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Seven Years in Tibet

PG-13 Released Oct 8, 1997 2h 16m Drama List
58% Tomatometer 36 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Hired as an instructor, an egocentric Austrian mountaineer gradually learns selflessness from the young Dalai Lama.
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Seven Years in Tibet

Seven Years in Tibet

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Critics Consensus

Seven Years in Tibet tells its fascinating true-life story with a certain stolid grace, even if it never quite comes to life the way it could.

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Critics Reviews

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David Ansen Newsweek Unfortunately for Seven Years in Tibet, its focus is on the wrong guy. Harrer may be a fascinating figure in real life, but he never shows up here. The guy we're watching is never anyone but Brad Pitt. Mar 6, 2018 Full Review Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly Rated: B- Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Mike Clark USA Today Pitt is no disgrace but is blown off the screen by a bright-eyed adolescent actor. Rated: 2.5/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Dan DiNicola The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY) Too sluggish and fares better as a travelogue than a drama. Rated: C Jan 10, 2023 Full Review Pico Iyer The New York Review of Books If the film seems a little like a fairy tale, what can one do with the story of an Olympic skier who ends up as tutor to a boy-king regarded as a god? Aug 17, 2018 Full Review Michael Dequina TheMovieReport.com Pitt is smiling, taking his shirt off, brushing his blond locks with his hands, striking poses against the picturesque scenery--in short, being Brad Pitt. Rated: 2/4 Jan 5, 2009 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member It's not Dr Zhivago but it still is a beautiful epic movie, following the footsteps of an ambitious Olympian athlete and mountain climber who became a prisoner of war in WW2, escaped and made his way all the way to Tibet and finally back home to Austria. A decade of history and spiritual journey, wrapped in 2 hours of great picturesque cinema. Well worth your time. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/28/24 Full Review Audience Member A good film, nothing amazing, just good. Seven Years in Tibet is a slowly paced film that works in my opinion. It dives into the two characters pretty decently. But the movie doesn’t dive into other characters very decently, so I think some of the movie’s flaws shows, but still I recommend this movie. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/10/24 Full Review DamHumans! E Great Historic piece and I actually shook his hand when he was in NY at Javits center🙏 Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/08/24 Full Review Joel H I didn't know much about Seven Years in Tibet before seeing it other than the title and the fact that Brad Pitt was in it. As I watched it, I kept wondering why filmmakers decided to tell Heinrich Harrer's story. While it had some interesting insights into Tibetan culture, I found the story to be dry and fairly uneventful. Also, Pitt's quasi-Austrian accent made me run to Google to make sure it wasn't just me that was distracted by it. Spoiler alert: it wasn't just me. And as the film dragged on, I found myself becoming less interested in what was going on. I did like John Williams' score, though. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 12/27/23 Full Review Senor Aire I honestly don't understand why some people don't like this beautiful movie! Sure it might be a romanticized version of Tibet, but this movie intrigued me with interesting characters and arcs, a wonderful setting and a plot that is simple and yet so much. Would recommend, especially for history lovers. In some scenes it does feel a little slow. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/17/23 Full Review Artem M It's a great and important historical movie. Critics must be ashamed for not supporting it enough. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Seven Years in Tibet

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Hired as an instructor, an egocentric Austrian mountaineer gradually learns selflessness from the young Dalai Lama.
Director
Jean-Jacques Annaud
Producer
John H. Williams, Iain Smith, Jean-Jacques Annaud, Catherine Moulin
Screenwriter
Heinrich Harrer, Becky Johnston
Distributor
Sony Pictures Entertainment, TriStar Pictures
Production Co
Mandalay Pictures, Mandalay Entertainment, TriStar Pictures
Rating
PG-13 (Some Violent Scenes)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 8, 1997, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$37.9M
Runtime
2h 16m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby Digital, SDDS
Aspect Ratio
35mm, Scope (2.35:1)
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