The eagerly awaited Chalet Girl movie has its world premiere in London on Feb 8th and is on general release from March. The film tells the story of ex-skateboarder Kim who gets a job in a luxury chalet. She can't ski but does discover something of a natural talent for snowboarding. It's a light hearted boy meets girl rom-com with the spectacular resort of St Anton as a backdrop. Felicity Jones and Ed Westwick, relative newcomers in the starring roles, are supported by such film luminaries as Bill Bailey, Bill Nighy and Brooke Shields.
We've yet to see the movie so we really don't know how much critical acclaim it will receive. However it did get us thinking about other ski movies we've seen. Aside from the Matchstick/Nuit de La Glisse stable of extreme ski flicks, it seems the ski/snowboard genre of movie-making is surprisingly narrow. We've held a small poll and these are the Chalets Direct favourite ski movies - or favourite ski clips from the movies. (NB. These are "fictional" movies - not the ski extreme dvd's which we all know and love.)
Favourite Films and Ski Clips (in no particular order):
1. Aspen Extreme - Released in 1993, Aspen Extreme was hailed as Top Gun on snow. It's the story of two friends who make their way to Aspen to find work as ski instructors for the season. Their friendship is severely tested as women, drink and drugs get in the way. The climax of the movie is the end of season ski race - will the buddies be able to overcome their problems and do what really matters when it matters most? Look out for Trevor Eve as the ski school director, and Martin Kemp (Spandau Ballet, The Kray Twins, Eastenders) practising his best clipped accent as the Austrian ski instructor who does not take kindly to the new kids on the block.
2. Frozen - Released in 2010. Have you ever sat on the last chairlift of the day and wondered what would happen if you got stuck there? Well Frozen addresses this very problem. This was possibly an atttempt to breath new life into the genre - and gives a much darker take on the happy and bright, white and blue world of skiing. Frozen is set in a small resort in the US, only open at weekends. Two smart-arse snowboarders and one skier decide to take one last run down the mountain and jump on one of the last chairlifts without the lift attendants seeing them. The lift closes. night falls, it starts snowing, the wolves start howling - how will our heroes get down? Whilst it's not classic drama, it does possibly answer your question of whether you should jump or not.
3. James Bond Ski Scenes. From George Lazenby to Pierce Brosnan, ski chases have turned up on a fairly regular basis in 007's world. The classic scene from On Her Majesty's Secret Service had George Lazenby escaping armed skiers in Saas Fee. Roger Moore also took a few turns on snow during his James Bond career. But the best ski chase has to be Pierce Brosnan in The World is Not Enough, where he out-skis armed paraglider-equipped snowmobiles with Sophie Marceau in tow. It also features the best anti-avalanche device ever conceived.
4. The Beatles - Help. Set in the Austrian Alps, The Beatles ski sequence for Ticket to Ride in Help is surreal, certainly not to be taken seriously and maybe did more for the UK ski industry in the early 60's than any advertising campaign could. In case it was a bit before your time we've included it here:
Let us know your favourite ski scenes from the movies