Freeriders (NR)

synopsis

The latest Warren Miller movie soars into the nation's theaters for the 49th consecutive year. The name, "Freeriders," is vividly descriptive of the soaring spirit inherent in a film whose stars seem to spend as much time high above the snow than actually on it. This theme reaches an apex with a wild simultaneous flip by nine famous aerialists, led by Olympic champion Jonny Moseley. "Society tells us there's no such thing as a free ride, but there's plenty of us who are free riders," Miller quips in the poignant, often humorous, tone that is as familiar as the sound of steel edges on snow. The launch also includes high-flying Lindsey Van, who, at age 13, already has jumped the length of a football field. Snowboard ace Craig Kelly goes airborne through he chutes of the Lizard Range in British Columbia and riders fly off jagged cliffs against the exotic backdrop of Courchevel, France. For the ultimate excitement, the film crew journeys past Tromso, Norway, 200 miles beyond the Arctic Circle, to a mountain that plunges nearly 5,000 vertical feet straight into a narrow fjord. There, beneath the midnight sun, a jolly band of skiers, riders and free-heelers frolic and flip down a super-steep slope where the slightest slip seemingly will take them straight into the ocean. Bad for the bindings we're told.