2005 SKI MOVIE REVIEWS: Don’t Get Mad…Get Rad
The 11th Hour – Off-Trail Productions
offtrailproductions.com
Length: 26 minutes
Cost: $23
Medium: Digital video
No one had more fun making a low-budget movie than Off Trail Productions last season and it shows in The 11th Hour. Ever seen a twister or a daffy disaster to rail? You will in this film. Watch Brandon Becker, John Symms, Kyler Cooley, Blake Nyman, and Ty Battersby join the Ninthward kids in this mostly freestyle-based film. I’d label it newschool, but so many of their tricks make mom and dad feel welcome in the park. Simultaneous skiers in the same shot trigger nostalgia of Dick Barrymore 70s-style hot-doggers blending with newschool spins and rails. Ninthward’s “hardcore” image is softened when Tosh Peters, Ian Cosco and the rest of the gang get in on the fun. Off Trail kept this short and sweet while doing an outstanding job showing viewers what is happening outside the biggest names in the biz. Mikael Deschenaux’s segment was too short.
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Shanghai Six – Level 1 Productions
level1productions.com
Length: 42 minutes
Cost: $28
Medium: High Definition Video
Josh Berman of Level 1 Productions is back with his as sixth ski video as producer, director, and editor. Touted as the “first-ever High Definition action ski adventure,” Shanghai Six features a cast of well-known and up-and-coming progressive skiers such as Tanner Rainville, Corey Vanular, Craig Coker, and Steele Spence. The crew hits countless rails, park features, and backcountry booters from Colorado to Canada, up to Norway, and over to France and Switzerland. As usual, Level 1 avoids traditional skiing at all costs, except for one of the flattest powder lines ever caught on film and a few sketchy straightlines. But what Berman does so well is capture progressive skiing at such a high skill level that if you don’t know the details of the sport, you might not know the significance of what you’re watching. In terms of production, Berman and editor Neil Sotirakopoulos assembled Level 1’s most creative intro to date and carried the theme throughout. But the soundtrack, with everything from indie ‘80s rock to old school hip-hop, goes beyond eclectic to schizophrenic.