|  | Hard Grit
(http://www.slackjaw.co.uk)
(video/hardgrit.html)
This is the best known climbing video in the UK. This is probably due to the painful start of the video, with Jean-Minh Trin-Thieu's fall off Gaia. The video then goes onto to map the history of climbing on peak grit. From the early 19 century exploits to the modern day desperates. Nial Grimes does a good job of narrating the film, giving an honest account of the events. The second part of the film shows the peaks best, climbing the hardest climbs. This includes the likes of Dawes, Dunne, Grieve, Bentley, Houlding, etc... One memorable scene is Seb Grieve's ascent of Partheon Shot at Burbage. He takes 5 massive falls onto an apparently weak flake. It is a very exciting and interesting film, that I never get tired of, a must for any armchair climber. | |  | Under the Sky, Above the Sea
(http://www.slackjaw.co.uk)
This is the sequel to Hard Grit, which unfortunately makes you expect a lot from it. It is not a bad film, but is a little dull. Which could have something to do with the lack of danger, due to the deep water. There is some good climbing and film work, but it does not match its predecessor. They really try hard to fit it into Hard Grits mould. Like by starting with a masked man cycling off a cliff. Still nowhere near as exciting as Jeans falling off Gaia. The most attention grabbing parts of the film actually have little to do with climbing, and arise from the Cook brothers simply diving off Conner cove. The second part of the video is Hard Plastic, which is simply a film of the international bouldering competition at the Foundry. The commentary is laughable, but some of the problems are truly impressive. Good but not quite brilliant. | |  | Stone Monkey
(http://www.johnnydawes.com)
This was the original climbing video, and although short it is probably the only film to compete with Hard Grit as the best climbing video. It basically follows the life of Johnny Dawes, from his first exploits on the grit, to his hardest routes, like Braille Trail, and Gaia. Alun Hughes made a truly great film, that is slightly marred by the impressive, but slightly long ascent of Quarryman. There is a lot of falling, and thus some large swings. This vid shows how the little details count, and help to make it forever interesting. Such as the seamless transition between the sped up version of the computer game chase HQ, and Johnny driving a Bedford Rascal, probably too fast. | |  | Best Forgotten Art
(http://www.johnnydawes.com)
Forgotten is the key word here, because shortly after it was made Black Diamond and HB fell out, meaning that the film was left to rot as neither party could sell the film on their own. Now things have changed and the film is available through Johnnydawes.com, as it has been since Jan 01. It is a very good film showing the art of jamming, all sorts from tiny jams to off-widths. The film starts with a bit of history then builds up to the final scene of numerous attempts at Ray's Roof. Parts of the film are reminiscent of Hard Grit which is not surprising as Slackjaw were involved. A very good film. | |  | One Summer
This is a film by Ben Moon, and Ben Pritchard. They simply took a camcorder with them when they went bouldering, one summer. They don't act infront of the camera, they just talk about whatever. At one point they start discussing a rather large women. The camera work is a little dodgy at times, but the quality of climbing is very impressive. I don't think it is as good as stone monkey, but it is quite interesting as you see how they go about their climbing. Most of the bouldering is limestone, like at stoney middleton, with a little grit thrown in here and there. | |  | The Big Issue
A film by Sid Perou, about John Dunne. It does feature some impressive ascents, but the camera work does tend to get a little dull. Like in one scene when John goes to do a boulder problem, and then has a little interview. Which is probably the most boring moment on any British climbing film. It kind of goes "I brought a strong team here from the peak last week....", John "well it wasn't that hard, just because I am large, I can still climb." The film seems to be based upon John Dunne proving to his critics that he can actually climb, which is fairly obvious by some impressive ascents. | |  | Living For The Weekend - A Year In Glasgow University Mountaineering Club
More of a lifestyle film than a climbing video, although climbing does feature highly. Nick Tarmey has produced an amusing vid, with some excellent climbing moments. Starting with a simple stroll up a munroe, to daring and dodgy mixed ice routes in the Cairngorms, then an Alps trip and finishing with some Colorado ice. In amongst all this there is a large amount of drinking, puking, and sheep chasing.
The climbing is not always at the cutting edge, but the climbers are at their limit, which makes it all feel fairly serious. Except when Nick solos an E5. The best climbing video out there. | |  | Cutting Loose
This film starts with a computer generated humanoid telling you not to make illegal copies of the film. This was put on by Black Diamond the distributors, and it is by far the worst bit of the film. Trust it to be made by americans. Again Nick Tarmey has put together a brilliant little flick, although not as good as LFTW, it is more of a true climbing video. It mainly features 'Dumby Dave' completing hard boulder problems, sport routes, and a couple of gnarly trad routes. Even Ben and Jerry pop up in the video, although they don't take to the scotish weather. The film ends with the alps trip from the previous film. | |  | Masters of Stone 3
This film starts with a computer generated lizard running, this is the highlight of this very bland video. There is very little talking, just badly shot climbing. The shots are often zoomed in, taking away any feel of the situation or exposure. I found it almost painful to watch this exceptionally dull video. | |  | HTTP.BLOC
(http://http.bloc.free.fr)
Apparently a new breed of video made by and for the boulderer. Filmed at fontainebleau and partly in the peak there are a wide range of problems and difficulties. Most of which are not at the cutting edge. There is one scene where they are bouldering on their car while in the channel tunnel. Overall it is not a bad film, with many interesting moments showing climbing and the boulderers lifestyle. Really not worth too many repeat viewings. | |  | Bleau
"This video intends to share with you the beauty of the forest, the intimacy of its climbing community and the exceptional performance that results during one month in Fontainebleau." That is what the back of the vid says. In the end it is simply problem, after problem, after problem, which unfortunately gets a little dull. Almost all of them are filmed from the same, straight on angle, and only a few are cutting edge. Maybe if you had spent a lot of time in font, and climbed some of the problems, then you could relate to the vid better, and get more from viewing it. |
|  | TV Films
These three collections of films are all worth seeing, as they give insights into the way people climb. Almost all the programmes are different, and thus stimulating. These collections all come on two videos, and are made of 6 parts. They differ from the others as they are generally a lot longer, and as thus can give a more in depth analysis of climbers, and the games they play. | | | The Face
A collection of 6 films, showing 6 different adventures. From big walls in Canada, to sea cliffs in Vietnam. The series shows all aspects of climbing, and contains the almost infamous footage of Airlie Anderson getting pissed off with Moses Tower in Utah. One complaint I had about the films was the narrator, who I swear used to do biology documentaries, just did not sound right for the part. His voice is too monosyllabic, which got a little annoying. My favourite programme was probably the one in Vietnam, with Greg Child and Andy Parkin climbing new routes on exceptional rock. This is good as the climbing is hard and new, and it is in a different world. | | | Wild Climbs
This was the sequel to the face, it was obvious as the music was almost identical, but the narrator had changed. I think the overall standard of these programmes were not as good as the face.But two programmes really stood out. These were Tim Emmett in Yosemite, and Mick Fowler and Mark Garthwaite in the foloton islands. Both these showed the different worlds that they were in. The other films included the likes of Stevie Haston and Leo Holding. The later throws up out the window of the mini bus, which sets the scene for his exploits in the Czech republic. Overall this collection is not as exciting as the face, but some of the programmes are really special and are well worth watching. | |  | The Edge
These films are very similar in style to the face and wild climbs. They work through a hundred years of Scottish mountaineering, mostly on ice climbing. The routes might not all be really impressive, but the style with which it is done keeps you interested. One film shows modern climbers in period dress, repeating an early winter ascent of Tower ridge. This is not technically impressive by todays standards, but the way it is done does create interest. Such as the account of Robin Smiths ascents on the Ben, routes climbed without crampons and short axes. Thus holds had to be cut for hands and feet. These routes are still hard enough to take a long time with modern gear, and thus receive a lot of respect. |
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