New Warren Miller Ski Film Debuts
Miller’s annual ski/ride travelogue packs the usual fun punch.
Off the Grid, narrated by Olympian Jeremy Bloom, follows skiers and snowboarders from Colorado to Alaska and Switzerland to India.
The annual Warren Miller film is out, this one entitled Off the Grid.
It’ll be playing around the country at more than 180 venues through early December.
Miller, who pretty much invented the "ski travelogue," began producing films in the 1940s. And, while Warren himself no longer does the actual filming or producing, the tradition carries on. Indeed, in some places attending the newest Warren Miller Films’ screening has become an annual pre-ski-season rite.
Off the Grid follows the traditional Miller formula—a mix of sensational skiing footage shot in familiar and exotic locales, combined with humorous segments, all annotated with voice-over narrative.
It’s always been the Miller humor that has made these films stand out from the myriad other ski/snowboard movies and videos that flood the market each autumn. And, while Grid doesn’t contain as much funny stuff as some past productions, there’s one sequence that induces an immediate double-take.
The World Snowball Fighting Championships.
Say what?
Yes—the World Snowball Fighting Championships. Or, as it’s known in Hokkaido, Japan, where it’s staged, the Showa Shinzan International Yukigassen.
Some 2,000 teams vie of seven players each for 192 spots in the finals, where they fling snowballs perfectly sculpted 1,000 at a time by a giant cupcake-mold.
What’ll they think of next?
Of course, Off the Grid features the kind of skiing and riding that inspires us all to get out there and slide downhill. So, even if we’re overly familiar with the Miller Films’ formula, and even if we miss Miller’s narration (although his inimitable voice does appear in cameo), the whole thing still works.
Miller has always philosophized about skiing. He’s always equated skiing with living free, and has always reminded us that every day spent on the snow is a gift. And, of course, he never fails to leave out his signature line . . .
"If you don’t do it this year, you’ll be a year older when you do."
That attitude is why Miller films are still worthwhile. And fun to watch.
