First Descent DVD Review:

As four generations of the world’s best snowboarders prepare to tackle Alaska’s highest mountains, they have time to reflect on their careers, their futures and the history of the sport they love. Pioneer Shawn Farmer, Alaska veteran Nick Perata, the legend that is Terje Haakonsen and the new biggest names in the sport, Hannah Teter and Shaun White, are about to take heli-boarding to the next level by taking on the biggest mountains that Alaska has to offer.

The sports documentary is becoming a stalwart of the genre but can this latest addition be as extreme as the rest?

After the success of ‘Dogtown and the Z Boys’ for skateboarding and ‘Riding Giants’ for surfing, snowboarding was an obvious choice for a documentary but this was going to have a slightly different approach. Where Stacy Peralta’s approach was the chronicle the history of the sport by interviewing the pioneers that made it what it is, directors Kemp Curly and Kevin Harrison utilise this but then also interweave a new adventure that will move the sport onto the next level.

Combining history with making history is a great approach for this type of documentary and ‘First Descent’ does it extremely well. Charting the evolution of the sport from its origins in the 1970s through the various stages of development and onto snowboarding’s involvement in the Olympics in Nagano 1998 and Salt Lake City 2002, the documentary takes the usual approach of interviewing the pioneers of the sport, the people that put it on the map and the current crop of up and coming stars. This is combined with archive footage revealing how the boards, riders and style changed the pastime into a sport.

The main emphasis of the movie is the building up to a first descent of an unridden Alaskan mountain. The filmmakers have gathered together four generations of snowboarders, each of them with differing levels of experience when it comes to big mountain riding. Leading in the group is the snowboarding pioneer Shawn ‘The Fiz’ Farmer. One of the first stars of the then fledgling sport, Farmer is how the world perceives the snowboarders and the Wildman of the sport. Nick Perata is the man who introduced boarders to the extremes of the Alaskan mountains. Terje Haakonsen is already a legend within sport and a man that pushes the boundaries of what you can do on a snowboard. Hannah Teter and Shaun White are the future of the sport and the current huge stars of the snowboarding world. In fact Shaun White just won the Men’s Snowboard Half-pipe gold medal at the Torino Olympic Games.

As with most documentaries of this ilk, the cinematography is exceptional. The film shows the enormity of the Alaskan mountains and the extreme nature of the runs the snowboarders attempt. From long, establishing shots to close up shots that take you into the powder, the exhilaration of the sport and the gravity of what they are trying to do.

‘First Descent: The Story of the Snowboarding Revolution’ is exactly what boarders have been waiting for. Brilliantly combining history and new adventures, this is an example of how sports documentaries should be made and one that fans and first timers to the sport will revel in.

Star Rating = * * * *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the movie is presented extremely well, highlighting the extreme nature of the Alaskan mountains.

BONUS FEATURES

AK and Beyond (21.29 mins)
Directors Kemp Curley and Kevin Harrison, coordinating producer Bruno Musso, director of photography Scott Duncan and stars Shawn ‘The Fiz’ Farmer, Nick Perata, Shaun White and Hannah Teter take you behind the scenes of the making of the documentary. The featurette reveals how the filmmakers approached the movie, including the first descent and revealing the history behind the sport. We also see how the shot and how the weather affected the shoot. This is a good supplementary featurette that is essentially an extra part of the film.

Top of the World: Wescam Featurette (5.31 mins)
Directors Kemp Curley and Kevin Harrison, aerial director of photography Mark Hryma and pilot Andrew Rose reveal how the production utilised the helicopter mounted, gyrostabilised 35mm camera. Here we see how the crew created the opening shot and how the weather affected filming.

Big Mountain Riding (5.38 mins)
Valdez heli-boarding guides Nick Perata and Eric Henderson give you all the best tips on riding the Alaskan mountains. Outlining the dangers of avalanches and other hazards, the pair talks about the equipment you’ll need to tackle these big rides.

Extended Snowboarding action (4.25 mins)
Watch Shaun White and Terje Haakonsen have some fun on the slopes and show why they are the best in the world.

Deleted Scenes (5.53 mins)
Entitled ‘Bar Scene’ and ‘Weather Scene’, these extras scenes show what the snowboarders and crew got up to when they wasn’t on the slopes. Unfortunately with a commentary or introduction we don’t know why these didn’t make the final cut.

Trailers
Previews of ‘American Pie Presents Band Camp’ and ‘Jarhead’

OVERALL

Supplementary material for a documentary is difficult to put together because of the nature of the film but there are some good featurettes here, which are essentially extensions to the film. The lack of a commentary track is a shame but snowboarding fans will love this DVD anyway.



Jamie Kelwick