''Steep'' is a 2007

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

about

extreme skiing Extreme skiing is a form of skiing performed on long, steep (typically from 45 to 60+ degrees, or grades of 100 to 170 percent) slopes in mountainous terrain. The French coined the term 'Le Ski Extreme' in the 1970s. The first practitioners incl ...

written and directed by Mark Obenhaus. ''Steep'' explores the history of extreme and

Big Mountain Skiing Extreme skiing is a form of skiing performed on long, steep (typically from 45 to 60+ degrees, or grades of 100 to 170 percent) slopes in mountainous terrain. The French coined the term 'Le Ski Extreme' in the 1970s. The first practitioners incl ...

, starting with its roots in 1960s and 1970s North America and Europe, with Bill Briggs' now famous first descent of the

Grand Teton Grand Teton is the highest mountain of the Teton Range in Grand Teton National Park at in Northwest Wyoming. Below its north face is Teton Glacier. The mountain is a classic destination in American mountaineering via the Owen-Spalding rout ...

, and progressing through to the current day sport. ''Steep'' was shot in High Definition and on film in a number of locations including Alaska, France, Canada and Iceland. ''Steep'' made its premiere in the Spotlight Section of the 2007

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

. In North America, ''Steep'' was acquired by

Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American arthouse film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloo ...

and released to DVD on 18 March 2008.

Cast and crew

Written and directed by Mark Obenhaus, ''Steep'' is narrated by American actor

Peter Krause Peter William Krause (; born August 12, 1965) is an American actor, director, and producer. He has held leading roles across multiple acclaimed television series, portraying Casey McCall on '' Sports Night'' (1998–2000), Nate Fisher on '' Si ...

as well as ski mountaineer and historian Louis Dawson. William A. Kerig is a co-producer and story creator. It includes interviews and narratives provided by, and footage of, well known ski personalities including Bill Briggs,

Doug Coombs Doug Coombs (September 24, 1957 – April 3, 2006) was an American alpine skier and mountaineer who helped to pioneer the sport of extreme skiing, both in North America and worldwide. Early life and education Coombs was born in Boston and gre ...

Lou Dawson and

Glen Plake Glen Plake (born September 9, 1964) is a US National Ski Hall of Fame skier. He grew up in Lake Tahoe, skiing Heavenly Valley. He is known for his appearances in ski films such as Greg Stump's ''The Blizzard of Aahhhs''. Plake has been named a p ...

. It also notably stars

Shane McConkey Shane McConkey (December 30, 1969 – March 26, 2009) was a professional skier and BASE jumping, BASE jumper. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and eventually based himself in Olympic Valley, California. Due to an itinerant childhood, he ...

, Seth Morrison,

Andrew McClean Andrew McClean is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Cill Chartha and the Donegal county team. Playing career Club With his club Cill Chartha, McClean won the 2012 Donegal Minor Football Championship. McClean won the 2017 Donegal Seni ...

, Eric Pehota, Rick Armstrong, Ingrid Backstrom,

Stefano De Benedetti Stefano is the Italian form of the masculine given name Στέφανος (Stefanos, Stephen). The name is of Greek origin, Στέφανος, meaning a person who made a significant achievement and has been crowned. In Orthodox Christianity the ach ...

Anselme Baud Anselme is both a French masculine given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Nicolas Anselme Baptiste (1761–1835), French actor * Anselme Bellegarrigue (1813–), French anarchist * Anselme Brusa (1899–196 ...

, Chris Davenport and Emily Coombs, amongst others. In a 2008 interview with ''

National Geographic Adventure Nat Geo People (short for National Geographic People) is an international pay television channel owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%). Targeted a ...

'', Mark Obenhaus spoke of the importance of both Bill Briggs' and

' presence in the film, saying:

"In a sense, between the two of them, we felt that we could almost see the whole sport evolving. That was the moment we thought, Ah-ha, this is the story we want to tell."

Critical reception

''Steep'' received generally mixed reviews from critics. As of July 2010

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reports that 51% of 41 professional critics have given the film a positive review, the consensus was "Steep is a mixed bag of breathtaking mountain footage and yawn-inducing banter." ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reviewer Stephen Holden says of ''Steep'':

"The movie... is an undeniably impressive visual spectacle".

John Anderson of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' says:

"''Steep'' has its moments. Some are exhilarating, others seemingly insane. But the movie also feels like a sermon... they’re sliding down hills on two sticks. It should be fun. So should ''Steep.''", but praises the film's production with, "Production values are phenomenal."Steep
Variety

References

External links

*
Review of Steep
The Guardian
Steep
The Documentary Group 'Steep' Project Page
Mark Obenhaus
Biography on 'The Documentary Group' website {{DEFAULTSORT:Steep (2007 Film) 2007 films American sports documentary films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films Films scored by Anton Sanko English-language documentary films Sony Pictures Classics films