Product Description

Follow five snowboarding icons (Shaun White Hannah Teter Terje Haakonsen Shawn Farmer and Nick Perata) on this epic Alaskan journey as they ride the most challenging and dangerous mountains on the planet. Featuring some of the most jaw-dropping snowboard footage ever caught on film this incredible motion picture tracks the rebellious inspiring and sometimes controversial evolution of snowboarding from an underground American movement to a full-fledged global phenomenon.System Requirements:Running Time: 111 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating: PG-13 UPC: 025192844928 Manufacturer No: 28449

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15850 in DVD
• Brand: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAIN.
• Released on: 2006-02-21
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 111 minutes

Amazon.com
Talk about good timing (and shrewd marketing): the release of First Descent, a thrilling documentary about the snowboarding phenomenon, exactly coincided with the 2006 Winter Olympics, where some of the very same athletes featured in the film mined gold and glory on the slopes near Turin, Italy. But while Shaun White and Hannah Teeter both won gold medals in the halfpipe as the U.S. dominated the Olympic competition, those two young stars (along with three other snowboarding "legends") are seen in a far different environment in producer-directors Kevin Harrison and Kemp Curley's 111-minute film, tackling some dauntingly long, steep runs in the mountains of Valdez, Alaska, where avalanches, crevasses, and other hazards await as they search for "first descents" (i.e., places no snowboarder has been before) in that pristine, forbidding environment. As advertised, the footage is, well, awesome, as all five riders catch huge air on some of the gnarliest runs in the world; Norwegian Terje Haakonsen's final plunge from a 7,000 foot peak with a 60 degree drop must be seen to be believed. Elsewhere, First Descent chronicles the evolution of the snowboarding phenomenon, from its humble emergence in the 1970s, when the sport was derided by traditional skiers, to its extraordinary popularity in the '90s and beyond, when the X Games and Olympics telecasts brought it into living rooms across America, Europe, and Japan. Profiles of the individual athletes are included as well, but it's the Alaska footage--where, in the words of 'boarder Shawn Farmer, they "pinned it to the wall and threw down"--that's the principal attraction here. Nearly an hour's worth of extra features will add to the appeal of the film, which features narration by former Black Flag-bearer Henry Rollins and music by Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh. --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews

Fogtown Films
A great in depth look into the history of snowboarding from it's backwoods roots to the megapipes of today. Beautiful cinematography with a good story to wrap around the documentary. A must see for any Soul Snowboarder.

An interesting perspective on the snowboard world
This movie is a nice change from the standard snowboard movie. It takes you to Alaska with a well-varied group of riders, from multiple eras of the sports evolution. Along the way, they give you an interesting history of the sport in a way that supports the overall story. A key part of what made the film interesting is feeling like it was a special and meaningful experience for each of the riders involved. Everyone had a different reason for being there, and something different to get out of it.

I wish there were more films made like this, that capture a special moment in time.

Overview of snowboarding
I loved the parts about the history of snowboarding and the last run of Terje in the end. You won't find many runs on big mountains as Standard Films movies, but overall it is very entertaining.