palu' for instance, although that did have GW Pabst's involvement too) than 'Storm Over Mont Blanc', and so did Riefenstahl (not one of her worst performances, but one of her worst films in my view).
'Storm Over Mont Blanc' is not all bad. The best things about it are the photography and scenery. The photography is stylish and atmospheric, quite artistic in places too without being too indulgent. The long lingering shots of mountain peaks were eye-catching. Although some might find the use of it on the stock side, the alpine scenery is still quite stunning and has a lot of character.
Also thought that Riefenstahl came over quite well. She is luminous and her performance is committed and doesn't hold back while resisting any temptation to go camp. The aerial sequences are beautifully shot and have the wonder that wasn't there in the drama of the story.
Much of the story to me was very bland and to call it thin as ice is being kind. A lot of the film felt plotless and doesn't really go anywhere and almost like a series of travelogue scenes. The pace is dull and what would have helped it was if the extraneous fat (and there is a lot of it here) was trimmed and if any overlong scenes (some of those too) were tightened up.
Fanck succeeds visually and technically when it comes to the direction but dramatically he fails to give the drama any tension or emotional impact. Aside from Riefenstahl, the acting is nothing special and the character writing is basically of the "just there but not much more than that with not enough development" sort. Inexperience in sound does show at times, with some oddly placed sound effects and while mostly the film looks fine the editing at times lacks finesse and has a slapped together look.
Concluding, semi-watchable but left me rather lukewarm at best. 4/10
