source: Steep

I really liked this film because it is so focused ... no rambling dialog or mishmash of ski footage. The filmmakers have gone to great length to get the pictures and video that heralded the start of what is now called "Extreme Skiing". The clips are all backed up with current commentary from the (surviving) pioneers that are depicted in them. It's fascinating to hear about what they were thinking as they poured down 50+ degree slopes in Europe and then the US. As one skier put it, these were guys who were thinking: "I wonder what else I can do on skis". They pushed the envelope for themselves and showed the rest of the world how incredible humans can be. From the steeps of Chamonix to the Chugach in Alaska, the scenery and the dialog is incredible. A wonderful, informative film for skiers and non-skiers alike.

This always engrossing and often spectacular sports documentary not surprisingly features lots of simply breathtaking footage of extreme skiers performing exceptional feats of courage and agility on some super steep mountains. Fortunately, writer/director Mark Obenhaus offers a nicely balanced perspective on the sport that frankly addresses not just the special brand of bravery and obsessiveness required to be an extreme skier, but also the potential danger that looms around every corner (one particular skier Doug Coombs gets killed trying to rescue a friend up in the mountains). The skiers interviewed herein are an interesting and eclectic bunch: They run the gamut from proud pioneer Bill Briggs to brash hot dog Glen Plake to laid-back old school explorer Andrew McLean. They all talk about the need to push the limit, break through barriers, and live life to the fullest (Briggs states it best when he remarks that without risk life is bereft of any adventure). A very absorbing and illuminating documentary on that rare breed who are crazy/fearless/gutsy enough to test themselves against the world's most daunting peaks and mountains.

Steep is a steep lesson in insanity, as good a study of carelessness and benign dementia as you will ever see in even the most vivid documentary on mental health set in the worst St. Elizabeth's or fictional cuckoo's nest. The movie is efficient at showing the extreme limitations of language and even photography depicting the grandeur of nature and the folly of men (and one woman). After all, how many words can adequately describe remote vistas up close and personal in a world where only the wealthy can helicopter in, ski down, and be back to the lodge by evening for hot whatever? For that matter, after seeing almost identical long shots of skiers swerving over pristine snow in wildly different locations, the jaded might ask, so what else do you have that's different? If it sounds like a film critic's jealousy that these super human beings can traverse a 70 degree decline in the mountains of Alaska or Iceland, then you are right. The film successfully induces extreme envy. Steep is expert at promoting a lifestyle of danger and exhilaration, both companions to the odds that one's life may be shortened by 20 to 40 years if you take enough chances. I do love, regardless of my criticism above, the otherworldly white slopes and the sense of singular achievement in successfully descending almost insurmountable, inhospitable terrain. Although I am aware of the rush attendant upon gliding down a mountain anywhere outside of Ohio, and Steep gives multiple examples both visually and audibly, I cannot yet accept that anyone would exchange that immediate thrill for the high chance of losing a life. One such hero, occupying at least half the documentary time narrating and showing off on the slopes, loses his life trying to save a fallen friend in a crevasse--how could all that be worth it even in heroism? It makes me feel cheated, as in a Coen brothers' film where a prominent character suddenly leaves the narrative without warning. That's OK for a satire, but a real life documentary about the extreme danger of an extreme sport is another matter entirely. Yet Bill Briggs, who first descended the 13, 370 foot Grand Teton in 1971, opens and closes the film like John Glenn gleefully narrating about the romance of space travel. And Briggs is in his 60's, so what do I know? I'm not skiing Iceland, but I'm inspired to visit my daughter in NYC, where her current challenge is bedbugs. To each his own.

I just saw this film at the Tribecca Film Festival. It is a really, really good film that has some mind-boggling skiing but more importantly explores what goes on in the minds of the extreme skiers. Being a skier and an ice climber myself I can attest that the film captures very well the state of mind, the motivation, the excitement, the addiction, the "chemical imbalance" that leads perfectly normal people to live this kind of life. It is a different world and this film lets you see that world from the inside. It is a great film, it is a feast for your eyes but it has depth and it is honest and intelligent. Go see it.

Riding Giants, Stacy Peralta's brilliant documentary about the history of big wave surfing is a prominent member of my DVD collection. It was perfect to me: gave a real sense of what the period was like when big wave surfing started, gave great intros into the sport's personalities and the spots that have featured in its development, and was just brilliantly shot. Steep seems fragmented by comparison. Maybe this is just because I don't know the history of extreme skiing to the same degree as surfing, but the people involved seemed humorless, uninteresting, and lamely philosophical (I can't count the number of times "ultimate extreme" was uttered). It went through a bit of the history, but a lot of it seemed really overly dramatized and taken out of context--it was hard to understand how the various innovations strung together and gave no real insight into the people involved, because they themselves were so helpless to explain everything (both because of the intensity of their experiences and their pseudo-philosophical nonsense). It's much better to let the footage do the talking for such things and the footage was indeed beautiful and for the most part palm-sweat-inducing, but I was left thinking that I would have rather just rented an extreme skiing documentary. I don't know, if you're really into extreme skiing, you'll probably enjoy it, but if you are looking for an adrenaline-fueled visual feast, stick to riding giants or other extreme skiing docs (most of which are incredible to watch).

source: Steep

This always engrossing and often spectacular sports documentary not surprisingly features lots of simply breathtaking footage of extreme skiers performing exceptional feats of courage and agility on some super steep mountains. Fortunately, writer/director Mark Obenhaus offers a nicely balanced perspective on the sport that frankly addresses not just the special brand of bravery and obsessiveness required to be an extreme skier, but also the potential danger that looms around every corner (one particular skier Doug Coombs gets killed trying to rescue a friend up in the mountains). The skiers interviewed herein are an interesting and eclectic bunch: They run the gamut from proud pioneer Bill Briggs to brash hot dog Glen Plake to laid-back old school explorer Andrew McLean. They all talk about the need to push the limit, break through barriers, and live life to the fullest (Briggs states it best when he remarks that without risk life is bereft of any adventure). A very absorbing and illuminating documentary on that rare breed who are crazy/fearless/gutsy enough to test themselves against the world's most daunting peaks and mountains.

I really liked this film because it is so focused ... no rambling dialog or mishmash of ski footage. The filmmakers have gone to great length to get the pictures and video that heralded the start of what is now called "Extreme Skiing". The clips are all backed up with current commentary from the (surviving) pioneers that are depicted in them. It's fascinating to hear about what they were thinking as they poured down 50+ degree slopes in Europe and then the US. As one skier put it, these were guys who were thinking: "I wonder what else I can do on skis". They pushed the envelope for themselves and showed the rest of the world how incredible humans can be. From the steeps of Chamonix to the Chugach in Alaska, the scenery and the dialog is incredible. A wonderful, informative film for skiers and non-skiers alike.

Riding Giants, Stacy Peralta's brilliant documentary about the history of big wave surfing is a prominent member of my DVD collection. It was perfect to me: gave a real sense of what the period was like when big wave surfing started, gave great intros into the sport's personalities and the spots that have featured in its development, and was just brilliantly shot. Steep seems fragmented by comparison. Maybe this is just because I don't know the history of extreme skiing to the same degree as surfing, but the people involved seemed humorless, uninteresting, and lamely philosophical (I can't count the number of times "ultimate extreme" was uttered). It went through a bit of the history, but a lot of it seemed really overly dramatized and taken out of context--it was hard to understand how the various innovations strung together and gave no real insight into the people involved, because they themselves were so helpless to explain everything (both because of the intensity of their experiences and their pseudo-philosophical nonsense). It's much better to let the footage do the talking for such things and the footage was indeed beautiful and for the most part palm-sweat-inducing, but I was left thinking that I would have rather just rented an extreme skiing documentary. I don't know, if you're really into extreme skiing, you'll probably enjoy it, but if you are looking for an adrenaline-fueled visual feast, stick to riding giants or other extreme skiing docs (most of which are incredible to watch).