First Descent (2005)

Five of the world's best snowboarders are taken to the mountains of Alaska for some outrageous "Big Mountain" rides.

Directors:

Kemp Curly, Kevin Harrison

Stars:

Shawn Farmer, Terje Haakonsen, Nick Perata

Cast

Credited cast:
Shawn Farmer	...	Himself
Terje Haakonsen	...	Himself
Nick Perata	...	Himself
Travis Rice	...	Himself
Hannah Teter	...	Herself
Shaun White	...	Himself

Storyline

Five of the world's best snowboarders are taken to the mountains of Alaska for some outrageous "Big Mountain" rides.

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Plot Keywords:

alaska | snowboarding

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Taglines:

The story of the snowboarding revolution.

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Genres:

Documentary | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and a momentary drug reference

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 December 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Descenso Final

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$438,615 (USA) (2 December 2005)

Gross:

$739,690 (USA) (16 December 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

MD Films, Transition Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"In The Fade"
Written by Joshua Homme & Mark Lanegan
Performed by Queens of the Stone Age

User Reviews

One of the best snowboarding films ever made...

In terms of story and content, this is probably the strongest film ever made about snowboarding. Gorgeous photography and a really solid storyboard made this film a real motion picture rather than a collection of montages like you see so many other boarding films. Unfortunately this film lacks the real jaw-dropping moments you really need in a film of this caliber. This film has one or two, but needs more to really sustain the interest level. Terje Haakonsen was spectacular as always, though, and any film blessed with his participation is almost always sublime.

On a side note, I was a little disappointed in Shaun White's performance in this film. It seemed as though his heart was not really in the big back-country experience and that he would have rather stayed at home in the park. I was surprised to see him board with his freestyle binding setup (wide centered stance) rather than something more conducive to powder riding. I think the film crew noticed the lack on enthusiasm and actually showed him the least of all the five riders.

Overall though, I'd strongly recommend this film to any snowboarder who is truly interested in the sport.