Outside Now! - Alastair Lee

Welcome to a new regular, irregular feature on the site - Outside Now! It's a chance to find out what people in the outdoors world think about the big issues, small issues. non issues and well, just what they think.

To kick it off, multi award-winning climbing film maker Alastair Lee takes us through his top five climbing films of all time - you never know, one might even make an excellent Christmas gift surprise too. Over to you, Al :-)

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Being a maker of climbing films, naturally, I can’t stand them! In that I’m too close to the subject matter and the way its produced to possibly just sit down and watch a climbing film and take it at face value. I tend to sit there thinking the editing could be tighter, climbing is so boring to watch and oh boy, who chose this music! However poor music, lack of production values, story or genuinely gripping footage aside here are five climbing dvds I did make it to the end of!

5. Stone Monkey/Indian Face – Although now over 20 years old this dvd is a classic and a must see. The filming and production is competent and still holds together well however the real wizard behind this magic is the one and only Johnny Dawes, they just don’t make like that anymore. Johnny was a one off in the climbing world, not only the style in which he climbs but his complex philosophy on the subject is unrivalled. The film itself is perhaps the most profound in the genre, nothing else has really come close to getting to the bottom of why on earth an individual would climb. Poignant, spectacular and some of the best ‘real time’ climbing you’ll see in the cumulative scene as Johnny climbs the outrageous Quarryman.

The Indian Face documentary on the same dvd is also superb covering as it does the original battle for the ascent of the Indian Face on Cloggy between legends John Redhead - they don’t make ‘em like him anymore either!) and Johnny Dawes, Fascination and historically a very important film with the perfect voice over from Jim Perin.

4. Touching the Void – Okay hard to compare this to your average non-budget climbing dvd but worthy for a mention in that for a big budget film about climbing it actually gets it right and doesn’t end up as an accidental mockumentary. Narrative being everything in film (or so some think) you can’t go far wrong with one of the greatest tales of survival ever told. This adaptation of Joe Simpson’s best seller lived upto the precedent delivering stunning cinematography with a beautifully paced narrative that draws you in and keep you hooked right to the end, and that’s when you know what’s going to happen before you get anywhere near the cinema. Be warned though you may never go mountaineering again!

3. Hard Grit - Now 10 years old and although starting to look a little dated is still hard to beat and stands out a classic. Captured the Brit pop era of British Gritstone climbing in the late 1990’s with an all star cast most of whom were in there prime. Although many of the routes in the film are now being soloed and climbed in much better style  - ground up or flashed - you can’t take away from the gripping atmosphere throughout the film that what we are seeing is very dangerous and a slice of climbing history. From the harrowing opening scene of what happens if you fall off Gaia from the crux to Seb Grieve vocalising his internal dialogue as he shakes his way up Meshuga almost every scene in this film is as strong as the last, which in climbing is very difficult to pull off.

2. First Ascent – Pete Mortimer completely raised the bar with this film from 2006 where his two more recent films ‘King Lines’ and most recently ‘The Sharp End’ have continued in a similar vain. Simply amazing camera work and spectacular action combined with an unbelievable array of climbing stars in international locations. Helicopters, boom shots massive falls its all in there, add Pete’s superb post-production and you really can’t go wrong. Might be a bit ‘American’ for some tastes, I’m sure when these guys get to heaven’s gates, God will be like ‘yeah that was good but did you have to shout about it so much?’ Send it dude…. well stick it in your dvd player anyway.

1. Parollelajams (Return 2 Sender) US producer Pete Mortimer hogs the top two, second up is his classic from 2005 from the dvd ‘Return 2 Sender’. Although the dvd contains a collection of films, including the delights of Biscuit the dog climbing many boulder problems and some amazing BASE jumping before everyman and his, well camera, started jumping off things, filming it and calling it a film. The stand out act is the climbing film ‘Paralellojams’  set in Utah’s crack climbing paradise Indian Creek.

Not only does this film showcase Pete’s trademark production, IE brilliant camerawork, editing and music its hilariously funny as US funny man Timmy O’Neil fronts the film in his inimitable style, we also get to learn about the subtleties of crack climbing and to see some of the most spectacular climbing action you’ll ever witness. The final ground up sequence as the team attempt to grab the second ascent of a Tommy Caldwell’s classic is total heart in your mouth stuff. There’s a lot of reasons why this film is my fave, maybe its because when I saw it I was just getting going with my own climbing films and it had a big impact on me, its also just got this spirit and focus about it that’s hard to quantify.

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Alastair Lee is a multi-award winning film maker, with his latest, On Sight, taking two prizes, including the Grand Prize for best overall film at this year's Kendal Mountain Festival. You can find out more and indeed buy his own DVDs and others - like the above - at www.posingproductions.com