5 Brilliant Hollywood Ski Scenes
A selection the best ski film clips from Hollywood films
Skiing and cinema have had a bit of a rocky relationship over the years. Need I mention 80s nightmare ski-flick ‘Hotdog’ or the more recent avalanche of cringe that was ‘Chalet Girl’?
However, sometimes they get it just about right, whether this is for the best or the worst reasons. Below is a selection of ski scenes from movies that I have enjoyed over the years. Some are enjoyable if only for their over the top absurdity and others are pure class. Either way, I defy you not to crack a smile (or a grimace) during the following clips...
[Click on the links to see the film clips]
Leo and the girl from Juno [Ellen Page] attempt to destroy a snow covered dream fortress while sleeping in the back of a van. At least I think that’s what is going on here. All I know is it has made me want to go skiing with a weighted ball on the end of a rope.
This is a wonderful film and it contains quite possibly my favourite ski chase scene of all time. Not least because of Willem Dafoe’s delightfully deranged portrayal of Jopling. Snippets of the chase can be seen in this interview with Wes Anderson where a producer of the film succinctly describes the technical process of creating the scene, “Camera on skateboard wheels, upside down, pushing it with a stick.”
This makes it in because I like the idea of families settling down for a lovely evening of Disney Princesses and jolly talking snowmen set to the sound of heart-warming classics such as ‘Let It Go’, only to be greeted by a woman struggling to do just that when she falls asleep and wakes to find her hand frozen onto the safety bar. Let it go, indeed. Viewer discretion advised.
There are numerous classic Bond ski scenes to choose from and all of them have their moments. Brosnan takes it for me here, though, largely because of the tekkers that he and his fur-clad lady friend exhibit in the opening minute. Absolute textbook. It’s worth watching all the way through though, Brosnan’s straight-faced one liners are a lovely reminder of the tongue-in-cheek cheese fest that a Bond film can be… “See you back at the lodge.”
As tempted as I was to include the “Oh look. Frost.” scene (you know the one) I actually prefer the scene where Harry gets over exciting during a snowball fight with Mary. Having spent several winters in the mountains I have seen more than a fair few snowball fights get out of hand and there is nothing quite like the guilty realisation on a guy's face when he realises he has gone one step too far. It’s gonna take more than a vin chaud and a crepe to fix this one, pal.
BONUS SCENE BELOW:
I’m afraid I couldn’t leave out this opening scene from ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ in which Roger Moore, dressed as a chicken, uses a ski pole gun and goes base jumping – all backed by a 70's funk version of the Bond theme. Spectacular stuff.
Merry Christmas!
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