Panel 27

TABLE OF CONTENTS of this chain:

27/ Films/cinema references <* THIS PANEL *>
28/ References (written)
1/ DISCLAIMER
2/ Ethics
3/ Learning I
4/ learning II (lists, "Ten Essentials," Chouinard comments)
5/ Summary of past topics
6/ Non-wisdom: fire-arms topic circular discussion
7/ Phone / address lists
8/ Fletcher's Law of Inverse Appreciation / Rachel Carson / Foreman and Hayduke
9/ Water Filter wisdom
10/ Volunteer Work
11/ Snake bite
12/ Netiquette
13/ Questions on conditions and travel
14/ Dedication to Aldo Leopold
15/ Leopold's lot.
16/ Morbid backcountry/memorial
17/ Information about bears
18/ Poison ivy, frequently ask, under question
19/ Lyme disease, frequently ask, under question
20/ "Telling questions" backcountry Turing test (under construction)
21/ AMS
22/ Babies and Kids
23/ A bit of song (like camp songs)
24/ What is natural?
25/ A romantic notion of high-tech employment
26/ Other news groups of related interest, networking

GOOD CIMEMA (available for VCR)

Note: with the exception of one film, all the river/boating references
went to rec.boats.paddle. Scouting films went to rec.scouting.

Documentary

%%A Mike Hoover
%%T Solo
%%I Pyramid Films
%%C Santa Monica
%%X Winner Academy award, short documentary 1975-6?.
%%T The Making of Solo

Doug Robinson's new climbing film
El Capitan by Fred Padua
Grade VI on Skis

%%A Glen Denny
%%T Nyala
%%X preceded Solo with the same themes.

%%T La Escoba del Dios
%%X Charlie Fowler et. al. on new big wall route in Patagonia. Best of Banff
Film Festival, 1992. Terror is not staged. Cannot be confused with any
National Geographic Special. Eric says go see.
%%X Also won best of Telluride MountainFilm that year. Try to get an uncensored
version. The best alpine climbing film to date IMHO. - Clyde Soles

Numerous films on El Cap, climbing, etc.
Numerous ski films by Warren Miller or Dick Barrymore.
Five Summer Stories -- MacGillivary-Freeman Films (best surfing film)

Lawrence of Arabia by David Lean starring Peter O'Toole a real story
"Tell me why Mr. Lawrence, do you like the desert?" --Lowell Thomas
"It's clean."
Perhaps one of the greatest films ever made. Influential, a tiny
bit stereotypical. Even Ed Abbey liked it. Sweeping music and vistas.

Fiction

%%T The Mountain
%%X Spenser Tracy and Robert Wagner
Interesting

%%T The White Tower
%%X Glenn Ford, too political (anti-German for the times)

From the ever popular Edward Abbey is book The Brave Cowboy, the film
Lonely are the Brave -- with K. Douglas, sleeper written by E. Abbey
%%X From review of film: ...
shoddy and simple-minded song of hatred for twentieth-century American
society.
The New Yorker
%%X Exactly! Exactly what I meat the book to be.
I am quite pleased by the reviewer's observation.
Abbey

Downhill Racer -- R. Redford
Numerous Disney films.
Jeremiah Johnson -- R. Redford, 70s back to nature
story of mountain man John "Liver-Eating" Johnson,
whose cabin is now a museum in Red Lodge, Montana.
The Electric Horseman -- R. Redford, J. Fonda
Comes A Horseman -- J. Fonda [Numerous Cowboy/Western/Country films]
Night of the Grizzly -- C. Walker, popular is not as realistic
K2 -- Michael Biehn, Patricia Charbonneau

Out of Africa - not a sleeper but you'll sleep through it
The Mission - lots of south american jungle, religious/political wars

From the March 1990 issue of Sierra by D.C. (10 films) (recent bias):
Never Cry Wolf -- Charles Martin Smith, Dir. C. Ballard, who directed The
Black Stallion

%%A A. Kurosawa, Dir.
%%T Dersu Uzala
%%X Has to be one of the best films in this category.

The Bear
Koyaanisqatsi
The Emerald Forest [Violent, Dir. John Boorman]
The Last Wave [Dir. Peter Weir]
Peter Weir's "The Mosquito Coast".
The Gods Must be Crazy [D. Conner must have been crazy to suggest this]
Bambi [See last comment]
Aguirre, The Wrath of God [Dir. W. Herzog]
Star Trek IV [This is pushing it.]

I would include the 1930's films by Leni Riefenstahl: The White
Hell of Piz Palu and others.

Medicine Man

%%T At Play in the Fields of the Lord
%%X The movie was based upon a novel of that name by Peter "The Snow
Leopard" Mattiessen (I can't spell his name without one of his books handy,
but I expect you know who I mean). My advice, FWIW, is read the book and
skip the movie.

%%T A River Runs Through It
%%A from the book by Norman MacLean

%%T Last of the Mohicans
%%A from the book by James Fenimore Cooper
%%X should have been a vehicle for keeping us eastern
backcountry scenery buffs happy - it is set in the Adirondacks. But
so many liberties are taken by photographers and editors more interested
in cuteness than authenticity, that I was annoyed. Many of the woods
scenes had lush rhododendrons growing around the camp site. They are
pretty bushes, but I've never seen one growing wild within 200 miles
of the claimed location (well north of Albany). The mountain vistas also
seemed a little faked and hokey. The producer's penchant
for dark moods didn't help - nearly every scene was in the rain or fog.
Some people feel that such weather is typical of the Adirondacks, but
a little sun would have been nice occasionally. The plot didn't help
much either - long on battles and short on plot, character development,
and depth.
%%X The latest version of "Last of the Mohicans" was filmed in North
Carolina. The actual setting of the novel was around Glens Falls
and Ticonderoga, New York, now an area full of paper mills.

%%T Alive
%%X Note: two versions (both good).
%%X I don't intend to go, since I own the book.
But the setting (winter in the high Andes) certainly should
provide material for good photography. The book is a documentary of an
actual plane crash. The survivors stayed alive for by eating their
dead comrades. Rescue was slow (months? - I haven't read it for
years), and the lessons about survival in harsh conditions with minimal
equipment are interesting for anyone who things about such things. For
this purpose, the book should be far better than the movie.
%%X An earlier 1970s edition film also covered this.
%%X Recent version filmed in Canadian Rockies. Eric says use the fast forward
button to see some great Bugaboo footage.

%%T Homeward Bound
%%I Disney
%%X It's yet another "Lassie Come Home" takeoff, but based on the preview,
the nature photography is spectacular and the stars (two dogs and a cat) are
loveable enough to attract all but confirmed pet-haters.

Burns' TV documentary on
the Donner Expedition (recently made available on videocassette;
on further reflection I think it wasn't Ken Burns but his brother)

What makes good outdoor cinema? (discussed three times)
-------------------------------

1) A good plot. It is not sufficient to have nice photography/cinematography.
2) Good acting.
3) Good photography/cinematography.
4) Good direction. Timing, pace, continuity, sound, etc.

Deliverance -- John Boorman, director with B. Reynolds, J. Voight, N. Beatty
and J. Dickey himself. Violent. Dickey is perhaps one of the
premiere writers alive in the US, certainly the poet laureate of the
American SE.

The Deer Hunter -- Cimino with DeNiro and Streep. Violent powerful allegory.
[not favorable to Vietnamese] Much artistic license: Mt. Baker as
mountains in Penn.

Too violent a list? See the G rated Black Stallion noted above.
A fine film. Ballard went on to direct Never Cry Wolf, another fine film.

POOR CIMENA
The White Tower -- Nazis versus the Americans before WWII.

%%T The Eiger Sanction
%%X Clint Eastwood
%%X Spectaular climbing, BAD spy plot.
%%X The Eiger Sanction sucked in a major way although there are a
few good climbing scenes involving well-known climbers. check
the credits for names.

Red Dawn -- Cold war premise, limited realism: white man fire.
Five Days One Summer -- S. Connery, bad plot, climbing.
Some will obviously disagree.
High Mountain Rangers -- Robert Conrad, silly high/tech drama
Sierra (renamed Park Rangers) -- Perhaps a must see, the film which
had a TV series follow it. Noted for painting rocks in Yosemite
to make them look more real.
Films produced by a small Park City Company like the Mountain Family
Robinson with weak plot lines and simplistic problems.
Various "snow bunny" films.

Numerous climbing films available from a slew of sources. Some available
thru the GPIW.

Eugene, I think you should include those films which the climbers may
be tempted to see, but actually have nothing to do with climbing.
This will spare them expense and disappointment. Some suggestions:

Exposed
Death Wish -- Bronson
Sudden Impact -- Oh, yeah Dirty Harry
Aliens
Nuts
El Topo
Picnic at Hanging Rock

Valley Girl
Beyond Therapy
They Call Me Royal?

John Morton University of California
jmorton@euler.berkeley.edu Mechanical Engineering
{decvax,cbosgd}!ucbvax!euler!jmorton Machine Shop

I think over again my small adventures
My fears
Those small ones that seemed so big
For all the vital things
I had to get and to reach
And yet there is only one great thing
The great thing
To live and to see the great day that dawns
And the light that fills the world.
-- Old Innuit song

TAG LINE

Ah another previous topic.

One can chose numerous G and PG-13 rated films. The D film has been covered.
I chose Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter as another "flawed masterpiece."*
[*flawed masterpiece is not my term, but it describes the quality of the
film]. The film is rated R for a small amount of sex and a considerable
bit of violence (perhaps some of the most realistic violence ever shown
on screen: Total Recall doesn't have anything on this film).
Stop reading now if you think you will get sick.

The film is an allegoric anti-war film produced in 1978/9 and was overshadowed
by Hal Ashby's Coming Home [w/ Jane Fonda and Jon Viogt] and Frances Coppola's
Apocolypse Now. The Deer Hunter is the film which pushed Robert DeNiro into
his great status (as the Deer Hunter: Michael) and gave real name recognition
to Meryl Streep (who plays the girlfriend of Nick). It also typecast
Christopher Walken (as Nick, an up and coming outdoors man) and John Savage
(Steve, the third of the best buddies) but made them notable stars if crazy
roles. The film is a long film by most standards and it gave Cimino enough
money and recognition that his next film Heaven's Gate was a flop.

Spoilers:

The story revolved around three very close friends and a small number of
lesser friends who grew up in a working class Russian-American steel mill
in Penn. It details their ethnic and social lives before and after
their experience in Vietnam, and the fundamental changes which took place
in all of them. As a Vietnam film, it has no immediate base in reality,
so it can only be taken at an allegorical level. In fact Cimino has taken
so many liberties, you wonder about the value of the film.

Some of the most beautiful (well filmed) outdoor scenes ever to appear on
the silver screen which were supposed to have taken place in the
Allegheny Mountains were filmed near to Mt. Baker in Washington (no
volcanos with glaciers in Penn.). But it's not hard to suspend your
beliefs. The jungle is also a hauntingly beautiful backcountry for the
few seconds before a fire mission. The film seems to drag in some places,
but it moves at its own pace. The contrast of the steel mills to the
mountains provides a good range of human experience.

Another criticism of the film is that it has too many characters.
But I think that one or two of them really shine. John Gaz.* plays
Stanley the short frail gun freak who always carries around some gun
(reminds me of some people I know): no hope for him.
Axel is a favorite straight-man characters. And the bartender
is a fully sympathetic character.

Michael has been grooming Nick (and Steve) as apprentice hunters.
Unfortunately he is only able to "save" one of them. He assumes that
Nick is capable enough of surviving but is wrong. Michael's solution
to their captivity is seemingly "unique." It's a real game.
The other three (Stanley, Axel, and the Bartender) are along for the ride.
They aren't "real" hunters and yet they are. They are capable (excepting
Stanley, the butt of all jokes) of having a good time.

The music is simple and down to earth.

Michael's relation with women (in particular Streep) is an interesting one.
He plays the "strong silent type" who comes with weakness with women
(to the point of his friends calling him gay). The women in the film
(excepting Streep) have a minor role.

The role of nature is the standard idea that the natural world is pure
and unadulterated. The height of this comes on the second hunting trip
where in the space of seconds Michael no longer has the heart to shoot
the deer and yet doesn't hesistate to deal with Stanley is his pipsqueak
pistol.

The closest bit of the reality and one basis of the film was the
summary execution of a suspected Vietcong sympathizer during the Tet
Offense where the man's brains were blown away (most people remember this
incident as a still, but Cimino was clearly a person who also saw the
film footage [a still appears as wall paper in Woody Allen's
Stardust Memories]). Cimino uses the game of Russian Roulette (remember,
these guys were Russian-Americans, also a cold war element here) as the
symbol for war. Since there were no reported cases of thise actually
happening, this aspect of the film drew lots of criticism.

Some things appear too obvious: e.g., the spilling of wine and the
appearance of the Special Forces sargent at the wedding (Michael goes into
the SF while the other two guys go into 1st Cav.). The film drew
considerable flak for its unflattering portaryal of the Vietnamese.
But I believe that to be more a point of view decision (They are R-A again).

The climax might seem predictable now, but when the film was first released,
it had a far greater emotional impact. First time viewers might still
get that, but the the world is a more grim place since the filming.

The ending has been heavily criticized as well, but it was Cimino's
intent to make it ambiguous and loving as possible. If you are "into"
war movies with a hero, victory, clear cut battles and an enemy,
you will not like this film.

From: ace@radix.net
Date: Mon, 01 Jan 96 19:54:57 0400
Organization: Center for Cybernautic Research
Subject: RE: 27/Films (rec.backcountry FAQ)
X-URL: http://smithers.dejanews.com/cgi-bin/dngetdoc.html?RECNUM=2139071+SERVER=dnserver....

More details on the "White Hell of Piz Palue" ref

TITLE/aka - DIRECTOR RELEASE RUNTIME

A Wonder Spa in the Alps - Burlingham '19 [1 reel, no skiing?]
Wunder des Schneeschuhs/Marvels of Ski/Miracle of the Snowshoe - Fanck &
Schneider '20
Snowbound Pyrenees - Holmes '20 [no skiing?]
Im Kampf mit dem Berge/Struggle with the Mountains - Fanck '21 [no
skiing?]
Pomperly's Struggle with Skis - '22
Snowshoe Trail - Bennett '22 [6 reels, no skiing?]
Der Berg des Schicksals/Peak of Fate/Mountain of Destiny - Fanck '24 [6
reels]
Der Heilige Berg/The Holy Mountain - Fanck '26
Der Grosse Sprung/The Big Jump - Fanck '27
White Magic - Allgeier '27? ['22??]
Der Kampf ums Matterhorn/Struggle for the Matterhorn - Bonnard &
Malasomma '28 [2757 meters]
Die Weisse Hoelle vom Piz Palue/White Hell of Pitz Palu - Fanck & Pabst
'29 90m [8 reels]
With Byrd at the South Pole - '29
Der Ruf des Nordens - Malasomma '29
Stuerme uber dem Mount Blanc/Storms over Mount Blanc/Avalanche - Fanck
'30 [7 reels]
Ski-Hi Frolics - Eaton/Pathe '30 [1 reel]
Der Sohn der Weissen Berge/Son of the White Mountains - Trenker &
Bonnard '30 65m
Der Weisse Rausch/White Ecstasy/White Flame/Ski Chase - Fanck '31 80m
[8 reels, NESM]
Doomed Battalion - Gardner & Fanck '31 74m
Berge in Flammen - Trenker & Hartl '31 98m

-------key---------
TITLE includes "also known as" variants
DIRECTOR or film-maker's last name
RELEASE date of theatrical premiere, may vary by country or format
RUNTIME in minutes
[] has additional comments

Some of these films can be seen at the

(800) fax
NESM New England Ski Museum, NH 639-4181 (603) 823-9505
US National Ski Hall of Fame, MI
MOMA Museum of Modern Art, NY

If you would like more information, or know of other screening sites
contact me.

Curtis Emerson/GSFC now known as ace@radix.net

"Rancho Deluxe"

%%T Castaway
%%X with Tom Hanks and Linda Hunt
Modern (FedEx) romantic concept of being stranded on a desert island.
Notable for the initial mistakes and improvisation by the engineer survival.
Should not be taken as an example of a survival training movie.
Romanticized fire starting. Some people enjoy the portrayal of the crash.
See Robinson Crusoe.

Maybe add "Planet Earth," a BBC series with 14 episodes. Emphasis is on
DVD set at Costco. I have seen the Caves and Deserts episodes so far,
both of which were pretty good, though the Caves episode has a segment
about cockroaches in some tropical cave that has an "ewww" factor that
many might not like.