Buried: The 1982 Alpine Meadows Avalanche

The necessary elements for an outstanding movie are the same whether for a documentary or feature film.:

1] Compelling story and script.

2]. Performance quality that is genuine with unmistakable emotional content that resonates with and enlivens the emotional experience of viewers.

3]. Cinematography that effectively supports as well as enhances the visual story-telling process.

It is my opinion that "Buried" embodies the highest qualities of each of these elements and clearly demonstrates that it's creators possess a mastery of the visual story-telling art. It would be impossible to produce a documentary of this quality without a remarkable commitment of time and compassion. Interviewees rarely share their hearts as openly as those in this film without a substantial level of trust and comfort. Although based on the consequences of a natural disaster there is a consistently uplifting theme of heartfelt humanity throughout. The film also successfully highlights the necessity for avalanche awareness as well as the need for improved prediction and snow management practices.

Bravo to director/producers Steven Siig and Jared Drake for this monumental achievement.

7.0 stars.

This is a semi-memorable documentary about a really bad avalanche in one of the most avalanche prone resorts in the world. What's the big surprise here? It's obvious that something like this was going to happen in such a hazardous location, and yet, the local "experts" figured they had it under control. It's a sad story of the needless loss innocent lives. These things happened a lot in those days, not so much now 40 years later. We don't see nearly as much of these dangerous occurrences in the United States these days. For some reason our safety awareness has skyrocketed ten-fold since the 80's, yet life expectancy hasn't changed. I find that interesting. This film is very well done. I don't watch a whole lot of documentaries, but got through this one just fine.

As someone who isn't a skier, but is active in outdoor recreation (I'd rather snowshoe), and lives in the mountains of Colorado, I was keenly interested in this movie when I saw the description. I was hoping for something great, and it is indeed great.

Told from the perspective of the people involved, and with no third person narration, this story unfolds with the events leading up to, and after, the avalanche.

You get an idea of what the people were like at the time, how much they've grown since then, and how much this affected them. They are at times very emotional, but always with a sense of honesty. They were mostly people (around my age, as far as I can tell) who were having a good time being ski bums, when tragedy struck. How they dealt with the tragedy is the main thrust of the story, and it is told with brutal forthrightness.

Even if skiing or winter recreation isn't your thing, this is still a movie to watch.

I was at a few ski lodges in the 70s & 80s. Those are fond memories, so this film was a bit nostalgic for me in some ways. I found all the participants to be clear and relatable, which is a nod to a great director and producer. There was actual footage when available. This film is not really entertainment so much as story telling and it's very informative and emotional. There's a definite level of intimacy between the survivors and the audience.

I wasn't very familiar with the story so I was on the edge of my sest to see if Bridget was correct ❤

When they brought up the law suit, I knew right away this was an act of God and the attorney that took the case knew he was just stealing that family's money. Such a sad reality but you're on a mountain in the middle of a fierce storm and you decide to take a walk? Yes, I am in the legal field and the fact is, the ski lodge did not have a duty to inform anyone that snow can be dangerous any more than a beach front carnival has a duty to post warnings about rip tides or sharks. It was a tragedy, to be sure, but no ones fault.

One review claims the film is maudlin and pathetic. I'm not sure if their platform called Buried an Action film or why they weren't expecting emotions and personal accounts. So I'll just say: Tell me your a sociopath without telling me your a sociopath.

I enjoyed the bulk of the documentary. I had never heard of this event, and this was very informative. Great insight into the impact this had on everyone.

However, in the critical points of the story, the background music/sounds were so overwhelming I had to fast forward or turn down so low I couldn't really hear the speaker. Especially the high pitched sounds that are used over and over. Very distracting. Fine line of using sounds to increase the drama and making it so unbearable it has the opposite effect. For a large part of this documentary, the background sounds are simply unbearable. Just let the story stand on its own.