Snowboarding on the Silver Screen

Best Snowboarding Movies to Get You Ready for the Season

 

 

If you’re anything like me, watching an action or sports movie immediately makes me feel like I can become a gold medalist in everything bad-assery. I find myself rising from the couch with pride, prepared to parkour across the living room to battle. The explosive power I see on the screen motivates me to become better, and I have a newfound energy to perform.

Being that it has been some time since you’ve been in the snowboarding season, chances are the itch to get back on the slopes is real. To provide some inspiration and to fuel your preseason prep, I’ve found some of the best snowboarding movies to ever hit the screen. These five (well, I guess seven) movies will not only make the time until snowboarding season go faster but also encourage you to take risks with your favorite sport. 

1. The Community Project

12 years ago, snowboard fanatics were introduced to this action documentary covering the talents of legendary snowboarders Andy Finch, Travis Rice, Colin Langlois, Kyle Clancy and Shaun White. The film takes you through the impeccable rides of these guys, focusing around their travels in exotic and serious terrain. The Community Project will undoubtedly make you crave adventure.

 

 

2. The Crash Reel 

 

This is an unbelievably intimate and raw film featuring fifteen years of vérité footage from U.S. champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce’s journey to compete against competitor Shaun White at the 2010 Winter Olympics. (Side note: Kevin and Shaun happen to be childhood friends.) But Pearce’s story quickly changes as he gets into a snowboarding accident in 2009, leaving him with severe head trauma. The Crash Reel guides us through Pearce’s adamancy to keep snowboarding juxtaposed by his family’s plea for him to give up his sport altogether.  Eye-opening and at times difficult to watch, this film reminds us just how extreme snowboarding is.

 

3. The Trilogy: Deeper (2010), Further (2012), Higher (2014)

 

Backcountry snowboarder Jeremy Jones creates a trilogy of snowboarding films that all depict the a snowboarder’s drive to keep pushing along more diverse terrains. The cool thing with these films is that you don’t necessarily have to watch them in order; they all showcase a different journey and adventure. What is interesting though, if you do happen to watch them chronologically, is the growth these snowboarders accumulate over time. You’ll be captivated by their tenacity.

4. The Fourth Phase 

This film follows legendary snowboarder Travis Rice’s 16,000 mile expedition to some of the most “dreamlike” landscapes around the North Pacific. Rice and his team reinvent the idea of impossible as they ride across the world to find the most beautiful and exciting terrains. The Fourth Phase is cinematically breathtaking and motivationally incredible.

 

5. Insight 

“Insight is a multifaceted project unified by diversity, and the title is quite literal: it is a look into the individuals, locations, and crews that comprise it.” I couldn’t have said it any better myself, actually. Snowboarding movies are rather homogenous, for they all convey the same amazing action and discovery. But Insight goes a bit beyond that monotony and finds depth within the snowboarder’s stories. It’s gorgeously crafted and epically active.

There are hundreds of snowboarding movies to watch if you can’t get enough after these films. But I’ve chosen these because of their inspirational components that will undoubtedly create a dire itch in you to strap into your board. Thankfully, the season is approaching, so you can satisfy your craving relatively soon. Until then, good luck. May your drive stay with you until you can get on the slopes again.