The legend that is David Benedek
A DIFFERENT TAKE ON THE SNOWBOARD MOVIE….
In the early to mid noughties David Benedek was (and still is) a legend on the slopes. He amazed us with his inspirational video parts in the Robot Food movies (Afterbang, Lame, Afterlame) plus he was one of the first to start experimenting with double corks.
So when it was announced in 2004 he and Christoph Weber would be directing a new snowboard movie actually about snowboarding, you can imagine the level of anticipation that gripped the whole snowboard world. What made the whole event even more amazing was that the movie would be given away for FREE!
Original ’91 Words For Snow’ Cover
Released in November 2005, ’91 Words For Snow’ (a reference to the perceived number from the Inuit language) featured riders such as Shaun White, Jeremy Jones, David Benedek, Nicolas Mueller, Freddy Kalbermatten and Christoph Weber. So there was some serious shred quality in there to start with.
What made this different though was that the movie was one of the first to take a documentary style approach and arguably one of the few that actually got it right.
Riders gave open, honest and actually interesting interviews regarding the sport and why they love it so much. It’s a very real and humble feel with the 16mm format adding to that vibe. You see the reality behind the ‘landed first time’ video parts with riders scared to drop hits first, being hesitant about dropping an off piste face or maching in to a jump at 120km/h+ and not making it to the landing. This level of insight was unheard of at the time and allowed you to gain a whole new respect for the rider. Jeremy Jones’ sections make you feel like part of a backcountry safety course, promoting a healthy respect for mother nature especially after the opening sequence.
It is just an awesome movie that you want to watch the whole way through never getting bored, then you come away feeling stoked and itching to get back on your board. And for those reasons ’91 Words For Snow’ is an all time classic!
