something showing people challenging themselves/ having an adventure in the outdoors.
I normally recommend The Barkley Marathons on Netflix as it is just a good documentary - prob 3rd time I've mentioned it on here. Finding Traction is also a good watch about an ultra runner pushing her limits, which I found fascinating.
[Edit] Maidentrip has just popped up on my recommendations too, which is the self documented story of the 14 year old sailing the globe - you might remember it in the news at the time. Really inspirational.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01fcncc
Sadly not available on iplayer at the moment, but well worth seeking out.
Valley Uprising - a history of the Yosemite climbing scene done in the same style as Dogtown and Z-Boys etc.
Hoop Dreams. I have no interest in basketball, but this is a superb film. Dunno if it's still available.
Maidentrip has just popped up on my recommendations too, which is the self documented story of the 14 year old sailing the globe - you might remember it in the news at the time. Really inspirational.
Never heard of this until now. Just had a look at some footage and one of her talks. Absolutely insane. Going to hunt down the film.
Another vote for Berkeley marathons on Netflix. Thought it was brilliant.
And also undefeated, American football documentary and brilliantly done. Moved me to tears in points
Berkeley Marathons is a great film. One of my fave sports docus is 'The Birth of Big Air' - see the Condor fly.
A Sunday In Hell. Ready for tomorrow...
Not everyone's cup of tea but the LA doc on Netflix is excellent. Stop At Nothing.
Ride the divide was really enjoyable. Good insite into what the tour divide might be like to compete in.
All I can is beautifully made. I'm not interested in skiing generally but there's some epic cinematography and a great soundtrack
If you like swearing and the exciting setting of stoke I enjoyed the Eddie hall one on netflix
Hoop Dreams is great.
Saw this short and unassuming documentary film of urban adventure, ie two friends simply decide to skateboard from Boston to New York. For some reason it really stuck in my head..
Red army - film about Russian ice hockey in the 70's and 80's at the height of the Cold War and Russia's almost military approach to sport at the time. A lot more interesting than it sounds
Unchained: the story of freestyle motorcross - about the underground / alternative motorcross 'Krusty' scene in the 80's and 90's away from all the glitz and showmanship of stadium motorcross.
Dark horse - a bar maid in a poor Welsh valleys town convinces the locals to form a syndicate and buy a race horse, they can only afford a nag that everyone else had written off and goes on to do rather well. Uplifting story about how sport springs people together and takes them away from their day to day troubles
Tracks - not a documentary, but a bio pic of a young girl who decides to buy and train camels and walk them across the Australian desert. Bit of a similar dynamic to maiden voyage
Second for valley up rising and maiden voyage.
I enjoyed "Crash Reel", its the story of Kevin Pearce's accident just before the Turin Winter Olympics.
If you want to see people pushing limits during the birth of a new sport, Signal Hill Speed Run on Redbull.tv. It's the story of the first downhill skateboard race.
https://www.redbull.tv/film/AP-1MZQY4CTN1W11/the-signal-hill-speed-run
Redbull.tv is a good place for sports films generally.
Half the Road - about women's cycling.
A Sunday in Hell is brilliant.
Watched "K2: Siren of the Himalayas" on Prime a while back. Beautiful to look at, terrifying to contemplate doing it myself!
To bookmark. Thanks folks
The ESPN series 30 for 30 is excellent
Riding Giants, big wave surfing doc.
Some great ideas so far.
Check this out
Splinters is an unusual sports documentary a hard watch in places for sure but an interesting look into a culture I knew nothing about.
Just marking ti watch them all
The ESPN 30 30 documentaries are good, I really like 4 days in October about the Boston Red Sox and the come back against the Evil Empire
That k2 and Splinters look good, I have already seen the Barkley marathons and enjoyed it, also seen ride the divide (and the other films by the same guy) enjoyed the cinematography but found something off with the presentation of the people. I think there is a better film to be made about that style adventure riding.
@Paton why not actually recommend something, rather than just spamming with everything you can find on youtube.
Interested
Diving into the Unknown....
Cave diving 'adventure' from Finland (& Norway)
I stumbled onto this and it certainly is quite stimulating for a range of reasons (which I don't want to spoil)
Bookmarking
Lots of good ideas. Thanks.
I watched Generation Iron on Netflix about body building.
Totally misunderstood and unknown sport. For this reason it was fascinating and really interesting.
So Much good stuff on this thread....Bump for the bank holiday 🙂
Riding Giants
Billabong Odyssey - both great surf documentaries
Dogtown and the Z-Boys - great skate documentary
Doesn't matter if you are into surfing or skateboarding, all are great documentaries anyway
Valley Uprising on Yosemite climbing
Nicky Spinks' double Bob Graham http://tv.thebmc.co.uk/videos/nicky-spinks-bob-graham-round/
Ooh that's cool, and linked from that bmc have some other good videos as well, nice resource for this kind of stuff I never realised existed.
Mountaineering - Meru. Just awesome!
Just watched Valley uprising on netflix, what a great film that is, some of the shit those guys got/get up to scares the shit out of me.
Always wished I had got into rock climbing when I was younger, although I always have had a fear of heights I don't know if it would have cured me or if I would have just bottled it at my first go.
Riding Giants
Dogtown & Z-Boys
Anyone else bookmark this after 3 replies. 🙂
Anyone got anything new or so far unmentioned? I am in the mood for more sports/adventure documentaries again.
Andrew Taylor's Alaska or bus't
Nowt like what's already been suggested on a different lower level of adventure but adventure non the less and some great riding.
Watched Finding Traction in Netflix yesterday.
That is a determined lady.
I felt some of the emotion with her I think.
Last Chance University on Netflix is good.
Take your pic of climbing ones on Red Bull tv.
Also mountains, extreme speed stuff, etc.
The best that never was .....NFL documentary intriguing story check it out ..Marcus dupree is the subject
Icarus on Netflix
Unbelievable.
Another vote for hoop dreams. Its the first thought when I saw the title
+1 for Riding Giants.
Anyone got anything new to add to the list?
any recent mountain biking films? not really seen anything that tickled my fancy since unreal, i was quite disappointed by deathgrip.
The Fall was on not so long ago, very good...
This one about the 100m in Soul Olympics is good too...
The birth of big air
Into Twin Galaxies on RedBullTV is worth a watch.
There was a film on recently called Mountain. It was based on Robert McFarlane's Mountains of the Mind book. It is narrated by Willem Defoe and most of the cinematography is by Renan Ozturk. It is on tour at the moment and is simply stunning on a big screen. Go and see it if you can, the score is brilliant too.
It is downloadable now but the big screen experience with full sound is amazing.
"The Fall" is excellent. Left me feeling strangely sad after watching it. Budd was manipulated and treated terribly. The protests at Arrowe park (a training ground of mine) were awful and as a teenager she should never have been exposed to that. I watched the race live and remember the incident clearly. Decker rallied the media against Budd and took on the role of victim. The image of her being carried away by her huge discuss throwing husband became one of the stand out images of the 84 Olympics. I also came to feel sorry for Decker who now cant run at all. Through all the typical US hyperbole the message was clear. She would just love to go out jogging with her friends but Arthritis stops her. As a runner seeing her sitting in the stands watching the children running around the track was incredibly sad. The scene at the end where they met on the track was powerful and brought a tear to my eye and made me quite reflective.
Anyway another favorite of mine (Ovett is a here of mine) 3 parts in total.
Can...not...wait...for...this....
https://www.ridebmx.com/videos/jimmy-levan-go-fast-pull-documentary-trailer/
senna
Ice Guardians on Netflix is interesting. 2 hour long doc about the role of fighting in ice hockey. It's the first time I think the players' view has been aired in any serious way.
Ice Guardians is worth a look.
'The Weight Cut: Extreme Weight Loss' on iPlayer is worth a look.
Andy Cave/Distilled is on Amazon Prime now. Scottish winter climbing.
https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/ukc/moonraker_-_the_first_ascent_of_the_old_redoubt-674363 - Pat Littlejohn on Moonraker and revisited exactly 50 years later with his grandaughter
LENGTH OF SWEDEN is an endurance ride documentary—following Erik Nohlin, Rita Jett and Kristian Hallberg on the Sverigetempot randonée along the endless, monotonously spine of sparsely populated Scandinavia.
Let it ride , the Craig Kelly story
Changed the world of snowboarding and one of the few people who were thought of as a legend in their own lifetime
+1 rmacatack. Senna. I've not got a lot of interest or knowledge of F1 et al, but this doc is excellent. Footage of those massively powerful cars from the eighties/nineties? ... awesome.
Another vote here for Meru
Reel Rock on Red bull TV is a good series
+1 on the Jimmy levan
any recent mountain biking films?
Where The Trail Ends. - Loved it, in fact the ONLY MTBing film I've ever watched.
Slaying the Badger is pretty good - the tale of Greg LeMond trying to overcome Bernard Hinault at theTdF.
Also try - Freedom's Fury. The story of the 1956 water polo match between Hungary and the USSR which happened a few days after the Hungarian uprising.
Then the more obvious: Touching the Void, When We Were Kings and Hoop Dreams.
Not mentioned yet, all must-watches in my opinion:
King Of Kong (2007) - Retro gaming, very much structured as a sports documentary
Murderball (2005) - Wheelchair rugby
Next Goal Wins (2014) - American Samoa's football team
The Summit (2012) - Mountaineering
Tickled (2016) - Competitive tickling (yes really, more an investigative journalism film but excellent)
I’ll echo the Red Army ice hockey recommendation earlier in the thread and also ice guardians.
Last of the Gladiators is along the lines of ice guardians but focuses more on one guy, very good watch.
Battered b*****ds of baseball is also very good.
Road and isle of Mann closer to the edge are both excellent, the speed these guys ride on the road is insane, mind totally blown when watching the onboard footage... and I ride motorbikes! Found myself leaning into the corners with them 😆
MERU on Netflix and other streaming sites is a good watch
