Here is our selection of ski movies every ski fan should watch:
1.- Der weiße Rausch – neue Wunder des Schneeschuhs is a ski movie directed by Arnold Fanck and starring Leni Riefenstahl and the Austrian ski instructor, and father of modern skiing, Hannes Schneider. Filming took place entirely in St. Anton am Arlberg.
Made in 1931, this film continues to amaze today for its modernity and spectacularity.
The film was one of the first to use slow motion and low-angle photography to capture action shots.
Der Weiße Rausch (The White Ecstasy) is available for free download at the Internet Archive.
2.- The Last of the Ski Bums is a film with which we have a special bond. The main theme of its soundtrack was the tune of our radio program Ski Paradise, passion for snow.
But it's also an aspirational movie. All of us who love skiing have always dreamed of one day having the opportunity to live a life dedicated exclusively to our passion, away from the worries and responsibilities of everyday life.
In this film, three ski bums (Ron Funk, Mike Zuetell, and Ed Ricks) are followed on their adventure by another ski bum (Dick Barrymore), who, with a 16mm Bolex camera, filmed four months of nomadic life touring some of the best ski resorts s in the world. Four individuals who do every day what others have to work for fifty weeks a year.
3.- The Blizzard of Aahhh's is a 1988 film, directed by Greg Stump, narrated in a rock documentary style that has meant a fundamental milestone in the history of Freeride.
It is one of the first professional ski movies and stars three American ski legends Glen Plake, Mike Hattrup, and Scot Schmidt, with an undeniably 1980s soundtrack and costumes. The three skiers have inspired many professionals and amateurs on the current scene.
4.- Streif - One Hell of a Ride, Directed by Gerald Salmina in 2015, is undoubtedly the most important film about alpine ski racing.
Produced by Planet Watch, and from the hand of Red Bull Media House. This exciting documentary feature film follows four athletes - Aksel Lund Svindal, Erik Guay, Max Franz, and Hannes Reichelt - on their 12-month journey to the biggest event of their career. A Downhill loaded with adrenaline and total loss of control. Almost two hours of film allow us to enter the minds of skiers and attend the internal debate between risk and reward.
5.- No ski movie list would be complete without a Warren Miller movie. The American director has been unique in capturing the magic of skiing.
The difficult task, in this case, is to choose one of the 38 that he directed between 1950 and 1987, when he left his company, Warren Miller Entertainment, in the hands of his son Kurt.
Deep and Light (1950), Have Skis, Will Travel (1956), Any Snow, Any Mountain (1971), Ski People (1980), Ski Country (1984), and Steep and Deep (1985) are any of them, extraordinary candidates, to top this list.
That is why we have decided to choose a film, Face of Winter, a heartfelt tribute released in 2018 by a group of young and veteran skiers to the most important man in the history of ski cinema in the 20th century.
+1.- Finally, we wanted to complete this list with a film from the "new school" of ski film directors: THIS IS HOME.
In this case, the choice was not an easy task either and in the end, we have opted for this film by The Faction Collective that we believe represents very well this new sensitivity about what it means to be a freeskier today.
