BenedictGomez
Well-known member
TL/DR: I was pleasantly surprised as it exceeded not only my very low expectations, but it would have exceeded expectations even had I normal expectations.
I've been going to Warren Miller movies for several decades. Saw my first in 1997 at the Flynn Theater in Burlington and have attended most years since then be it in Vermont, NYC, New Jersey, or Utah. But the reality is, they got steadily worse over the years post Warren Miller selling & not being involved. The product placement became genuinely absurd. I'm all for paying the bills, but it got to the point you felt you were attending a commercial rather than a ski movie. Then the Global Warming browbeating ensued, followed by shoe-horned woke segments so obvious & cringey that they ironically actually felt somewhat racist. The cinematography suffered as well. The lowest point was two years ago when they ran a "clip show" in lieu of a ski movie clearly in an attempt to save money. Ghastly. I had enough after last year, which was just people doing flips over-and-over again, with very little big mountain or technical skiing, and vowed that if it didn't improve, despite this being a ski season tradition for me for literally a few decades this would be my last Warren Miller movie, as Outside was systematically killing the franchise.
Fast-forward to this year, I had bought tix for the fam to see the show in Park City, but after that they announced the World Premier would be in Salt Lake City, and VIP tix for $58 would include a free non-blackout ticket to Sundance ($159 value), so just based on the Sundance tix I bought us tickets for SLC as well and attended the Outdoor party. They have Daron Rahlves, Breezey Johnson, Todd Ligare, and a few other athletes there signing autographs and chatting, and that was pretty cool. Also picked up probably $150 in free swag & won a $100 Backcountry gift card. It was really well done, but it was kind of sad, because I was shocked how few people showed up for the party. I think that speaks volumes to how bad Outside has destroyed the Warren Miller legacy, and how people have become accustomed to them no longer handing out pre-movie swag like they used to in years past. EVERYONE used to show early for hats, BOGOs, etc..., but why show up early if there's not swag like olden days?
But as for the movie? They redeemed themselves and get at least a one-year reprieve from me. This was (GASP) an actual SKI MOVIE!!! I know, right? Can you imagine. There was plenty of big mountain powder segments, and the filming was reminiscent of the creative artistry of years past. There was a segment filmed at the World Cup Ski Championships in Saalbach that gave you an inside look at ski racing, huge steeps in Alaska, a touching father & son segment filmed entirely in Finnish and subtitled which I appreciated, and a women's snowboarding backcountry freestyle tournament at Whitewater Ski Resort with some of the best conditions I've seen in my life. Drool worthy scenery & snowboarding. It wasn't perfect, my major complaints was they included about a 5 minute surfing segment, which I found rather odd, and I think they attempted too many (3) unusual ski destinations (a town in Finland, Scotland, a small park in Colorado), whereas maybe just one "unusual" ski destination segment would have sufficed.
Net/net: If you were thinking about seeing Warren Miller this year but were near fed up like I was, I'd say go. This was easily the best Warren Miller film I've seen in years, and much better then the dreck of the last several years.
I've been going to Warren Miller movies for several decades. Saw my first in 1997 at the Flynn Theater in Burlington and have attended most years since then be it in Vermont, NYC, New Jersey, or Utah. But the reality is, they got steadily worse over the years post Warren Miller selling & not being involved. The product placement became genuinely absurd. I'm all for paying the bills, but it got to the point you felt you were attending a commercial rather than a ski movie. Then the Global Warming browbeating ensued, followed by shoe-horned woke segments so obvious & cringey that they ironically actually felt somewhat racist. The cinematography suffered as well. The lowest point was two years ago when they ran a "clip show" in lieu of a ski movie clearly in an attempt to save money. Ghastly. I had enough after last year, which was just people doing flips over-and-over again, with very little big mountain or technical skiing, and vowed that if it didn't improve, despite this being a ski season tradition for me for literally a few decades this would be my last Warren Miller movie, as Outside was systematically killing the franchise.
Fast-forward to this year, I had bought tix for the fam to see the show in Park City, but after that they announced the World Premier would be in Salt Lake City, and VIP tix for $58 would include a free non-blackout ticket to Sundance ($159 value), so just based on the Sundance tix I bought us tickets for SLC as well and attended the Outdoor party. They have Daron Rahlves, Breezey Johnson, Todd Ligare, and a few other athletes there signing autographs and chatting, and that was pretty cool. Also picked up probably $150 in free swag & won a $100 Backcountry gift card. It was really well done, but it was kind of sad, because I was shocked how few people showed up for the party. I think that speaks volumes to how bad Outside has destroyed the Warren Miller legacy, and how people have become accustomed to them no longer handing out pre-movie swag like they used to in years past. EVERYONE used to show early for hats, BOGOs, etc..., but why show up early if there's not swag like olden days?
But as for the movie? They redeemed themselves and get at least a one-year reprieve from me. This was (GASP) an actual SKI MOVIE!!! I know, right? Can you imagine. There was plenty of big mountain powder segments, and the filming was reminiscent of the creative artistry of years past. There was a segment filmed at the World Cup Ski Championships in Saalbach that gave you an inside look at ski racing, huge steeps in Alaska, a touching father & son segment filmed entirely in Finnish and subtitled which I appreciated, and a women's snowboarding backcountry freestyle tournament at Whitewater Ski Resort with some of the best conditions I've seen in my life. Drool worthy scenery & snowboarding. It wasn't perfect, my major complaints was they included about a 5 minute surfing segment, which I found rather odd, and I think they attempted too many (3) unusual ski destinations (a town in Finland, Scotland, a small park in Colorado), whereas maybe just one "unusual" ski destination segment would have sufficed.
Net/net: If you were thinking about seeing Warren Miller this year but were near fed up like I was, I'd say go. This was easily the best Warren Miller film I've seen in years, and much better then the dreck of the last several years.
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