Jeremy Jones "Further" Snowboarding Movie Review

Recently I was browsing iTunes for a new snowboarding movie to watch. It was late November, winter was fast approaching and I needed something to get me in the mood. I stumbled across Further starring Jeremy Jones and it certainly didnt disappoint.

Summary

In this movie Jeremy jones teams up with top extreme sports documentary makers Teton Gravity Research for the second instalment of his three part documentary series. Deeper, Further and Higher.

Further picks up where Deeper left off and follows Jones on his mission as he heads to places few have ridden before. In his search for the perfect line Jones finds himself travelling all over the globe. Further shows us the deepest parts of Japan, Alaska and Austria. Couple the amazing terrain with the riders he chose to take with him, Jones with Further really gives you a feeling of what it is like to head that far into the wilderness in the search of the ultimate descent.

Trailer

Size and scale

From the opening part in Japan, the production and camera work of this movie really gives you a sense of just how big the mountains are that these guys are riding and also just how dangerous they can be. Barely ten minutes into the film, Forrest Shearer starts a descent and within seconds is knocked off his feet by the sluff (sliding top snow) and carried out of control to the bottom of the face. No rose tinted glasses here, this movie really tells the story of what is involved in riding in the back country.

Wilderness

What sets this film apart from most other snowboard films out there is the fact that Jones is a huge environmentalist and for the past few years he has tried to minimise the amount of time he uses helicopters to access the backcountry. This dedication to doing things in a more environmental way means he and his team would camp in the wilderness for weeks on end and wait for the perfect weather conditions to go and hike the face to get the perfect line. At one point in the film the team have to ride snowmobiles for 30 hours to get to their base camp for the trip. It really highlights what lengths these guys will go to for their love of snowboarding.

Camera work

By increasing the camera crew to rider ratio for this film, the team were able to get some great footage and take things to the next level. There are some awesome wide angle and distance shots which really do show the scale of the terrain. The use of POV or helmet cam is also used really well in this film. Head cam technology has improved so much in the last few years that it can now be used to show you just what the riders are experiencing when they tackle these huge faces.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to this film is pretty good. Chilled and understated. The footage is edited really well to the music and overall it does a good job of keeping the film moving along nicely.

Favourite part

My Favourite part of the movie is right at the end of the Japan section of the film. Nicely edited to a chilled out song by Way Yes the part shows Jones, Forrest shearer and Josh Dirksen shredding down a nice shallow powder field all just having fun with each other out in the mountains. Maybe not the most extreme part of the film but for me it really caught the essence of what snowboarding is aboutbeing out there with your friends having fun. It made me want to hop on a flight right there and head to the mountains to find some snow.

Overall

For those of you who love riding the park and that is about it then this movie may not be for you. For everyone else you should really take a look. The documentary style gives you more of a story than most other boarding videos and is not just endless part after part of Snowboarding porn. The behind the scenes feel and the insight into the work these guys put into their riding gives you a sense of awe about what they do.

With top riders, top terrain and great camera work it really is an inspiring film and worth buying. If you dont want to splash out the full price then you can always hire it from itunes to watch at your leisure but if I were you Id buy it for keeps. Youll watch it over and over again.