The opening scene in this year’s Warren Miller ski film, “All Time,” begins with grainy black-and-white ski footage and narration intended to emulate the movie-house newsreels of the 1900s. After a brief overview of the roots of skiing, the narrator introduces the man who created the ski film genre more than 70 years ago.
“A beach bum named Warren Miller decided windburn was better than sunburn, and noticed that toting a camera around the mountain got him a lot of dates,” the narrator says. “So, in 1949, he made a ski movie. In 1950, he made another ski movie. And another, and another … .”
Thus begins a Warren Miller film like no other. This one is intended to celebrate the creator of the series, who sold the company in 1988 and died in 2018, as well as his ongoing legacy. With the 75th anniversary of his first film, “Deep and Light,” coming next year, this year’s film celebrates the past. Next year’s will look at where skiing, snowboarding and the film genre they inspire may be heading.
“All Time,” which will be playing at the Boulder Theater Nov. 9-11 and the Paramount in downtown Denver Nov. 16-18, has the usual assortment of beginner falls, ripping powder shots, bone-shaking crashes, and big-mountain skiers and snowboarders outrunning avalanches in exotic locales. But it’s also designed to show the evolution of skiing, decade by decade, beginning with wooden skis and leather boots, Hollywood stars in Sun Valley and dancers in stretch pants doing the twist in après-ski haunts.
Its arc includes the advent of snowboarding, big-mountain heli-skiing and terrain parks. The film was created in Boulder at the offices of Outside Interactive Inc., which owns Warren Miller Entertainment.
“I think what I’m most proud of is getting a cross-section of 74 years of films into an hour-long program, and without feeling like just an hour-long montage of shots, but applying some sort of structure to it,” director Josh Haskins said in an interview. “I’m proud of building those decade pieces into it, to give a bit of structure, while also being able to get as many athletes who have been involved over the years into the film as possible. To be able to show as many moments as we could, without it feeling too quick-cutty or too fast-paced.”
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It’s been almost 20 years since Miller was involved with films that still bear his name, but his presence is palpable in every scene, with “pillars of filmmaking that Warren created over the years,” Haskins said. “Great action, comedy and global adventure are pillars that we try and focus on each year, and are things that were so important to Warren when he was the guy.”
It wasn’t easy to distill, because there was so much great material.
“This project, going into it, was completely overwhelming given the task of condensing 74 years of films into an hour-long film,” Haskins said. “Our team of producers and editors and filmmakers really took the better part of (last) winter to get our arms around it creatively before we even started editing. But once that editing process started, and we had some ideas flushed out and a bit of a narrative arc applied to the film, we all really felt like it was going in a great direction.”
Having spent so many months combing through hours and hours of old film footage, Haskins wondered why a Miller retrospective hadn’t been done sooner.
“I really was pleased that we were able to give a nod to everyone who has been involved throughout the history and the legacy of the company, starting with Warren,” Haskins said. “I think a lot of our younger audience may not know who Warren was, so it was really enjoyable to put a focus on Warren the man, and give that appreciative nod to all the athletes, filmmakers, resorts and snow-sports operators out there who are so integral to this project and these films.”
For countless skiers over seven decades, ski season began when Miller ended each year’s film with his signature signoff, “Winter starts now.” Jonny Moseley, who has been the narrator since 2007, has carried on that tradition.
The essence of Miller’s films was a burning passion for skiing and a deep love for the beauty of mountains in winter, told always with cornball humor and reverence for the skier’s lifestyle. At the end of this year’s film, Miller is heard to say: “I’ve changed a lot of lives by showing people that there’s another way to live. I hope I’ve changed yours.”
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