Alpine Skiing
Classic Ski Movies: Where did they go?
Full-length films, humongous budgets, and extra everything was the name of the game 20 years ago in the ski industry. Is today any different?
Back in the days, a time before social media and large video sharing platforms such as Youtube, watching the progression in skiing only really happened on the big competitions and during fall where all ski movies were released. If you were lucky enough to have a subscription to a great ski magazine such as Åka Skidor here in Sweden, you could get access to photos of dreamy pow, the biggest jumps, and profiles of the best skiers. While still images are great, few things beat the feeling that comes when the latest issue of Free radicals landed in your postbox and your friends gathered to get excited for the new season of skiing that laid just ahead.
The origin of the ski movie dates back all the way to 1950 where one Warren Miller pioneered what would become the modern ski film. Every year since then, he released a new movie all the way up to 2004. The initiated of you readers would note that the Warren Miller brand has still released films in the years after 2004, but Warren himself no longer has any input.
It would take all the way until the early 1990's before Warren got some competition in the ski movie scene where two of today's big players, Matchstick production (MSP) and Teton Gravity Research (TGR), released their first full-length film. First out was MSP with the film 'Soul Session.' Compared to Warrens's predictable and traditional format, MSP redefined what a ski movie could be every year, trying to always keep the audience on their toes.
In 1995 one of the most influential skiers of all time, Shane McConkey joined the MSP crew. Every year since then, they pushed the limits of skiing, both on and off the piste. They became the powerhouse in the industry and laid the actual groundwork for modern freeride skiing and ski films in many ways. Alongside MSP, another US-based film team from Jackson Hole, Teton Gravity Research, released their first film, 'The Continuum', in 1996. Blasting onto the scene and winning SKIER magazines esteemed price Movie of the year. Since then, Teton and MSP's release of their new films has been a much-anticipated highlight for every skier across the globe.
1 min
30 seconds of Shane: skiing
30 seconds of Shane: skiing
One year later, in 1997, a tiny crew from Sweden released their first film onto the ski scene. Compared to their American rivals, the Free Radicals skiers showed the world that you can ski in less than optimal conditions and that you can actually land big cliffs on your feet. During this era, it was the norm to only do big cliffs into lots of powder and most commonly land on the side of your hip or on your back. If you have ever skied in Sweden, you would know that our landings are rock solid on the majority of days, meaning that landing on anything other than your feet is a big no-no.
These big players continued to deliver a new ski movie each year for many years to come. Each one trying to involve new riders, new ways of telling the same story, and always taking the production quality a step higher. In 2011 we would see the release of the snowboard film "The Art of Flight" by Red Bull Media House. While technically not a ski film, this film is the most impressive creation that exists in the snow sports world. Camera rigs that would typically only belong on a Hollywood film set were brought out deep in the backcountry for the first time. Combine this with the new Phantom slow-motion cameras and some truly stunning riding in the best snow and light conditions, and we had ourselves a snowboard film worthy of Hollywood. The trailer still provides the same level of goosebumps today, 10 years since its release. That says quite a lot!
If we continue into the modern era of skiing. A time where social media dominates the industry and skiers best promote themselves via short clips on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. The classic ski movie has taken a step back from the spotlight as our attention spans have decreased to a point where watching a 1-minute clip on Instagram is barely doable, not to mention sitting down to watch an entire length film of an hour.
To sum things up. The classic ski films have not gone anywhere; in fact, they are more alive than ever before! We now have movies from the most powerful countries in the skiing world and from every industry sector. They simply have gotten a lot more competition from the social media world as we are constantly challenged for our attention. In short, it is a great time to be alive if you like to consume great ski content!
