Storm

This guy throws a big budget at making his movies - helicopters, locations, heaps of cameras, and they are feature length: all of which ensures that Warren Miller is still ahead of the pack in mountain action. Up there with some of his best efforts. - 8/10

I haven't seen many ski films before, but a family friend showed up recently with the latest Warren Miller flik. I'd heard the name, but could associate it with any work. The movie is still in theaters touring the country, but this friend has a few connections so I got and early release copy of the DVD. So we sat down to watch it and i honestly didn't know what to expect...

The opening sequence gives a taste of severl sports and sets the mood for the rest of the film. In addition to the skateboarding, mountain/street biking and a little bit of backpacking there are many skiing and snowboarding segments. But the part that excited me the most was that the skiing wasn't only the normal straight edge type where olympians simply go down crazy steep slopes. With the exception of Glen PLake, all the athlete are very young and many of the areas they use and tricks they pull are new. One piece ventures into cities where the charaters ski on stone, metal and wooden rails, catch big air and even jump of comercial roads. Later camera crew and four athletes venture to South Georgia (an island 800 miles East of the falklands) where they spend several weeks backpacking, skiing, boarding, respectfully engaging the local wildlife and even surfing.

Becasue of the documentary style, there is no plot to speak of, but it shows a side of free riding that I was unaware of. The filming is respectable with several rather impressive and defamiliarized shots. I was surprised to see that the film wasn't just a bunch of sweet moves pasted together with a cheesy hard core sound track, but an insightful look and young, upcoming athletes and the history of many well known American ski resorts.

(7/10)

I grew up in Texas, and Warren Miller's films were basically my only means to a world where it snowed. I even learned how to ski with his "Learn to Ski" film, and this is why I am so saddened by the current state of his production company. Warren Miller's films have been at the top of the ski film industry since he started it. However these days the films made under his name are old hat. At least 1/4 of his movies are now scenes that have been purchased from other production companies, which I think is really just sad. People like Matchstick and Poor Boyz have stepped up the progression of ski films on a minimal budget. He is running the company purely for the sake of making money, not for the love of making a truly inspirational ski movie. I can only hope that Warren's son stops running his father's legacy into the ground.