Spoilers ahead for the new Apple movie Tenzing.
A bunch of new movies are out this weekend, both in theaters and available to watch from home. Those with an Apple TV subscription now have access to Jennifer Peedom’s Tenzing, which tells the real-life story of the 1953 Mount Everest ascent. The movie’s ending is wildly satisfying, with Genden Phuntsok’s title character and Tom Hiddleston‘s Edmund Hillary successfully climbing to the top of the mountain for the first time. There’s been a ton of debate throughout history about which climber reached the summit first, and the filmmaker spoke to me about why the movie didn’t focus on that.
Tenzing was filmed on real mountains, which made the final climbing sequence all the more powerful. Tenzing and Hillary are shown working together to get to the top of Everest, bonding deeply in the process. As you can see in the video above, I asked Peedom about how she decided to shoot this moment, especially since there’s been so much chatter about who actually got to the top first. She told me:
I mean, who got to the top first is the question that everyone always asks. For whatever reason, people are fascinated with that. To Tenzing and Hillary, the question made no sense. You know, they climbed the mountain together. They couldn’t have done it without each other. We see that they save each other’s lives. They were two outsiders that kind of met each other and saw each other as equals, and it’s really only because of that relationship that they’re able to achieve what they achieved.
Honestly, this makes a great deal of sense. Rather than being focused on who “won” in being the first person at the top of Mount Everest, Jennifer Peedom focused on the emotion that came with the achievement. The experience of climbing the mountain bonded Tenzing and Hillary forever, with the credits showing real-life footage of their lifelong friendship.
In the sequence, Hillary helps save Tenzing’s life by fixing his oxygen source, just days after the title character saved him from falling to his death. The title character also sees his dead wife, who represents his faith in God. The two men cry together, and the question of which one of them was the first person at the top of Everest never comes up.
It remains to be seen if folks consider Tenzing one of the best Tom Hiddleston movies, but the film’s conclusion is quite powerful. Later in our same conversation, the director went on to share her perspective of the movie’s ending, telling me:
And so to have one on the summit before the other, I mean, I don’t wanna give away the ending, for people who haven’t seen the film. But there was a lot of conversation and thought into the way that we shot that. And it was about representing the spirit of the achievement and what it meant to them personally.
Clearly, the third act of Tenzing was focused on heart and character, rather than getting bogged down with the details of which of the climbers reached the summit of Everest first. Instead, they do it together, give each other respect, and cry as they embrace each other. It’s a very satisfying conclusion, one that doesn’t get lost in the sauce of the longstanding “first” debate.
Tenzing is streaming now on Apple TV as part of the 2026 movie release list. The movie is definitely worth the watch in my opinion, thanks to the strong performances and stunning views.
