Off the Edge (1977)
PG | 77 mins | Documentary | 9 March 1977
Cast:
Jeff Campbell, Blair Trenholme [ More ]Director:
Michael FirthProducer:
Michael FirthCinematographer:
Michael FirthEditor:
Michael EconomouProduction Company:
Pentacle FilmsThe Summary for this unviewed film was composed from an on-location article in the Nov 1976 American Cinematographer, reviews in the 11 Mar 1977 issues of both DV and HR, a review in the 10 Mar 1977 LAT, and two five-minute film clips from Off the Edge on YouTube.
According to an article by Mollie Gregory, who participated in the film as a writer, New Zealand director Michael Firth and his cameramen shot 16mm film, which was later blown up to 35mm. Firth got the idea for Off the Edge after meeting champion skiers Jeff Campbell and Blair Trenholme on a trip to Val d’Isere, France. Later, in 1973, he got a government grant, put together a small film crew, and invited Jeff and Blair to New Zealand for four months. Since neither Jeff nor Blair had hang-gliding experience, they trained on sand dunes and graduated to a 5,000-foot skiing range, all within a week, but their gliders were not compatible with Firth’s cinematic requirements. By the time Jeff and Blair returned to Mt. Cook for another five-month shoot in Jun 1974, Firth had found two gliders with wide, colorful wingspans and places for mounting mini-cameras. Two helicopters were used to transport crew and equipment up and down the mountain and film the extreme skiing and gliding sequences. Weather controlled the shooting schedule, stranding the cast and crew for weeks in a Park Service cabin on the slopes or in a village at the base of the mountain. During one such blackout, they filmed an ice cave sequence inside one of the glaciers.
Off the ...
The Summary for this unviewed film was composed from an on-location article in the Nov 1976 American Cinematographer, reviews in the 11 Mar 1977 issues of both DV and HR, a review in the 10 Mar 1977 LAT, and two five-minute film clips from Off the Edge on YouTube.
According to an article by Mollie Gregory, who participated in the film as a writer, New Zealand director Michael Firth and his cameramen shot 16mm film, which was later blown up to 35mm. Firth got the idea for Off the Edge after meeting champion skiers Jeff Campbell and Blair Trenholme on a trip to Val d’Isere, France. Later, in 1973, he got a government grant, put together a small film crew, and invited Jeff and Blair to New Zealand for four months. Since neither Jeff nor Blair had hang-gliding experience, they trained on sand dunes and graduated to a 5,000-foot skiing range, all within a week, but their gliders were not compatible with Firth’s cinematic requirements. By the time Jeff and Blair returned to Mt. Cook for another five-month shoot in Jun 1974, Firth had found two gliders with wide, colorful wingspans and places for mounting mini-cameras. Two helicopters were used to transport crew and equipment up and down the mountain and film the extreme skiing and gliding sequences. Weather controlled the shooting schedule, stranding the cast and crew for weeks in a Park Service cabin on the slopes or in a village at the base of the mountain. During one such blackout, they filmed an ice cave sequence inside one of the glaciers.
Off the Edge was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary, but lost to Harlan County, U.S.A.
American Jeff Campbell and Canadian Blair Trenholme travel to Mt. Cook National Park in New Zealand, where 12,250-foot Mt. Cook is the highest peak of the New Zealand Alps. Jeff and Blair ride horses to a meadow at the base of the mountain, then hike up to a red Park Service cabin perched on a rocky precipice of one of Mt. Cook’s two glaciers. Living there for weeks, they ski rugged slopes, explore ice caves, and discuss the loneliness and danger of their venture. At one point, a blizzard traps them on a glacier and isolates them for days in the cabin. Eventually, Jeff and Blair descend the mountain and retrieve their grazing horses. Later, they return to Mt. Cook carrying hang-gliders with thirty-feet wingspans, leap from a place nearly 10,000 feet high, and glide to their “landing mark” at a lake six miles ...
American Jeff Campbell and Canadian Blair Trenholme travel to Mt. Cook National Park in New Zealand, where 12,250-foot Mt. Cook is the highest peak of the New Zealand Alps. Jeff and Blair ride horses to a meadow at the base of the mountain, then hike up to a red Park Service cabin perched on a rocky precipice of one of Mt. Cook’s two glaciers. Living there for weeks, they ski rugged slopes, explore ice caves, and discuss the loneliness and danger of their venture. At one point, a blizzard traps them on a glacier and isolates them for days in the cabin. Eventually, Jeff and Blair descend the mountain and retrieve their grazing horses. Later, they return to Mt. Cook carrying hang-gliders with thirty-feet wingspans, leap from a place nearly 10,000 feet high, and glide to their “landing mark” at a lake six miles away.
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
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