- Tue Nov 04, 2008 9:51 pm
#96422
"Holy Cow!" The Soaranator hit this one out of the park with the bases loaded!
My copy of the DVD arrived while I was on the phone with the IRS trying to sort out a client's tax debacles. So, when I didn't have to pull up any remote client files I popped that precious jewel into the DVD carousel and fired up VLC Media Player, concluded my conversation, held all calls, deferred all emails, and proceeded to take a trip back though time that only David Tenet could possibly muster in his Tardis.
The first thing I will say is this: keep the DVD playing after the credits are over! This video was edited to play on the big screen as a feature length documentary. This was not done in the current style of video and film production. Nearly all of the footage is from the '70s and it has the style and feel of that era. I felt as if I had been transported to an art house movie theater as I watched in amazement at the unfolding history of the sport that I had experienced in large part, in the same fashion as the Midwestern skateboarding wannabes did that were portrayed in Dog Town and Z-Boys. And that is because I was the same age as Tony Alva and hung out with other skaters who tried to emulate him. I went through the same phases with hang gliding and I was about the same age as many of the teenage innovators portrayed in Big Blue Sky.
Rather than critique the movie I'd like to share my seat of the pants experience of watching it. It was very much a seat of the pants movie going experience and the soundtrack and narration totally fit the picture and set the mood. I could watch it again just to hear the great rhythms and beats and pulsating sounds. I relived much of the trajectory of the sport’s history in vicarious and almost voyeuristic way. At one point the film took a savage turn that gave me a jolt. I became concerned that it would be a let down from that point forward but I was instead pleasantly rewarded with a look into it’s pulse and story that I was tangentially involved in at the time. Although I did encounter my share of the dismal experience too.
Why am I not telling you what was going on? Because you don’t need to know. You need to watch this movie for yourself and ride it out through all its twists and turns and tumbles and core its bountiful lift and dodge its sink. Ultimately Big Blue Sky lifts the spirit in so many ways. I felt connected with its narrators as if I’ve know these individuals all along. I felt the exhilarations and the devastating losses and the transformations into its present form.
I feel this film is best watched on as big a screen as it can be played on, and with as many friends as one can muster. It is both a personal and a shared journey that should not be put off. Now go buy a copy for yourself and/or your club. Don’t wait to rent it or be the eighth in line to borrow it. And for God’s sake do not pirate it! This was clearly a labor of love and reflects a tremendous amount of time and effort not only on Bill “Soaranator” Liscomb’s part but on many others as well. I hope he wins the ultimate film fest award of hooking up with a good distributor who gets it out there where the public at large can enjoy the same journey and even take the next step of coming out for a tandem lesson in your neighborhood. http://www.bigblueskythemovie.com/
Cheers, Jonathan
My copy of the DVD arrived while I was on the phone with the IRS trying to sort out a client's tax debacles. So, when I didn't have to pull up any remote client files I popped that precious jewel into the DVD carousel and fired up VLC Media Player, concluded my conversation, held all calls, deferred all emails, and proceeded to take a trip back though time that only David Tenet could possibly muster in his Tardis.
The first thing I will say is this: keep the DVD playing after the credits are over! This video was edited to play on the big screen as a feature length documentary. This was not done in the current style of video and film production. Nearly all of the footage is from the '70s and it has the style and feel of that era. I felt as if I had been transported to an art house movie theater as I watched in amazement at the unfolding history of the sport that I had experienced in large part, in the same fashion as the Midwestern skateboarding wannabes did that were portrayed in Dog Town and Z-Boys. And that is because I was the same age as Tony Alva and hung out with other skaters who tried to emulate him. I went through the same phases with hang gliding and I was about the same age as many of the teenage innovators portrayed in Big Blue Sky.
Rather than critique the movie I'd like to share my seat of the pants experience of watching it. It was very much a seat of the pants movie going experience and the soundtrack and narration totally fit the picture and set the mood. I could watch it again just to hear the great rhythms and beats and pulsating sounds. I relived much of the trajectory of the sport’s history in vicarious and almost voyeuristic way. At one point the film took a savage turn that gave me a jolt. I became concerned that it would be a let down from that point forward but I was instead pleasantly rewarded with a look into it’s pulse and story that I was tangentially involved in at the time. Although I did encounter my share of the dismal experience too.
Why am I not telling you what was going on? Because you don’t need to know. You need to watch this movie for yourself and ride it out through all its twists and turns and tumbles and core its bountiful lift and dodge its sink. Ultimately Big Blue Sky lifts the spirit in so many ways. I felt connected with its narrators as if I’ve know these individuals all along. I felt the exhilarations and the devastating losses and the transformations into its present form.
I feel this film is best watched on as big a screen as it can be played on, and with as many friends as one can muster. It is both a personal and a shared journey that should not be put off. Now go buy a copy for yourself and/or your club. Don’t wait to rent it or be the eighth in line to borrow it. And for God’s sake do not pirate it! This was clearly a labor of love and reflects a tremendous amount of time and effort not only on Bill “Soaranator” Liscomb’s part but on many others as well. I hope he wins the ultimate film fest award of hooking up with a good distributor who gets it out there where the public at large can enjoy the same journey and even take the next step of coming out for a tandem lesson in your neighborhood. http://www.bigblueskythemovie.com/
Cheers, Jonathan