Review: The Art of FLIGHT
Posted
by
WinterWomen
on Thursday, September 29, 2011
The Art of FLIGHT- Wow.
I had a hard time getting anything else to come out of my mouth for the rest of the night. After watching what I can only describe as THE most intense, thrilling, and straight up awesome snowboarding movie I have ever seen, my brain literally melted. Let me repeat, not one of the most intense, THE most intense snowboarding movie. The Art of FLIGHT, the most recent release from the folks over at Redbull and the film and production powerhouse that is Bran Farm Cinema, follows Travis Rice and an elite group of the industry's top riders as they trip around the globe, slashing peaks and stomping acres of untouched exotic backcountry from Romania to Alaska.
One of the main things (there are several) that put this film head and shoulders above the rest is the quality of the cinematography. I know that might sound unusual talking about an action sports movie, but we've turned into a slow-motion HD nation now. Long gone are the days of grainy Wildcats videos on VHS, laden with fish-eyed, skate video scenes on snow with what amounted to hours of Viva La Bam and CKY outtakes. We're in the big leagues now, with big league budgets. The locations these guys travel to are captured in absolutely breathtaking detail and beauty. We see something that just can't be seen without the super hi-definition, wide angle, helicopter-mounted cameras this crew employs. You may find yourself at times wondering if you popped in a Planet Earth DVD instead. The Art of FLIGHT is evidence that snowboarding films seem to be taking more of a location and session-based direction than ever before.
Now let's finally get to what this whole thing really is about--the snowboarding. The level of riding on display here just simply cannot take place at your local mountain. These snowboarders are riding virgin terrain in places I can't even pronounce, where one wrong move will land you in an unfamiliar situation. Double corked 9's, super steep bomb shoots, and infinite four-story tree taps abound, this is a true backcountry flick. Don't come looking for super sweet urban jibs or buttery presses--trust me, you won't miss them. The finely dialed-in skills these riders possess are such on a whole different level than your average Joe. More than once I caught myself saying "I will never do that, but man does it look sweet!" Alas, we can't all afford chartered heli-boarding trips to Patagonia.
If by now I haven't convinced you to find the largest, most HD TV you can find and gather every living person you know for a movie night, I don't know what else I can say or do to make you watch this. Half the people I watched this movie with have never snowboarded in their lives, but they will this year. Trust me, pop this one in and you'll be in full gear- goggles and all- headed to the store to get some crushed ice for your backyard. This film and these riders have set the bar pretty high. Good luck to anyone who tries to top it, you're going to need some oxygen up there.
If you can't watch The Art of FLIGHT right now, at least take the time to watch the trailer below. And if you don't think you have the skills to top these riders, you can at least look like you do! Check out our womens snowboard clothing for all the gear you need to look like a pro.
Categories:
Ski & Ride
Tagged: snowboarding, Review The Art of Flight, The Art of Flight
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