Afterlame: DVD Review

Time and time again I go back to watching Afterlame. Without doubt it is my favourite snowboarding DVD. Some others come close, and it might be worth me listing them so you can get an indication for the type of films that I like, such as: Lame, DC MTN.LAB, White Balance, DropStitch and Afterbang, but Afterlame remains at the top. It feels very "film-like". It's the DVD that most makes we want to ride. The first time I watched it I was like "wow, that was different. I wanna watch it again".

The Intro
Afterlame has a great intro. It's quite long which seems to work as it does a good job of setting the pace and style for what's to come. Oh, and the opening track is excellent - "Yours to Keep" by Teddybears. There's a cool part in the extras that takes a look at how they put it together - it's worth watching. David Benedek kicks things off by answering the question "Is it fun?" For me, that's why the film is so successful - it perfectly communicates how much fun snowboarding is.

Favourite Section(s)
It would be weak to say that I like the whole thing :-) I think my favourite section/chapter is "VIII: Hampus and Jacob cruising around". It simply shows them jibbing around the park having fun. Jacob comments that you don't really get to show that type of riding in a conventional video part... and I think he's right. That's one of the reasons that this part is so refreshing. However, for me it's not just that this is a little different; I love this aspect of snowboarding, so seeing some of the world's best jibbing around is so good.

For a similar reason I really like chapter VII.II - which includes Parker and Giom riding some amazing powder. But it's not the usual big mountain riding or back country kicker shots. It's a glimps at them just riding. Effortless style. I like it because it gives you an idea of what it might be like to go riding with these guys... how they ride when they don't have to worry about filming and stuff.

There's a sequence right at the end of "VI: the other group goes to AK" that I really love. It's David Benedek riding the AK powder and he attempts a 360 cliff drop and doesn't make it. For me the sequence is great for two reasons: (1) it has a very natural feel to it. It's not a kicker with a straight run in, he's kind of negotiating his way towards the cliff. (2) After failing the 360 he goes back to try again and nails a 540.

Extras
If you like a DVD to have extras then you'll really enjoy Afterlame - there are loads of them! It's not just the quantity though, there's a good mix too: more riding, skating, "how we made this part", goofing around... Here's an idea of the ones that stood out to me.

• "Trancers". The beginning is funny - some guy dancing on the 'sidewalk'. With a cool tune playing, "Trapped But Still Got Two Ways Out" by KMAX, the extra then moves on to some pretty sick riding. There are some really good camera angles making for some interesting shots.
• "Stair Masters". Scotty and Charlie getting shots on urban rails. Funky track - "On The Recline" by A.Kruse.
• "Git Yer Poles". Hampus and Jacob playing around in the park on skis...
• "4 Wheel Thunder". It's a long section full of skating - some good skating. Watching snowboarders skate is good!
• "Alaskan Thunder". Check out Benedek and Parker wrestling in the back yard :-)
• "It's So Gnarly Up Here!" Some of the crew sessioning a kicker and playing around in powder...

Any Bad Bits?
Not really. Section "V - Bobby and his crew go to AK, kinda" tells of their failed trip to AK and then leads into the success that the other crew had. There's no riding in this section - hence the failure. This isn't a bad thing, in fact I think it adds to the film. However, when it comes to re-watching I pretty much skip this part and get on with the riding.

Afterlame Soundtrack
The music from Afterlame consistently adds to the film, it's an excellent soundtrack. Don't wanna go through the credits pressing pause? Here are the track listings:

• "Yours to Keep" - by Teddybears
• "Spirit in the Sky" - by Norman Greenbaum
• "Genetic World" - by Telepopmusik
• "Ready to Wear" - by Felix Da Housecat
• "What's So Strange About Me" - by Eight Dayz
• "Arctic Heart" - by Graded Roses
• "Lullaby for Wayne" - by Weezer
• "Keeping the Faith" - by De La Soul
• "Symptom Finger" - by The Faint
• "All I Need" - by Air
• "Budge" - by Dinosaur Jr.
• "Going Nowhere" - by Cut Copy
• "Higher Ground" - by Red Hot Chili Peppers
• "Heartbeats" - by The Knife
• "Float Away" - by David Garza
• "Taste of Honey" - by Herb Alpert

Afterlame Teaser
Here's the Afterlame mid-season teaser from 2004.

Wanna Buy Afterlame?
If you don't own it, you should. At the time of writing, you can buy Afterlame on Play.com.