Sunshine Superman (2014)

A heart-racing documentary portrait of Carl Boenish, the father of the BASE jumping movement, whose early passion for skydiving led him to ever more spectacular -and dangerous- feats of foot-launched human flight.

Director:

Marah Strauch

Writer:

Marah Strauch

Stars:

Carl Boenisch, Pat Sajak, Phil Donahue

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Pat Sajak	...	Himself (archive footage)
Phil Donahue	...	Himself (archive footage)
Cecilie Bull	...	Screening Party Attendee
John Long	...	Himself
Marah Strauch	...	Jean Boenish
Eric Mofford	...	Screening Party Extra
Allison McCulloch	...	Screening Party Attendee
Ellen Houlihan	...	Screening Party Attendee
Jean Boenish	...	Herself
Carl Boenisch	...	Himself (as Carl Boenish)
Kevin McGuinness	...	Screening Party Extra
Christian Bruno	...	Phil Smith
Lars Løge	...	Police Officer Norway
Jake Suffian	...	Screening Party Attendee
Rodolphe Cassan	...	Carl Boenish

Storyline

A heart-racing documentary portrait of Carl Boenish, the father of the BASE jumping movement, whose early passion for skydiving led him to ever more spectacular -and dangerous- feats of foot-launched human flight.

---

Plot Keywords:

human flight | base jumping | male female relationship | f rated | extreme sport | 

---

Taglines:

a film about falling

---

Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Sport

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, some language, smoking, and a brief nude image

Details

Country:

Norway USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 May 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gravity

Filming Locations:

Norway

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$22,891, 29 May 2015, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$87,875, 2 August 2015

Company Credits

Production Co:

Scissor Kick Films, Flimmer Film, Head Gear Films

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Crazy Credits

"Johnny Utah" is listed with others in the "Thanks" section of the credits; a possible nod to the main character from the movie Point Break

---

Soundtracks

Thus We Begin In The Greenish Twighlight Of The Rhine
Written by Richard Wagner (as Wagner)
Performed by Lorin Maazel & Berliner Philharmoniker (as Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra)
Courtesy of Telarc International
Used by permission of Concord Music Group, Inc.

User Reviews

For man is incapable of resisting the temptation of flight.

There's an interesting charm of defying gravity and plummeting oneself from extreme places, swirling away from the nature, crowd and traffic below. Sunshine Superman is documentary about Carl Boenisch's life and his drive which pioneers extreme sport of base jumping. It's a humble, true to life outlook on his passion which is fascinatingly infectious and inspiring.

The movie depicts early days of base jumping before it was even called that. Using plenty of Carl's and his crew's perspective to display the thrill and deliver the brief few seconds where men take flight. Many of the clips come from retro films, which have surprisingly refined technical effect considering they had no advance tech or even GoPro back then and even had to use makeshift tools.

There's a bit of narrative to string everything together, aside from the actual interviews or personal clips. Contrary to the dangerous vibe the sport might present, Carl is a modest man. He's warm and avid about the life style, one can't help to be engage by his sheer energy. Many testimonies further set his personality, and even though he's not involved directly in this documentary, audience can still connect to the man.

It gives some ideas to casual viewers about the sport, how it began, the original team behind it and what kind of tribulation they went through. The movie is easily accessible, using simple terms and approachable real life people. Some of its high octane first person view of the sport is classic yet still exhilarating.

Sunshine Superman is a simple story about energetic man and the origin of intense sport. It presents the extraordinary nature of jumping from great heights and translates it into inviting and friendly experience for all viewers.