IT IS NOT OFTEN that a simple movie about mountain biking racing manages to captures so much insight into the the intensely competitive world of downhill mountain bike racing, somehow Clay Porter have not only managed to record some incredible racing footage of the 2007 World Cup racing season, but also capture the comments from star riders in their own words, the respect for their rivals, how they deal with the pressure of racing and what drives them on to be the world's fastest riders. But most importantly, what they have learnt through their journey of being a professional athletes and why they take so much risk busting their butts so hard year after year for so little money. OF COURSE, getting the racers to talk about themselves is not a new concept, the Collective series of mountain biking movie touched on the subject with their free riding stars in the The Collective, Roam and most recently, The Seasons. Clay Porter on the other hand went one step further capturing the intricate details and recording the human factors that cannot be seen in race results or glossy magazines. The first few movies, "Synopsis" and "Hypnosis" were a bit rough on the edge (in a good way) but the recent "Between the Tapes" and this latest episode "F1RST" are some truly remarkable filming work by Clay Porter, who have managed to produce these movies nearly single handedly without help.
WHEREAS the Earthed series of mountain bike DVD will excite you with its crazy paced footage and English twist of humour, The Collective series satisfying your artistic sense with it's immaculate cinematography of riders in their element in amazing backdrops, Clay Porter's mountain biking movies are far more satisfying to watch because they not only captured the life at the pointy end of international competition racing against no one except the clock, but also the human side of the sport which is both incredibly intense yet at times elegantly fragile.
Simply brilliant and a must watch for mountain bike fans. The ending chapter in itself is worth the cost of the DVD alone.
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