I am a child of the 80's and 90's. That is to say, I grew up watching Warren Miller films. I remember those winter nights sitting in my basement, watching the latest Warren Miller flick, getting amped up to head north to Stowe or Loon the following morning at 4am. Those were sleepless nights. The adrenaline already pumping as I lay awake, picturing myself in his films, shredding Loon like it was Squaw Valley or Revelstoke. And for more than two decades, Warren Miller films were the gold standard; the measuring stick. He had mastered the art of the story. He had mastered the quirky comedy and epic pow shots with the music to match. He basically created the mold.
This is the most painful post I have ever written. I went to see his latest film "Like There's No Tomorrow" last night and I must say the torch has been passed. I'm not saying Warren needs to hang them up, but the formula is old and outdated. The films are still edited and cut exactly the same way they were in 1987. There has been no progression. It's the same story as it was 20 years ago. And that's not a good thing. The cheese level is high, the forced comedy skits are brutal, and aside from one Tuneyards track, the soundtrack was completely bland and forgettable. So was the footage. There was nothing epic to speak of. My jaw never hit the floor. It was just a collection of slow motion powder turns and some low level kickers. It worked better when Warren narrated the films himself.
The one highlight was the section on Tuckerman's Ravine, the southeast face of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. A right of passage for any east coast skier. The fact that they devoted 10 minutes to that part of the world was very cool. And they managed to make it look as epic as any piste around. I give them props for that. As an east coaster I can appreciate that.
Anyways, it's pretty clear to see the game has changed with the likes of Travis Rice and Curt Morgan, TGR, Jeremy Jones, Matchstick Productions and any of the progressive filmmakers out there: the torch has been passed. Warren Miller set the standard for decades, but the bar has been raised. We can all tip our hats to Warren for showing these younger guys the way. It is progression. They took what they learned from him and have built on it. It's how we get better. Thanks Warren.
Last night I saw "Like there's no tomorrow" and I completely agree that this film is boring, oh so boring. Had I not been there with friends I would have left at the intermission. Here are some of my observations;
ReplyDeleteWay too much mindless philosophy by people who don't really know much about life. What a lot of silly pointless talk.
Much of the commentary is rudely condescending. Really terrible stuff. People who enjoy a powder day at the local resort are described as "sheep" - really. Apparently, you have to travel to mountaintops in New Zealand (seriously!) to be considered worthy. What pathetic elitism. So count me among the sheep I guess.
The worst part (besides the Yeti joke) was a sequence where a couple of guys struggle to ski down the icy front face of some nasty mountain out east. The skiing is so terrible that they have to fill in with a bunch of talk about what a great place it is. Like, what? The guys look terrified and if the camera weren't running they'd be ass-sliding down the hill like the rest of us.
Then there was the guy who jumped into the pool with all his ski gear on. Har har. Apparently that wasn't enough for this film, because in the next scene he jumped out of a helicopter into the pool with his ski gear on. Was that suppose to be funnier than the first time? It was just lame.
While Mountain Biking films continue to evolve in creativity and clever and often brilliant camera work; the Warren Miller films have utterly stalled. The endless sequences of powder-washed skiers grew tiresome; seen that all before. Cut to the guy charging down some vertical mountain face again and again and again; seen that all before too. Next.
Did anyone listen to the actual narration? It was really low grade stuff. While I don't expect the likes of WM to pound the environmental drum, the notion that we should all be ski-bums, care nothing about life off the hill, and treat the World like "there's no tomorrow" is shameful. There is no humility here, no gracious node to the Planet that sustains us, and certainly no acknowledgment of the outrageous environmental footprint that is heli-skiing. There are much more rewarding ways to get to the top of mountains. Like skin-up and start climbing. Like I said, I don't expect "enlightenment" much from WM, but the narrative of this year's film was rock-bottom.
The theatre was only about 2/3 full; and ten years ago they use to pack the place to the rafters. Obviously people have clued in to the fact that WM dishes out the same pablum year after year, and it never tastes any better. Plus the big DOOR PRIZE drawn was to have your name entered into another draw. Huh? All you had to do to get into the second draw was fill out a ridiculously long questionnaire, and hand over all kinds of personal information. Hope they had a space to review this year's film.
Conclusion: Take a pass on WM, and put the money towards your next lift ticket. Baaaaah.
I totally agree. You hit the nail right on the head. This was the worst ski film I've seen in a very long time, if not ever. I'm slightly embarrassed to even tell people I went to the premiere.
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