I was there.
The movie was truly amazing, the crowd sat in rapt silence for two hours and erupted at the end. Of course that was probably due to Alex being there with Jimmy and Chai.
It was a little heavy on the girlfriend drama for me, but that is part of his story they want to tell.
The camera work was excellent, and how the film crew fit in to the whole picture was an important part of the story.
It was a story of a perilous journey and the preparation for it.
Legal drone footage of El Cap, I mean c’mon... we would all watch two hours of just that, so this climbing story is just a bonus!
Great job guys, tremendous effort Alex!
As Mark Synnott said in the film,”I can’t believe what I just witnessed.”
The film was shown in the city park for free on Saturday evening. Someone told me there were 1600 people watching.. That number sounds big to me but it was definitely packed! The crowd seemed to appreciate the film.
You do not need a pass to enjoy TIFF . . . there are numerous free screening opportunities. There are significant efforts made to provide opportunity for all. Best to the FS movie team!
I saw Free Solo in Telluride, and the audience reaction was amazing. Alex,even more than the film itself, got a standing ovation for his achievement. I spoke to both climbers and non-climbers who saw it, and the word that best described their reaction is "awe."
I personally loved it. Amazing photography. The film team - directors, photographers, and editors - did a great job of telling the story and capturing the action. I had some seriously sweaty fingers for the money shot climbing sequences; I should have brought my chalk bag! Alex is some kind of freak, but you gotta worry about that boy's future...
Climbers may have a somewhat mixed reaction to all the background/love life/biographic detail in the movie. The actual solo takes up about 30% of a 90 minute movie. I guess that comes with the territory when turning a record of the climb into a feature length film. But overall, ya gotta see this movie, its something else.
BTW,the lowest level pass for the festival is $390. In fact,you can skip the pass and pay $35 per film, but this year they often filled up before non-pass holders could get in. In any case, for most people, the cost of the pass is minor compared to the cost of transportation and lodging. Telluride is expensive. A great, unique film festival though.
The non-climbing audience is endlessly confused about the details of free climbing vs free soloing, but they seem to be reacting positively to the films.
The list of screening locations on NatGeo’s site will be updated as more venues are announced. What is currently listed is by no means all of the shows. So the people asking about locations should just sit tight a little bit longer.
The notion of God is absent from Free Solo. With a movie like this, the audience might expect a scene where everyone is praying for your safety. But you’re not into that?
No, I’m very anti-religion. I think it’s all just medieval superstition. Religion relies on some desire for a spiritual connection and I do get that from just being out in Yosemite. I get that feeling of grandeur and awe in the world sitting on a cliff at sunset, watching the mountains glow pink, that a lot of people get through religious faith.
Do you think that your being an atheist is linked to your attitude about death?
I’ve certainly thought about my mortality more than most. I think some people turn to faith as a crutch, to avoid thinking about mortality — you know, “Well, I’ll carry on forever in some eternal kingdom.” But the harder thing is to stare into the abyss and understand that when it’s over, it’s over.
in the trailer the man saying " I can not believe you guys actually watching it" and close his face is this Mikey Schaefer ?
I can not stop watching trailer. like JLP I watched it more than 50 times for the frame where music stopped and only sound of Honnold's breathing below the camera..
Yep, Alexey that is me. I will be forever known as the camera man that can't even watch what he is shooting... At least they didn't put the part in there of me crying due to the stress.
I think you will be surprised with how many people in the audience still can't actually watch it! I've sat through numerous screenings with large audiences, the best part of the show for me is watching how many people cover their face. And If they aren't covering their face they are often sitting with their mouth gaping wide open in awe. That being said I still haven't seen it with a crowd full of climbers. Wish I could of seen it at Facelift to see how people react.
Heads up that the Nat Geo page for Screenings of Free Solo may not be accurate.
I've been watching the page for my theater in Seattle which is still listed as screening October 12.
The theater actually starts screening September 28 and runs for a week.
I think you will be surprised with how many people in the audience still can't actually watch it! I've sat through numerous screenings with large audiences, the best part of the show for me is watching how many people cover their face. And If they aren't covering their face they are often sitting with their mouth gaping wide open in awe. That being said I still haven't seen it with a crowd full of climbers. Wish I could of seen it at Facelift to see how people react.
I was at the Facelift screening on Tuesday. I didn’t look at anyone else’s reaction in the audience, but I can tell you that my body language and facial expressions perfectly matched yours in the film. I watched half of it through the gaps between my sweaty fingers. Knowing the outcome made no difference for me. I think I aged 10 years watching it. Respect to all involved.
"He says he has the opposite experience from the audiences," Chin said. "Everybody loves the love story and him as a fascinating documentary character and then are cringing during the climb. He loves the climbing footage and cringes during everything else."
If it were a close friend in real time and I did not know the outcome as these guys didn't, I too probably would have had a hard time watching.
My reaction in the theater was the opposite, though. I started growling at the Boulder Problem. When he hit that 5.6 hand crack at the last exposed section of the route, when it's truly over, I was nearly that guy in the theater to yell out "fuk yeah".
Saw the movie in Boulder last night. I'm still in awe. Super well done and unbelievable photography. I can't imagine everything involved to make this happen, both from Alex and the film crew, but the movie showed a glimpse of the intensity of this achievement.
I don't think I would have been able to watch if I didn't know the outcome. The footage of Mikey really helped to humanize and show the raw power and intensity of what Alex was attempting to complete.
I loved everything.
Thank you to everyone involved!
Heads up that the Nat Geo page for Screenings of Free Solo may not be accurate.
I've been watching the page for my theater in Seattle which is still listed as screening October 12.
The theater actually starts screening September 28 and runs for a week.
Regal Cinema removed the film from their website. Sounds like they are now back to Oct 12.
They could have told me not to come to the theater tonight. They have my email that they sent the confirmation to. Weird.
Our 12-year old and I biked to the Century Theatre in Boulder Saturday night for the 5pm showing (p.s. don't bring a pannier...apparently it's a security risk). In a bike town.
What struck me is that we were sitting in the theater with the full knowledge of what will happen, and 1: that didn't lessen the impact of the (limited) footage of the soloed route; and 2: those who were actually there that day — like Mikey — didn't have that luxury. I suspect I would have turned away if my telephoto framed someone I had grown to appreciate.
Saw it at the 3pm showing at the Hollywood Arclight. PERFECT place to see a movie with those kind of visuals. Alex did Q&A afterwards which was a real treat.
Mikey, at least half our audience was climbers (Alex asked for a show of hands and one point and was impressed that in Hollywood there were that many of us...I think is response was "legit.") You could tell the climbers from non-climbers at certain points. When Dean Potter peeled off that free solo in Sweden and was freefalling until he pulled his chute, the non-climbers were gasping in horror (those of us who saw it in Reel Rock knew what was going on).
Great audience made up of people who climb and know Alex's story and others who were just outdoors/adventure lovers or NetGeo fans interested in the story. Everyone seemed to know that it was successful going into it in one way or another and that he wasn't going to die. Those visuals though...OMG, Mikey I can't believe how stressful it would have been to watch him climb it live. There were some cheers when he got the boulder problem, but I think that's cause the audience was on such full stoke. For most of his free solo experiences you could have heard a pin drop the theater audience was that silent and involved.
In the Q&A Alex revealed that cheap fridge he put in his Vegas house over Sanni's wishes crapped out after two months and they got a proper one. He said having a film crew following them around a Home Depot shopping for it was by far the weirdest and hardest part to shoot. He was okay with it in the Yosemite environments but outside of it filming made him feel weird. He said they also followed him to the Nevada DMV to register his van and everyone at the DMV looked at him like "who is this guy who needs 2 camera and a boom?" for an everyday task. That scene didn't make it into the film.
I saw it last Tuesday at the FaceLift in the Auditorium, where the audience is always a bit more expressive than the Theatre (four showings to get everyone through).
There was rapt attention during the scenes of the solo, I'm at a loss to describe what other audience members were doing because I was totally pulled into the movie. For me the side shots of Alex's feet on the Free Blast slabs, showing both the angle and the relative lack of noticeable holds evoked a lot of angst.
But certainly those were not even close to the hardest sequences.
Speaking for myself as a climber, I could relate to the experience of soloing, and the feelings that it go along with a particularly hard solo, the intense focus, the flow, the feeling of mastery, dealing with anxiety and fear. This was discussed in the movie, but I'm not sure that non-climbers could even imagine what it was like.
Mikey said in one of the scenes: "it was Alex's best day, and my worst..."
I have to admit I missed the whole thing, climbing in the Valley that day we walked at a distance past the van of one of the camera men we knew and decided not to interrupt the discussion. On Sunday we stopped by Tom's scope and he asked what I thought of the event, 'what happened?' to which Tom opined that we were probably the only two climbers on the planet that didn't know.
It is a remarkable accomplishment, and the movie is a great record of what went into it.
Alex answered questions after all the showings, very gracious, it was an apt locale to see the movie.
The attendees of the evening showing in Boulder last night were like a who's who of front range climbers and our climbing community. I saw the Weidners, Connie Self, Bill Wright, Stefan Griebel, Nick Rosen, and many others. I didn't know what to expect, but I didn't expect as much silence and seriousness from the audience, and I think that's a testament to the storytelling and to Alex's accomplishment.
It was awesome to see Jimmy, Mikey, Cheyne, Keith, Clair, Sam, Jim, our pal Josh Huckaby and everyone else on the crew doing such incredible work to tell this story with care and sensitivity, and clearly Chai is a powerhouse. Congratulations to everyone. Won't surprise me at all if you all walk away with an Oscar for this one.
For me the most unsettling portion of the film was a segment where Alex talked about what drives him, and he said something to the effect that there's a fair bit of self loathing that underlies soloing – and it seemed like he was implying that applied to himself as well. The comment came and went quickly, but it rattled me, and continues to.
One interesting fact shared last night: as of this opening week for the film, it's already on track to being the highest-grossing documentary film ever. Of course it has a long way to go to surpass Fahrenheit 9/11 for lifetime earnings, but the film is already making serious waves...
silverplume -- "For me, the most unsettling portion of the film was a segment where Alex talked about what drives him,
and he said something to the effect that there's a fair bit of self loathing that underlies soloing –
and it seemed like he was implying that applied to himself as well."
In the summer of 1970 one night, I asked Bridwell why we climb.
He gave four words, "Because you hate yourself" ...... LOL
soloing is certainly an activity that requires "perfection"
and the level of "perfection" increases as the grade and length of the solo rises. Having done the solo, you have demonstrated your mastery: you lived.
Bridwell is quoted as saying about soloing: "so much to loose, so little to gain"
An individual's need to demonstrate "perfection" can be rather complex, no doubt self-loathing is a bit of it.
"Yep, Alexey that is me. I will be forever known as the camera man that can't even watch what he is shooting... At least they didn't put the part in there of me crying due to the stress. "
My palms are sweating just thinking of you filming it and I have the benefit of knowing it turned out fine. I need to see this film for sure.
The background father story and how that effects his pastime and adult relationships - shown in intimate detail - it's pretty good - really well done.
Seems possible the movie could gain momentum with a much wider audience as word of mouth gets around that there's more to it than just another daredevil thriller.
The free solo footage was amazing. The mini-trac footage had too much air time in my opinion. The relationship story telling was not my favorite.
I'd like to see a climber's version of the footage if that is ever possible. But perhaps there isn't really that much of it...
Nice work to the film team and Alex for hanging at FaceLift and answering all the questions after all the showings. Oh yeah..and for bouldering the Free Rider.
Alex's GF Sanni's part in the film was really good. She helped show how he was hard at expressing emotion and she still dealt with it. In addition to him being occasionally critical of her over even the silliest things like celebrating holidays to cutting a watermelon. Producers really used her as the human element into WHY do what he did. He had a GF who loved him, a life they built but he was still willing to risk death on the free solo anyway.
REALLY rewarding film. It broke the all-time box office per screen revenue for any opening documentary. This movie is going to be a monster hit once it goes wide.
You could have heard a pin drop in the theater during his solo climbing sequences (not limited to Freerider).
Really hoping Chai and Jimmy get a much deserved Oscar nomination and win for the Oscars Best Documentary Film. I seriously am thinking about going to see it again next Sunday. It is THAT good and my stoke is still so high a day after seeing it.
I haven’t seen a climbing film since I overdosed when I was on the jury for the Banff Film Festival seven or eight years ago but I think I’ll break my fast for this one.
Thanks for the TIFF interviews. Alex comes across as unflappable and responsive. I like how intently he seems to pay attention to the audience questions. And how directly and humorously he answers them.
A compelling film, although many might wish that there was more climbing footage.
It was odd that the film didn't mention that Freerider is simply a major variant of the Salathe Wall - the route of that name, that is, not the entire SW face. Robbins, Frost and Pratt were there first. National Geographic is supposed to be about science, geography and history...
Likewise, the lack of mention of climbing soloists elsewhere in the world was a bit jarring. Hansjörg Auer jumps to mind, as a modern example.
Anders, I think what Chai wanted in her doc was to make it compelling by telling Alex's story from various other people. If it was just a climbing film like Dawn Wall was, it wouldn't be as appealing to the general public. Alex is a unique person who needed to have his backstory and motivations to why he free solos told. His moments with his girlfriend provided an indelible outlook into his psyche in general. The payoff was his solo and we got that in spades at the end.
There aren't any climbers of his caliber who could free solo El Cap. Brad Gobright is the closest there is right now. Lonnie Kauk can free solo 5.13's but prefers to stay in Tuolumne. It doesn't seem like there's any other soloist out there who has free soloing the Captain on their radar. That was Alex's dream that others thought couldn't be pulled off. Mentioning other free soloists today wouldn't have added anything to the movie. Alex is the king and the focus of the movie.
Adam Ondra made a second ascent of the Dawn Wall in quick succession but didn't get the international attention. Just as whoever free solos El Cap won't get the same attention as Alex blazed an unthinkable trail.
Fluoride, I agree with your line of thinking regarding Alex's feat. While others are capable of soloing the 5.13 grade, Alex is the only one out there who is capable of doing it on a route as difficult, sustained, and insecure as Freerider. Brad isn't too far off, but stepping up to the big stone is a major leap.
If it were attainable, it would have been done long ago. It has been the biggest prize in climbing for quite some time. Given all of Alex Huber's history with the route, and the fact that he has soloed 14a, if it were even in the realm of doable it seems like he would have done it. Honnold is the only one who could actually wrap his head around going ropeless up there. I think it will be a very long time (if ever) until we see a repeat. Plus, the "prize" has already been taken. Honnold really is on a different level than everyone else.
(BTW I can think of some serious free soloists who are still alive, Peter Croft comes to mind.)
There aren't any climbers of his caliber who could free solo El Cap. Brad Gobright is the closest there is right now. Lonnie Kauk can free solo 5.13's but prefers to stay in Tuolumne.
Interesting observation. I know Dean Potter wanted to do it, but don't know if anyone else has seriously considered doing it.
Tommy also wrote, "I hope others are inspired by Alex’s dedication to excellence and ability to live without fear, and less by his willingness to accept risk. We have lost far too many in our world already. In terms of talent, preparedness, and climbing composure, Alex is a true outlier. He brought an element of sanity to this climb that no one else could, or probably ever will again." https://www.outsideonline.com/2190306/why-alex-honnolds-free-solo-scared-me
Given all of Alex Huber's history with the route, and the fact that he has soloed 14a, if it were even in the realm of doable it seems like he would have done it.
Agreed. Alexander Huber has written, "We knew that Alex was silently working on his plan to free solo El Capitan. So it was not a complete surprise that he finally made his dream come true. Still, it is mind-blowing that it finally happened. When I discovered the Freerider in 1995 as well as when Thomas and I free climbed it in 1998, a free solo ascent was still way out of the visible horizon. It was hard to imagine that El Capitan would be free soloed one day. With this, Alex raised free soloing to the next level. Another landmark in the climbing universe. But there are not many landmarks for which you could say: there is no other climber who would be able to repeat this performance these days. There are no other words: he is ahead of his time! Chapeau bas, Alex!" http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web17s/newswire-honnold-freerider-solo
As with the Dawn Wall thread, it seems some of you are living somewhere between the forgotten past and la la land.
Nobody climbs the Salathe anymore nor do they care about its ancient history - they are climbing Freerider - sometimes with the Salathe Roof finish. If they aid the holi jesus out of it, they're not "aiding", they are "working the moves". If this confuses you, just check their Instagram, their blog, and their Facebook, it will all be explained.
As for Brad and Lonnie, you might want to catch up on Lonnie's present state of climbing fitness and maybe take a view of Safety Third to digest Brad's odds of dying while trying to keep up with Honnald before comparing - because there is no comparison. The crux of Hair Styles is about V3/4 to the Boulder Problem's V7 - for starters.
About 300 people have successfully climbed K2; in the process, 80 climbers have died. It could be argued that Alex Honnold climbing El Cap without gear is less risky than K2 with gear. Avalanches and weather are much more outside our control than a particular move that goes for you 9 times out of 10.
Some years ago, John Long wrote that classic piece on free soloing with Bachar in JT. They did a large number of short climbs, and in botching a sequence, John related that he almost lost his life.
How do you assess risk on that venture, vs Alex on El Cap, or anyone on K2?
I liked it that Alex bothered to get his hair cut by Sanni. She did a really fine job.
Totally different style of filmmaking from what we have seen from Jimmy. Open minds required for true appreciation of a love triangle between Alex, El Cap, and Sanni.
One thing for sure, Jimmy's film team is tight. They were so stoic about possible outcomes that it's hard to imagine how to deal, but they tell it well in some good inserts...
About 300 people have successfully climbed K2; in the process, 80 climbers have died. It could be argued that Alex Honnold climbing El Cap without gear is less risky than K2 with gear.
You're HAF. You have no idea what risk and danger even mean in climbing.
Take those 300 - or even better, pick the best 300 you can possibly find on the entire planet - see how many return from soloing El Cap.
Saw the movie this afternoon, absolutely fantastic! 3 hours and 2 beers later and I'm still gripped. Great footage, great story, great editing. Incredible achievement by Alex, truly astounding!
Unlikely to show here in Little Rock. Strange it has opened in freakin Columbus, OH but not in LR. It would have a small audience here, but freaking Columbus, OH?
"As for Brad and Lonnie, you might want to catch up on Lonnie's present state of climbing fitness and maybe take a view of Safety Third to digest Brad's odds of dying while trying to keep up with Honnald before comparing - because there is no comparison. The crux of Hair Styles is about V3/4 to the Boulder Problem's V7 - for starters."
JLP, Lonnie boulders V10/11. And I've seen Safety Third. All I'm saying is those guys are the hardest soloists out there these days but neither seems to have soloing El Cap on their radar. Lonnie is an undercover crusher you'd only know about through following his feats in Instagram stories. Brad has been willing to push the limits, but these days seems to be working on just freeing El Cap on rope. I think he was working on Golden Gate but bailed because of heat last week. Or possibly Freerider, was hard to tell in the dark from his stories.
It will be a while before anyone has the sack and psyche to do what Alex did. We all knew that if anyone could pull it off, it would be him after all of his other soloing achievements. And again, what is the payoff to risking your life only to be the second guy to do something like that. Alex said in the doc that it would be someone from the next generation coming up and he's likely right.
Don’t be so sure about it being someone from the next generation. There are a lot of climbers under the radar with acceptional skills who need a plane ticket to get to the Valley. Motivation is key...Ondra comes to mind.
The conventional wisdom was that the micro granite crimping on the Dawn Wall would not be in the tool kit of elite European sport climbers....Ondra blew that out of the water.
Alex Honnold’s feat is very, very special but surprises abound in today’s climbing.
What Alex has done is at the very pinnacle of climbing feats...now or ever. I’m just saying that with the rapidity with which climbing is evolving worldwide very little should surprise you. It wasn’t too many years ago when on one heard of Alex Honnold.
What I was saying is that for Alex himself, soloing El Cap might present a smaller risk than climbing K2, as his skill set cannot affect things like weather and avalanches. Yes, for most anyone else trying to solo El Cap would be fatal i.e much more dangerous and risky.
Comparing the danger between free soloing El Cap and climbing K2 is like comparing apples and oranges. K2 may be the most difficult of the 8,000 meter peaks to summit but it’s not particularily technical and has even been guided. Can you imagine guiding a free solo of El Cap.
The dangers on K2 are real but they largely consist of altitude, weather and objective dangers.
Quite a few people have the skill set to climb K2...even though some of them will come to grief because of the aforementioned dangers.
So far it has been demonstrated that only one person has the skill set to free solo El Cap and that ability is such that the danger might be quite low. The objective dangers he faced were practically nil and he mitigated the danger of being unroped to an acceptable level by possessing an unworldly amount of skill.
On K2 the dangers can be mitigated but never eliminated no matter what your level of skill is.
that only one person has the skill set to free solo El Cap and that ability is such that the danger might be quite low.
This is a myth that seems to be getting repeated quite a bit on these forums. Alex fell off the 11b p6 slab before his ascent and had no idea what happened. His probability on the Boulder Problem was not 100% with a rope - it is for nobody, not even Tommy. He went anyway. This is exactly why his friends couldn’t bare to watch. Saying the danger was “low” is **.
Clueless? The danger was there but, do the math. How many pitches of hard free soloing has he done without falling? There was risk but it was calculted....he wasn’t on a sucicide mission.
By the way...calling people clueless does little to strengthen your argument.
I think I would be one of those people covering my eyes while watching this. Kind of like how I cover my eyes when I see guys on motorcycles doing wheelies at 200km/h
You bring up another common and delusional myth. The “math” is the same for everyone, beginner to elite. Nobody is spared and their history does not matter. Flipping a coin and getting heads 10x does not mean you get heads again on the 11th any better than the same 50%
I think that people who knew the route, including the cameramen (all climbers) understood that Alex was engaging in a significant risk, even with his careful and extensive preparation.
Alex sent his girl friend away for the attempt, fully aware of the real possibility that he might not make the climb.
Before on a run-up with Tommy, Tommy lead and fell at the boulder problem, Tommy's no slouch, and this was videoed, everyone involved in the filming saw it. Alex reading his notes emphasized "AUTOPILOT!!"
Tom Evans who has shot a lot of climbers attempting the boulder problem knew just how many really excellent climbers failed at it, all of them roped of course.
Alex's bid to free solo that route was extremely bold, and while he prepared himself to succeed, and I believe that he was confident that he could pull it off, he wasn't under any illusion that it was a given.
Totally amazing.
As for the future, I don't think I would have bet that it would be done in my lifetime back 5 years ago, but Alex was already working on it then, we can draw inspiration from the vision of the younger climbing generation rounding into their prime, and wish them success.
I’ll try one more time and then you can wax on uninterrupted. The odds with a coin flip are the same for everyone....50% for heads, 50% for tails regardless of the previous coin flips. You are not breaking new ground with that assertion.
Alex doing ,say, 1000 pitches of free soloing without falling has no relationship to your analogy. It means that he has shown that he is virtually assured, given the skill, judgement and consistency he has shown- that he will not fall on the next pitch he solos. Coin flips, as even people who don’t go by JLP know, are not influenced by skill and judgment...Alex Honnold’s free soloing is.
Over and out.
Alex said in the film he didn't in so many words tell Sanni to leave before his ascent. But she was seen on film trying to talk him out of it several times leading up to his climb and finally realized he was going to do the solo and it was best her energy not be around him that day. She left the park to hang with friends and got word over pancakes that he was safely on top (from an interview she gave about it) and their joy shown on the phone in the film.
For those of us in Las Vegas, tickets just went on sale here this morning. The dates aren't showing yet on the National Geographic website, but Regal Red Rocks Stadium 16 has the film showing 6 times a day for 6 days starting Oct. 19th. That's a lot of available seats at one venue for a climbing flick.
Kudos to Alex and the rest of the crew!
Solo is an eye opener to the general public. Quite naturally, we seek to quantify the motivation and risks Alex took, simply because we can. Or we can try to. But regarding human performance, statistical analysis can be a slippery slope.
Why? For starters, no two people, not even identical twins, share exactly the same background and upbringing, have had the same conversations in the same words, have read the same books or magazines or newspapers at exactly the same time, or done anything the same as anyone else. This fact is precisely the opposite of what is necessary to statistics -- that there are similarities that give significance to the variables.
There are, of course, some factors that many people have in common with other people, and upon them statistics depend. These factors can include the society in which they live, their social class, whether they are urban, suburban or rural; their relationships -- most people have had a mother and father, perhaps siblings, friends of the same or opposite sex; and their interests: sports, television, reading science fiction or mysteries or romances. Of course, not everybody fits into all categories. Again, all people are different, but they do share things in common.
What the above means is that no statistic has any application to an individual, but can have an application to the group. However, the statistics are determined on the basis of studying individuals in the group, not studying the group. Problem is, individuals change, not only from year to year but from moment to moment.
Second, individuals are inconsistent. What they like today they may hate the next. You may love spaghetti, but eat it five days in a row, and you may find the thought of eating it again nauseating.
Third, individuals often don't know what they want, and even if they do, they often don't know or can't tell you why.
But that doesn't stop us from trying to say: Ahhhh, THAT'S why he did it, and the risk quotient was (fill in the blank).
Largo - that post is absolutely delusional - every word of it.
Happiness first is being alive. Closely following is a dedication to reality and a healthy set of boundaries. Living like you’re immortal, that the laws of physics and probability do not apply - believing you can fly around above it all like superman - is not happiness, it’s a display of mental illness.
Everyone in the movie including Alex (to a degree) acknowledged the extreme danger and the statistical reality of eventually something going wrong. It’s a lie and a complete misinterpretation of his story to say what he did was made safe. Alex systematically removed the fear and found the easiest and thus safest possible passage - but that ascent overall was anything but safe - it was possibly the most dangerous thing ever done in climbing. Alex somehow decided the danger was worth the reward.
It’s not knocking his accomplishment to say so - it was at the same time one of the most amazing things ever done in climbing.
This year we have made risk discussions like this a part of the rock climbing culture. Sad.
Why is it sad? Risk is the elephant in the trad room. Risk is an essential part of the experience. Sure, we spend great sums of money to stack the odds in our favor with gear and technique. However, I suspect most trad climbers yearn to expand their ability to run-out "easier" terrain. Who hasn't foregone gear placement in order to motor through to the next good stance. Risk is what makes it trad. Alex has merely taken it to the extreme, happens in all activities.
Alex made a spectacle of the Nose climb precisely so people would talk about it, and any discussion will necessarily include a risk/benefit analysis. At the end of the day it is just another movie. I doubt it will change he culture. How many climbers sit around and talk about risk. Sure we talk about crap gear placements or run-outs, but I doubt a movie is going to change climber's discussion into anything the general public discusses about Free Solo. Sure, a few more climbers will attempt solo ascents, but change the culture, I doubt it.
I’ll try one more time and then you can wax on uninterrupted. The odds with a coin flip are the same for everyone....50% for heads, 50% for tails regardless of the previous coin flips. You are not breaking new ground with that assertion. Alex doing ,say, 1000 pitches of free soloing without falling has no relationship to your analogy.
Donini is right and I'll try to expand a little. First of all, for the coin flip analogy to be valid, the odds of anyone falling while free soloing El Cap must be the same--whether for Alex Honnold or some random n00b. Secondly, while AH was clearly exposing himself to serious risk by his free solo, there's no way his odds of failure were 50%, as with a coin toss.
Finally saw it last night in San Diego, in La Jolla. Why did it open a week later in San Diego? When will this LA rivalry end??? San Diego is hands down better and everyone knows it, yet we get treated like the bastard step-child all the time. Lol.
Anyway, great documentary. I enjoyed it immensely. I busted up on all the dead-pan responses that Alex had about everything. He's actually really very funny. He has a great sense of humor whether he knows it or not. Great story. Unbelievable nerves of steel to solo that entire climb in one fluid go. State of the art. Set the bar into another space, time, and dimension truly. He did it. He never has to do it again. Total respect. Who will possibly step up and try it or try to surpass it???
He has a great girl-friend. Hopefully he'll make her his wife. Teach her better and she will do very well. She didn't have to drop him belaying. She should have been tied into the end of the rope always. Shouldn't have happened. Teach your loved ones to climb well and be safe. No mistakes.
My wife loved the movie also. She really liked how they opened Alex up emotionally. She can relate. She had a very similar upbringing. She gets him.
After seeing the movie, I had dreams last night about climbing El Cap in similar form, and then coming upon the team filming. The movie had a big effect on me. I've thought about it a lot today. Just simply WOW!
I would love to be able to have the talent and lack of fear to do something so bold as what Alex has done. I get it. I understand. Total respect for Alex's abilities and nerve of steel. Some easy solos I've done in the Sierras and Alps but they were well within my ability. But the fall factor was still there; It would have been life ending. I'm not too keen to do that anymore without the rope. It was a pleasure to do at the time and I love that feeling of control, I get it, but the risks really are too great in this lifetime. I want to be able to climb and adventure so I can keep doing all the outdoor sports I love: climbing, skiing, paragliding, free diving/scuba diving, SUP, all the rest of my life and die in my sleep of old age in my wife's and my kids arms.
In the lifetime to come, I look forward too and I will climb all the spectacular routes and enchain them all that I dream about doing but I lack the nerve, the skill and the strength now to do. This life isn't all there is. There is eternity with a perfect spiritual body that is of prime age, strength, and ability. We will have the ability to be spiritual one moment and physical the next. No fear. Just joy. All our dreams will be possible. Fall off of Freerider, no problem, levitate and just get back on. I look forward to doing all of that someday.
Alex thanks for showing us the future in this lifetime. You are way, way, far ahead of us all. Good job!
PS,
Sure wish the full size movie poster was available for purchase, the one that they ran as an ad in NG magazine. I would love to purchase it and then get it autographed by Alex and then get it framed. Amazing accomplishment by all: Alex, Jimmy Chin, et al.
Just saw it. Really well done as would be expected. Interesting to get an insight to his mannerism. I don't want to give a spoiler. I thought it was interesting how the film crew handled things. Great documentary. See it if you can on the big screen.
The Boulder Problem is rated V7 with a fatal fall. There are highball boulder problems much harder than this with a dangerous fall at the crux that might send you to the nursing home or conceivably be fatal. Why do boulderers routinely send the highballs, yet only one climber has the ability to free solo El Cap?
Why do boulderers routinely send the highballs, yet only one climber has the ability to free solo El Cap?
Might have something to do with the half-mile of exposure encountered while pulling the thumb undercling thing followed by the karate kick. Don't think they make crash pads for that situation.
My kids and I thought the movie was very compelling.
The Boulder Problem is incredibly technical and insecure. It is absolutely THE reason El Cap took so long to see a free solo. You can overpower a lot of V7's to make up for a lack of perfect technique, but not this one. Most elite climbers, by far, go up there and take falls.
Comparing this to a highball boulder problem? What a joke. However, go get a rope and see how you do up there - like everyone else who ends up as an aid climber. The Freerider sees nearly non-stop traffic, but only a few teams per year, at most, actually free it.
Just as a pitch isn't rated by its hardest move, you can create a 13a, for example, with a sum of moves as low as V3/4ish. Beer Run, Pumporama, Fugitive, etc, are good examples. If you're solid on V3/V4 you'll have little trouble getting through the cruxes - but GFL on the redpoint.
Freerider is the same way. Everyone looks at the "mere 12+" sections, and there's only a few of them, and oh look at all the 5.10 (you don't see how physical it is on the topo...) - what could possibly be so difficult?
Then they find out.
IMO, rough estimating, if you can't put down mid 13 quickly, you're not going to send the Freerider without a TON of rehearsal. If 12+ is a hard redpoint for you, you will not send at all - ever.
Even with moderate rehearsal, as most successful ascents end up doing, it seems to me, they are in the 13b ish quick redpoint spectrum - the ones who actually manage to send Freerider using the standard plan and logistics.
If you want a chance to get it first try ground up, maybe even with a few falls and you get a few pitches 2nd or 3rd try - this kind of free ascent rarely happens even though it's the most tried - it's probably more like the ability to quickly put down a 13+/14- or more - plus you have considerable big wall experience.
Thus - comparing this to a highball - like you just sit there on your giant stack of 30 pads and 30 spotters until you're good and ready and oh gosh how sik and scary this thing is - you're still just a kid living in your mom's basement.
Honnold is an anomaly, i never expected even him to do it or see anyone do it in my lifetime. There are plenty of incredible climbers out there but none with the genuine desire to free solo el cap. Watching him do the boulder problem, even him having it so “dialed”, was fuked up.
I was pretty excited to see the film but after watching it something just doesn’t sit well with me about the production around this kind of event, even though it was an amazing film, a completely mind blowing achievement (I’ll always remember where i was that day i heard about it) and obviously turned out okay.
Tell me one person who genuinely wants to free solo el cap. (Other than Honnold)
Lots of people migyt have a fantasy about it but not a real world desire to do it.
They have done research on Alex's brain and he does hold a significant mental advantage.
So from an evolutionary perspective, the amygdala exists for a reason; its structure and function (anatomy and physiology) varies across individuals and populations. It would be interesting to know case-situations or environments, if any, in which Alex's brain or his amygdala "holds" disadvantages.
...
In Alex's case, as far as the climbing world goes, I guess climbers could call this "amygdala privilege."
Free Solo screened at the Mill Valley Film Festival today. Alex, Jimmy, and Chai were there, apparently unannounced. My sister-in-law reported a very positive audience reaction, "a long standing ovation, the theatre was buzzing for sure."
I wonder how they decide which screenings they will attend in person. I envision Chai giving Alex and Jimmy marching orders based on which venues are the most important, influential critics will be there, etc. There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes...
Can you tell me where / when it's playing? Navigating the MVFF site is useless; there's no calendar or schedule listed (!). I was downtown a few hours ago and it never occurred to me that it was playing here.
What exactly would a non grigri belay device have done to keep alex being lowered off the end of the rope? As far as I know every device acts the same after the end of the rope has passed through it.
Alex grew up and learnt how to belay with a grigri. He didn’t even own another device for a long time. I had to lend him an atc when he did the triple link up solo. So him teaching a beginner the same way he learnt and is most comfortable with makes sense to me. But again being lowered off the end of the rope has nothing to do with what belay device is being used.
What exactly would a non grigri belay device have done to keep alex being lowered off the end of the rope?
gri-gris are notorious for being misused. Why not just have tied her into the rope, or at least a knot at the end. It was shocking to see a mistake like that.
gri-gris are notorious for being misused. Why not just have tied her into the rope, or at least a knot at the end. It was shocking to see a mistake like that.
Alex doesn't really know how to use ropes, that why he leaves them behind so often.
Made the shortlist for the IDA (International Documentary Association) Feature award. Screendaily called it a "major award contender" along with "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" and "Three Identical Strangers".
Thanks for posting that! I knew it was going to be on CBS yesterday, but I don't get broadcast TV and so couldn't watch it. Most excellent segment.
After driving to SF yesterday, we discovered that it's knott playing anywhere in town, despite the fact that it was inexplicably listed on AMC's schedule. Will probably wait until it plays at the Rafael in San Rafael after Oct 15th.
I'm curious what could be spoiled at this point. So far we know:
1. Alex did knott fall to his death.
2. His girlfriend dropped him (literally, knott figuratively).
3. At least one of the photographers could knott watch and looked away - presumably at the crux.
If it's something really earth shattering and indeed a "spoiler", might be best knott to click that link!
Wow...a ‘real’ flick about climbing on the big screen! We thoroughly enjoyed it. I did think when he first attempted it, when the narrator says, “on pitch 6,” I swear there was a micro clip of the dbl cracks (dark) of pitch one...just sayin’. I’m glad that this outstanding achievement was put on film and some credit was given to those who are not with us now. I wonder why the ‘Triple Crown’ (Watkins, 1/2 Dome & El Cap) in one-day was not mentioned, as that feat was also way up there.
ec, on IMDb's page on Free Solo they list the Triple Crown as "El Cap, Half Dome and the Washington Column." I wonder who supplied them with this incorrect information? It is their one and only Trivia Fact. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7775622/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Finally got to watch the movie in the Bay Area. The climbing footage did not disappoint. Already thinking about watching it again before it is taken off the big screen.
I have saved the Runout Podcast episode on Free Solo on my phone and listened to it after I watched the movie. Learned something interesting at the end (no spoiler from me).
I clicked on a link posted in another thread, and landed on this Bing search page. I guess the video can be relevant in the Astroman-Rostrum link up thread, or here since it's also free solo, but the video itself is not what I wanted to share. I noticed the "Related Searches" shown to the right. People really go to dark places sitting in front of their computers, don't they?
Caught it a few days ago, in Burbank (should have coordinated with Batrock!)
Remarkable.
I'm surprised by some of the remarks in this thread. This is not a film about a climb---it is a film about a person who is able and willing to do that climb.
The GF angle, the MRI angle, the fear angle, the diet angle----all of that, and more, goes to the issue of why THIS GUY did the climb. Why did not others do it? There is a reason, and I think the film addresses the issue in a very understandable way.
While most of the nominations are for the Directors, including Best Documentary and Best Director, it is interesting that Alex himself was nominated for one honor. Mikey Schaefer was nominated for Best Cinematography (along with Chin and Popkin).
Dawn Wall is also in the race for Best Cinematography.
"Lots of things should have been done better—we should have thought about how long the rope was, we should have been paying more attention, we should have had a knot in the end of the rope. I wasn't wearing a helmet and was lucky to not injure my head—had I landed on my head, it probably would have been disastrous. My belayer had been climbing less than a year. Basically, things were all just a bit too lax."
(Source: Alex Honnold.)
Have they determined what’s cause and what’s effect? Was he born with his amygdala working that way, or did he train it to work that way?
Evolutionary disadvantages kind of manifest themselves in retrospect, no? Glad we haven’t learned of any disadvantages to Alex’s brain functioning. I admire that guy a ton, and I wouldn’t characterize it as a disadvantage, but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that there were more evolutionarily advantageous brain-inspired behaviors than climbing for a living.
Legal drone footage of El Cap, I mean c’mon... we would all watch two hours of just that, so this climbing story is just a bonus!
"Directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the husband-and-wife team known for 2015’s acclaimed mountaineering movie Meru, made use of drones, fixed cameras, and handheld units to depict the world’s most dangerous outdoor adventure.."
Apparently drones were used in Free Solo. I previously thought they only used a helicopter. Dawn Wall would have also benefited from drone footage, but were apparently unable to get permission, so they used special rigging to get away from the wall.
Did you draw the conclusion based on the wording from that article? I personally found the quality of reporting in that article very poor. I have no doubt they used drones in Morroco. But Yosemite? It does not make a lot of sense that NPS did not grant permit for the Dawn Wall film, but did so for Free Solo. I tend to believe what I heard near the end of the RunOut Podcast (on iTune) where ... (edited out).
Did you draw the conclusion based on the wording from that article?
Yes. I have no first hand information. I assumed the Sierra Club would be a reliable source, but it looks like I will have to listen to the Runout Podcast (despite your spoiler warning).
Visiting parents in SF and tried to take my mom to see the 8pm showing - it was sold out. Went on my own at 1030pm. F*#KING AMAZING. Great story, Alex has a good sense of humor, the shooting was top notch, everything about it was great. Well done!
Did you draw the conclusion based on the wording from that article?
Remember the part in the movie when they talk about "What if something we do kills him?" They mention a drone as one of the things that could.
Good to hear park gave them a permit to use a drone. A qualified film crew shouldn't have a problem with its operation. Especially being aware of all the pressure of not f*#k up with the whole drone ban.
THANK YOU to everyone who participated in making this amazing movie. I want to watch it again.
"Everybody who has made free soloing a big part of their life is dead now."
Except Peter Croft, who plays a vital role as the wise old master.
Alex and his girlfriend have a big future in reality TV. They are both very fun to watch on screen but their relationship makes me squirm. Alex could use a class on how to take care of girlfriends (at least that is how he is depicted in films.)
After watching Free Solo when it opened last month in Telluride, I spent some time thinking and talking to other, climbers and non-climbers alike, about the elements of free solo climbing. Like many long-time trad climbers, this is something I did a bit of "back in the day" (mostly late 1970s through the early 1980s), but no longer do. But I still sometimes feel the attraction. Although I was never particularly deep into it, nor particularly proficient or bold, I did enjoy the occasional long easy solo (up to 5.7/8) or short ones a few bumps harder.
As climbers, many of us have free soloed at various levels of difficulty, even if just on approaches to climbs and, one would think, therefore should have a good understanding of what is involved. But when climbers discuss what makes Honnold, and his free soloing exploits, different, things get muddled. Some of the discussions on this thread illustrate this. So what are the elements of free soloing, and is Honnold's latest exploits all that much different? And what does bode for the future?
In my mind, some of the specific factors that are involved in all free soloingare as follows (note: this is not an exhaustive analysis):
Objective factors
The physical difficulty of the feat (difficulty rating is a large but not complete part of this).
The degree of insecurity of the moves. This is different from difficulty. Moves can be hard but secure, easy but insecure, and hard and insecure, etc., and can be related to the type of climbing.
Types of objective dangers presented by the route. This is outside of the climber's control. Holds and crystals can break, animals and insects can startle or attack. Rocks and branches can fall from above. When ropeless, these not rare encounters can be fatal.
The effect of weather conditions. Rain, unexpected excessive heat, cold, or wind can all cause serious problems in performance.
Length/duration of the climb. As the climb gets longer, the risks posed by all of the above factors become magnified.
The climber's physical capabilities at the time. This can vary day to day, even moment to moment.
The climber's confidence in his or her ability to do the climb. For some free soloists, this comes from preparation and rehearsal.
The climber's ability to memorize/visualize moves and routes. This is a mental skill.
The climber's consistency. This one is interesting, because the non-suicidal free soloist should both be a very consistent climber, because therein lies greater safety, and also, based on past experience, have a reasonable belief in his or her consistency, which leads to confidence.
The climber's lack of fear, the ability to block anxiety and fear, or the ability to push through fear (and not be paralyzed by it). For many of us, this is what we find most impressive about Honnold and other high end free soloists. We can't get out of our head that past experience has shown all of us that as we approach our climbing limits, the chances of falling rises exponentially. And we also know that this is true for everyone.
I would argue that, in essence, all free soloing is the same regardless of difficulty. What Honnold did on Freerider is different only in degree from free soloing that has come before. (Russ Clune soloed the Gunks "Supercrack," 5.12c/d in the mid-1980s!) In fact, one commentator, Austin Howell, said: "Freerider was seen as the obvious "next step" in soloing, but everyone still wondered if it would ever happen. What‘s astounding is that it took so long for it to happen." As discussed above and elsewhere,there have been free solos of comparable difficulty and or length before. But I think, as captured in the film, Honnold's climb of Freerider combines difficulty, length, insecurity, exposure, and iconicness in an overall package that is absolutely stunning. As climbers, we respond to this. It definitely was the next step in the evolution.
I must admit the trend to toward big big budget, big splash, and big reward free solo climbs unsettles me a bit. The film is setting documentary film box office records, and in my opinion is likely to be nominated for an academy award. Honnold was reportly worth $2 million from past films and endorsements before Free Solo even opened. Others may jump on the band wagon, and it may only be a matter of time before someone gets killed pursuing "riches and glory" on some even harder climb.
For me, it would be sad if climbing's future is headed towards some kind of Evel Knievel commercial circus image. On a small scale, we already get a taste of it with skyscraper climbers. But I think most of the great free solos that have been done in the past were done for other reasons. In my gut I feel that at some point, climbing will be degraded.
I continue to feel what Alex (or anyone else) does is none of my business. Make no mistake however. Alex and Jim's film is a top drawer product.
But the future of our pursuit needs to be open for discussion, I think hard real bottom up trad will continue to be of interest for perhaps 30% of people. But the interface with run out climbing will be determined by sport climbers. If a route is worth repeated ascents some will get top down bolted. Lots of conflict in our future. Just like now.
The media exposure given free soloing will, for a time, be a free for all. But eventually members of Congress will begin to ask if this is what we created the Park System for. The degree to which public lands may be used will eventually be discussed.
I thought it was a GREAT film and good to see what it takes to get at least a small capture of this amazing person Alex Honnald. But the real star of this film is Peter Croft. . word of experience right there.
Any idea on when a video will be available for distribution on DVD?
Unfortunately is doesn't seem it will be shown in theaters in Little Rock. Sucks. Arkansas has more climbers than freakin' Ohio.
Funny; posted a link to the movie on a backpacking forum and the general consensus was it was like NASCAR where people only watch it hoping for a wreck.
I think he should have been edited out. In the middle of shaming Alex for having a film crew around for his solos and telling us how his own style was so much purer back in the day, he's sure to look right into the very camera he's criticizing and drop that he's solo'd the Rostrum 50 times. Beyond this holier-than-the-film dynamic everyone seemed to play into, he had nothing else to add.
The hero of the movie was TC Pro. Not so sure I liked the film crew. After hearing Honnold say the cameras made him nervous and he was thinking of just sneaking off and doing it without anyone watching, they hung in there to get the footage. Peter Croft looked uncomfortable, like he might get blamed if Honnold falls off.
The focus on his personal life, his naive girlfiend, and a slightly troubled childhood was mixed in with an MRI of his brain, a doctor saying his Amygdala isnt working right, then Alex says his ex girlfriends didnt really care if he died and some told him he had a personality disorder. It was not as much a biography as studying someone with an abnormality.
I think everyone who saw the movie was rooting for Alex to live. Not just on the Freerider route, but to settle into his house, marry his girlfriend, and realize it is time to leave this realm to those who still have something to prove.
Werner: the fact is Honnold invited the vampires in. This is now how he makes his living. It's his choice to became a talked-about celebrity with all the idiocy that accompanies...
Saw it in Vegas yesterday with my wife. The movie was totally awesome and well received by the audience. I have several quibbles but none detracted from my enjoyment. We agreed it was one of the most entertaining movies we have ever seen (out of 2000+), and certainly our favorite documentary.
Kudos to Alex and the team!
BTW we saw Alex's van parked out at Pine Creek trailhead Thu AM, his facebook site seems to indicate he was here. We were hoping but he didn't appear at our showing of the movie.
i was joking....yet he suggests it was just a guy without a rope...i think not...the general
public does not seem interested in what anybody has climb....this was soooo much more
"Everybody who has made free soloing a big part of their life is dead now."
I will take the bait.
BITD the mantra was that no serious free soloists had ever died free soloing. Aside from John Bachar (who was not himself due to an injury sustained in an auto accident), and Derek Hersey, I still cannot think of a well known climber who has made free soloing a big part of their life that has died free soloing a rock climb. If you count base jumping, roped jumping, alpine soloing, alpine climbing, via ferrata, driving fast, approaching a sea cliff, falling down stairs, then yes they are all dead from dangerous activities.
Alex Honnold, Peter Croft, Henry Barber, Steph Davis, Alain Robert, Hansjorg Auer, Brad Gobright, Alex Huber, Cedar Wright, and many others are still alive. Tommys comment was taken out of context and this was a flaw in the movie.
Alex Honnold, Peter Croft, Henry Barber, Steph Davis, Alain Robert, Hansjorg Auer, Brad Gobright, Alex Huber, Cedar Wright, and many others are still alive. Tommys comment was taken out of context and this was a flaw in the movie.
So what you are saying is that Tommy should have had his comment censored? You don't believe that he believes what he said? Is it reasonable to quote what he said on-camera? Or is it advocated that he should only be "permitted" to say certain things?
Is he not entitled to his opinion? Is he not allowed to be quoted? I am POSITIVE that you were not there to judge whether he was quoted "out of context", and yet you state it as a fact.
So what you are saying is that Tommy should have had his comment censored? You don't believe that he believes what he said?
No. Maybe I didn't express myself correctly.
Tommy may have believed what he said, I don't know. But it was presented along with footage of climbers who basically died jumping off a cliff, not free soloing. The purpose seems to be to create a false impression...(edited). Most of us know how these people met their fate, but the general public does not.
By the way, I thought the rest of the film was most excellent, and this bit of deception did not hurt it, it just was unnecessary.
I have read this thread in preparation of seeing "Free Solo" midweek. So far the director's decisions on telling the story and, separately, the process of actually filming Alex sounds more interesting than the movie itself.
Our tribe's understanding of statistics and probability is not very good. Even if you had an x-sided die to roll to represent past experience, the odds of Alex falling on the slab pitch would be affected by whatever was happening inside his head on the day he free-soloed it. The odds of falling are never zero, but there is no prior that doesn't get swamped by the affect of taking off the rope, whichever way it moves the odds.
The comment upthread which assumes Tommy's beliefs and opinions are accurately reflected in what is shown in the movie doesn't understand how movies get edited.
Jim gets the prize for best one-up-manship with free-solo guiding.
“ The purpose seems to be to create a false impression of how dangerous free soloing really is.”
false impression huh....you might want to rethink that...
tommys quote was accurate...JLP is correct.....he never said anybody died while free soloing....it may have been implied in the movie though
Just saw the movie with some non-climbers. It left them with the impression that the list of dead were due to free-soloing. When I saw Ueli Steck on the list I knew he didn't die on rock. And while the pic of Ueli was on snow, the impression to a general audience is that free-soloing has taken out these climbers because why mention them unless that's the point?
“ The purpose seems to be to create a false impression of how dangerous free soloing really is.”
false impression huh....you might want to rethink that...
OK it is dangerous. How about this:
"The purpose seems to be to create a false impression."
Makes me wonder though, if Alex's free solo of El Cap was more "dangerous" for him than the Fitzroy traverse or the Nose speed record, both of which were done with Tommy.
So far the director's decisions on telling the story and, separately, the process of actually filming Alex sounds more interesting than the movie itself.
Couldn't agree more. You can digest even more backstory on this by listening to Alex's interview on the enormocast:
He describes the day before the climb, where the filmmakers were teasing him about going off to climb something else themselves, then he says...Ugh maybe you should get ready, it might happen tomorrow....while meanwhile of course the filmmakers were monkeying all over the wall strategically placing cameras and getting ready in the least intrusive way possible. And, in watching the film this attention to detail really shows. I'd pay a fortune for say a Climbers' Edition DVD with the film and a second disc with every last scrap of Freerider footage pieced together. Maybe it's like 20 hours long, I don't care!! :)
This was a uniquely intimate documentary film. Not your typical Reel Rock rah-rah pump you up affair. (Although this one did make me want to go climb. I was so stunned I had some trouble finding my car in the parking lot afterward!)
The heart to heart conversations shown between Alex and his girlfriend, Tommy, Peter Croft, and the filmmakers (more moments with his mom would have been nice) all touched on big themes and revealed a lot about his dedication to the craft. If I was Alex I'd be carrying a baseball bat to interviews to bludgeon anybody that asked 'well what if you fall? don't you get scared?' And I'm glad the film got that out of the way early on and then went deeper so to speak. I'll try not to spoil too much...
PS. He hints this in the interview on the enormocast, but I'd love to see his next big thing be something with his foundation. Milk the celebrity thing as much as possible. Maybe get in touch with Bill Gates. America needs more Honnold!!! The baby boomers got the moon landing, millenials got the recession and impending environmental disaster but thank goodness for Freerider.
PPS. So many mainstream sports stars from my childhood turn out to be total lowlifes (between the doping/drugs, cheating on/abusing spouses, gambling, you name it) and here's a guy acutely aware of social inequality and threats to our environment and positioning himself to do something big about it. What a guy and very proud effort!
I've never waited so long to see a movie and it didn't disappoint. It's got me thinking, but I'm not sure yet what about. I'm going to get skinny again though!
Just saw the movie with some non-climbers. It left them with the impression that the list of dead were due to free-soloing. When I saw Ueli Steck on the list I knew he didn't die on rock. And while the pic of Ueli was on snow, the impression to a general audience is that free-soloing has taken out these climbers because why mention them unless that's the point?
Remember: this film is about Alex, not about the climb. The purpose semed to be "what kind of a person would do that?".
Ask your non-climber friends, like I have. Seems like the universal response is that he is crazy. I deal with crazy, and he is not.
He may have some attributes that the average person was not born with. It makes me wonder if anyone not born with such attributes can ever get to that level?
When it addresses the free soloists that have died, to me it speaks once more, to the kind of people who do this. When they are not free soloing, they are NOT participating in low Risk Activities! This speaks loudly about their psyche!
It comes back to the question: what kind of person does free solos at the highest levels? I think it really is answered: by people who are willing to REALLY risk their lives significantly in their activities, even if not rock climbing.
When it addresses the free soloists that have died, to me it speaks once more, to the kind of people who do this. When they are not free soloing, they are NOT participating in low Risk Activities! This speaks loudly about their psyche!
Ken explains this well, maybe TCs statement was a little confusing but this was the point. The list is actually a lot longer if you remove the soloists and just count the number of climbers who died BASE jumping, alpine climbing or backcountry skiing. Most rock climbers aren't taking these kinds of risks.
Just saw the documentary and concerning Alex...we are not worthy.
I was fascinated by the logistics of the camera crew and would love to see more on their story...good job to all.
The psychology of capturing the solo...both with the crew and Alex.
Also the pull between climbing and a relationship or responsibilities. Many here have known a friend who died leaving behind a spouse and/or children. That is the age old question...do you want to change who that person is?
The film review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives Free Solo a Tomatometer rating of 98%. This means that one film critic out of 57 didn't like it. Christopher Lloyd of the The Film Yap wrote on Oct. 17:
"Free Solo takes us into the mind of the world's foremost ropeless mountain climber and finds... not much there."
Fifty-six critics disagree. But it takes only one rotten tomato to spoil a perfect rating. Free Solo has since been removed from Wikipedias "List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes".
It was none other than Brett Stevens (lol), not a commenter but the writer of the piece and regular NYT columnist in culture, sociopolitics. Here is the quote in the entire paragraph...
"Free soloing is one of them. Every move counts. Every motion is considered. No decision is inconsequential. There is no cushion, no second chance, no helping hand. The only route to safety is through the relentless disciplining of body, mind, uncertainty, and fear. In a world of B.S. artists — and in a country led by one — Honnold is modeling something else, a kind of radical truthfulness. Either he’s going to get it exactly right, or he’s going to die.
How Honnold gets it exactly right is the real heart of “Free Solo,” and why the movie is worth studying. Honnold is not a thrill seeker. He’s a perfectionist who understands that the achievement of one supreme thing depends on the mastery of a thousand small things. Much of the perfectionism seems to come from his mother, Dierdre Wolownick, a retired French professor for whom, as Honnold puts it, “good enough, isn’t.”
But it takes only one rotten tomato to spoil a perfect rating.
I've been robbed by a few RT 100 movies. There are several that are obscure and don't have many reviewers.
This Christopher Lloyd review is actually kind of funny - and I can't really say he's wrong about anything he's saying - but his words at the same time are clearly from a man who has never done anything truly hard in his entire life.
Free Solo has a lot of other marginal positive reviews, they're not all 100% individually, it's just that one drops below the threshold.
Who cares what they think and say - I liked it. Part of the enjoyment is to read any and all other opinions. It's not a competition, it's just a story.
It's funny, actually I went to the link to search for the quote - because I thought it was most excellent too and because I hadn't yet read the article - thinking it was probably in the commentaries. Only after searching for it in page source view and finding it did I discover it was in the opinion article itself by Stephens.
I too thought the whole piece and every paragraph was A grade. So much so, I downloaded it for keeps.
(Somewhat ironically Stephens in NYT also did a "hit piece" on Elon Musk six to 12 months ago for which he got lots of condemnation at least from those of the silos or bubbles or circles I tend to inhabit/visit. Thus, 'twas a bit strange to see his name on this Honnold piece re outliers, risk, "seemingly lunatic ambition", etc.. Stephens is widely known conservative.)
It now looks like screening availability is everywhere. Congrats, Alex!
Thank you BooDawg, for posting the link to this very insightful article. I read it, I thought about it, and I went to see the movie again. I found it even better the second time round.
It wasn’t an act of recklessness but of the kind of planning worthy of a moon landing
I already compared this event to the moon landing upthread. Clearly Mr. Stephens is a visitor to the Supertopo forum and is riding our wave of enthusiasm for this movie. HA!
Rogan dives deep into climbing with Alex Honnold during a nearly two-hour interview. Honnold discusses his life, the film ‘Free Solo,’ his speed climbing endeavors, and opinions on climbing.
"My hands are sweating just talking with you."--Joe Rogan to AH
Alex, take Joe's advice... get yourself into public issues-based, nature based podcasting. You've got a unique niche and the people's interest in you and your lifestyle would support it.
And Sanni's into lifecoaching right. So perhaps you could explore different lifecoaching systems (aka life management systems) on your podcast - as they develop in the future - relating to all sorts of interests, issues, incentives (e.g., solar use, that status quo inertia you talked about being a bummer, consumer ignorance, global wealth inequality, etc).
You've got the inspiring persona, voice and value system, I know thousands of us would support this project.
Thanks for linking the Joe Rogan podcast linked above. This is the best interview with Alex I've heard yet. Was perfect to listen to while doing some exterior painting...
Is there a V rating on the boulder problem?
In the podcast, Alex says it's "12d, maybe 13a".
I've also heard it's V7, which roughly translates.
[Joe Jogan's interview with Honnold] Was perfect to listen to
I have Youtube Premium so that I can download videos to watch or listen to offline (e.g. when I'm away from home). Most videos are really only as good as the audio. Recently, I've made a point to actually watch, though not necessarily sitting still in a couch, some of Joe Rogan interviews because I find facial expression and body language quite revealing about the interviewer and interviewee(s). The Elon Musk interview was one I enjoyed watching, and I'm saving this one with Honnold for tomorrow when I get to watch. Looking forward to it.
Sanni's website https://www.sannimccandless.com/about/ states, "In her work, she helps people overcome the doubts and concerns that constantly get in the way of living fearlessly and feeling fulfilled."
A keen observer on another forum posts:
This description cracked me up because the movie was basically about a guy who lived fearlessly and felt fulfilled while his girlfriend was all doubts and concerns.
Mei, check out convert to MP3/Mp4 if you havent already. It's free, slick as a whistle, and it's my go-to for several years now. Wouldn't want to use the internet without it. :)
HFCS, thanks! I used to do that before there was Youtube Red, which later became Premium.
Edit: answering questions below without cluttering the thread with yet one more OT post (yeah, HFCS, you should totally feel guilty about it): I've used VLC sometime back when there was a need. I'm not a sophisticated multimedia consumer and I'm lazy. Good to know about Vimeo download, but I don't use Vimeo much. Youtube lets me sync/download the videos onto my phone.
Wondering here, are you also a VLC fan? I mention it because it's also slick as a whistle, imo. Or do you deploy something other, some X Red or X Premium perhaps?
And while were at it, what do you use then to download vimeo greats?
For that, I move to Chrome and use its add-on, which I think is also kick-ass.
Sorry for the thread drift. Consider it a PSA, folks :)
...
Re life coaching
I'm sure there are 50-plus areas of life a 30 year old or younger (like McCandless) could effectively or productively coach or mentor me in. Like others, I could easily subsume this coaching or mentoring under the heading, life coaching.
Note once you have life coaching "as a thing" in society or culture, then what also emerges are a range and depth of life coaching systems (for better or worse). Then these can be researched, taken for a test drive on one's own, picked apart as necessary, and adopted more or less as one sees fit, pretty much like any other product or service.
My point above (not given that much time or attention at the time) was that any or all the contents of life coaching (or life mentoring or life management) which nowadays pretty much includes just about any subject matter under the sun (even consciousness and What is Mind?, lol, or meditation or spirituality) might make for some good podcast material especially from an charismatic thoughtful outdoors naturalist type like Alex.
...
Edit: Mei, right on.
...
re boulder problem location
"This was taken by the remote cameras filming @freesolofilm - there weren’t any camera men there because it seemed like too much for all involved." instagram today
I got called into work so didn't see it tonight but have heard from several non-climbers that saw it and said it made them want to start climbing.
ruh roh
I didn't wait until tomorrow and watched/listened to this one. OMG, this episode is painful to sit through! For one, Rogan's utter ignorance about rock climbing surprises me considering he did interview Honnold a few years ago and also, you'd expect a career podcaster to do some basic homework about the craft that his interviewee is known for. While enduring his ignorant questions and comments and Honnold's patient explanations, I kept reminding myself maybe this interaction would be helpful to his audience, the majority of whom probably do not have any clue about climbing either.
However, I don't think Rogan ever grasped the magnitude of Honnold's free solo of Freerider from a sports excellence point of view despite all the questions. That's the painful part. That, and the fact that his first intuition and highest interest apparently is how people can make use of substance to help improve their performance in their own discipline even though he has no knowledge of the discipline.
Super intense movie.. very well done. Absolutely friggin nuts soloing something that you fell on even remotely recently...all the people who have a hero worship attitude that Alex is too solid to fall are dead wrong. Pushing it way to close to the edge...
Went down the hill last night to see the film, astounding feat and well done film. Upon reflecting on it all I hope Honnold finds a way to focus his amazing energy toward another goal other than soloing. His interview down at USC that is on You Tube certainly shows just how bright he is, he did say he’d like to go back to school. I hope he does and defines himself in ways that will continue to astound us. He is an extraordinary individual to say the least, best to him.
Anyone care to speculate on what Alex's pay structure for this movie is?
I could care less about money most of the time, but it occurred to me to wonder about it as the movie gets more and more popular with the general public. I'm sure it's hands down the number one climbing movie of all time, and hauling in what have to be pretty large box office receipts (and eventually Netflix, DVD, etc. money).
I just got to thinking that I hoped Alex has some sort of profit-sharing arrangement with the movie owners (was it Nat Geo?). No Alex, no movie. Seems like it's only fair that he should walk away from this with a nice chunk of change, given he's a professional climber and the clock is always ticking on the lifespan of that as a career choice. It's not like he can retire one day and start commentating in the booth with Howard and Dandy Don (apologies for the dated reference).
Rogen did ask Alex what he makes and from where, and Alex has actually detailed this in the past - about as much as a dentist he said. I'd guess lifetime earnings will not be like a dentist. Lynn Hill's primary income, for example, these days, is AirBnB.
Really, it's none of our business and I don't care much.
This is net at theaters. I have no idea how theater net turns into actual profit. Seems after all costs and people are paid, it doesn't seem so incredibly lucrative - like you'd have to keep making movie after movie - nobody is going to retire after just one. I would guess Alex is making more because of the movie than from the movie itself.
Free Solo is playing at the downtown complex -- much to my surprise.
I wasn't expecting to see this when I checked the listings.
When did they stop listing the theater times in local papers?
I miss the old ads.
Meeting Laurie at three. This should be an interesting evening. She was taken to Yosemite in the late sixties and took the YMS basic course but cannot remember the instructor's name. This is our second movie date.
Armchair climbing's all we're good for now, I'm afraid. Well, I ain't really AFRAID afraid. It's a second date, right?
I'm waiting to see her reaction to the Sonni/Alex/Captain love triangle.
Super intense movie.. very well done. Absolutely friggin nuts soloing something that you fell on even remotely recently...all the people who have a hero worship attitude that Alex is too solid to fall are dead wrong. Pushing it way to close to the edge...
The belay rope probably got wrapped around Laurie's ankles again like it showed in one scene in the movie :>)
What's weirder is even though it was painful for me to sit through the interview listening to many silly questions and comments (admittedly among some good ones), I enjoyed it. There is some type II fun to it, I guess.
I do appreciate Rogan's genuine curiosity and keen engagement during his interviews though (no, I don't think he was acting), which does set him apart from most other interviewers. I also like it that he does not feel a need to pretend to be smart like many podcasters do and allows himself to ask silly questions.
So, kunlun_shan, I still recommend the interview. You might walk away feeling impressed how Honnold handles the interview swimmingly, and might just, like me, learn a great deal how to explain to non-climbers [SPOILER ALERT] the Class I - V breakdowns; YDS ratings; speed climbing up the same plastic route in competition year after year; how free climbers might fall but not die; how aid climbers might also fall and send an entire line of protections flying (while watching your listener palm his/her forehead in horror); how the hardest climbing grade is pushing into 5.16, while "THIS" route, being the easiest free wall route up El Cap, is ONLY 5.12d (and watch your listen do the math in his/her head that oh, it's only 75% of highest difficulty -- they for sure ignore the letter d), yadayadayada...
Yeah, I recommend the interview.
P.S. Yes, DMT, that video clip is pure gold. Seinfeld is one of my all time favorite shows. So clever!
It was, for me, "second time around is more better."
We two left the theater shaking our aging heads in wonder that this style was beyond greatness, it was totally rad!
Talk about chips all in. So Vegas.
The following dinner conversation was excellent. I bolstered the edible MJ I had consumed before the movie with two glasses of wine, she had water. Each of us had the lamb and brought bones home to the doggies.
Thanks, Mei. I will check out the interview upon reading your comments.
I saw Free Solo today and really enjoyed it. Certainly found it a bit gripping at times to watch.
PS, Sure wish the full size movie poster was available for purchase, the one that they ran as an ad in NG magazine. I would love to purchase it and then get it autographed by Alex and then get it framed.
^ Klimmer2.0, the poster is available for free download in 27" x 40" size. You could get it printed.
I can't really put my finger on it, but I preferred Dawn Wall. Better story with two protagonists, I think. And some of the scenes in Free Solo felt a bit forced / contrived. I totally get why Free Solo resonates more with the general public, though. But, I'd be happy to see Meru or Dawn Wall again, I think once was adequate for Free Solo.
I'm surprised Dawn Wall is coming in even close to half of Meru.
Seems to me the difference is a statement about National Geographic vs Sender's ability to promote and distribute - like Sender didn't do too bad but there was more there they couldn't capture.
Saw it last night. Great film and the storyline flowed well. Go see it.
Bring your chalk bag. Even though you know he makes it just fine it’s still gripping.
I totally get why Free Solo resonates more with the general public
As a climber I personally liked both movies and am in agreement with most of the upthread comments concerning why Free Solo has a bigger box office presence.
IMHO, Free Solo was more of a character study of a unique individual with a climb as its focus, whereas The Dawn Wall was more of a climbing movie. The subplots of the GF and the film crew, and the fact that free soloing is easier for the general public to understand than the complex game Tommy and Kevin were playing, would broaden the appeal of Free Solo. Certainly the release schedule, with Dawn Wall basically only being widely released on two days (neither of which was a weekend) made Free Solo more available. And there was the diligent promotion by the directors and the cast, including Alex himself. The Dawn Wall climb had a media frenzy when it was happening, but received little press after a (too)long delay in release of the movie. And National Geographic has more name recognition than Sender Films.
BTW I am interested in how much the GF and film crew subplots, and Peter Croft, affected Alex's state of mind. He must have been aware the camera was always running, and the Directors were trying to put together a certain story. Making a documentary has an effect on the events being documented. And, how much was real, how much was acting?
I wonder also how much was acting. A couple of the conversations with the GF that were shown in the film felt staged to me. Not that they weren't necessarily real conversations. But that they were ongoing conversations that were re-enacted for the the benefit of the film.
I enjoyed the climbing footage. I'm not keen on the glorification of the extreme free soloing. I also felt a bit sorry for the GF.
Totally awesome.
Great work to everyone involved.
I didn’t want to leave my seat when it was over.
Go see it in a theater while you still can; it won’t be the same on a TV screen.
More good background ... here from the NYT, Jimmy's hometown paper ;)
Excellent 10 min video, What if he Falls? Jimmy and Chai explore their dilemma in depth, with lots of clips from the movie and some new footage. Everyone seems most relieved that their project is over. Thanks for posting Rhodo.
This is the first time they identified the climbs Alex free soloed for the camera as part of his "preparation". Excellent Adventure, Freestone, Les Revieras Pourpres (The Crimson Rivers) in Morocco, Easy Rider. I had thought I saw some footage of the Phoenix in FS but maybe not.
Someone mentioned upthread that they felt that FS was much more a character study than the DW. I haven't seen FS yet (this weekend), but I did feel that DW was in a large part a character study of Tommy - kind of a mini-biography - what made him who he was and why he was driven to a project like this and to stick it out and eventually succeed.
Yes, after thinking about it I will concede the point. They were both character studies of interesting and unique individuals.
What was definitely different about the two movies was the director's decision to make the GF and film crew subplots a big part of FS; you have a mini documentary of the film crew filming embedded in the movie so they in essence became part of the cast. In the DW there was coverage of the film crew at the end, but not integrated with the movie. I thought that added interest to FS, esp for the general public (although some climbers upthread would have liked more climbing footage of Alex).
Re FS, I wonder if there is a significant overlap in the general public between those who go to horror films to get the sh#t scared out of them and going to see FS?
I'm sure climbers who have free soloed, and have climbed El Cap will appreciate this movie on a different level than the general public. It was better than I expected, and I was quite moved by it.
The Runout Podcast with Chris Kalous and Andrew Bisharat just did a great episode on the backstory from the perspective of Mikey Schaefer, the videographer seen cringing in the video. Mikey was scared to the point of tears but did press the record button. Check it out at runoutpodcast.com.
IMDb reports Alex Honnold the winner of a Critics Choice Documentary Honor for "Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary". Along with Ruth Bader Ginsburg and John McEnroe, among others.
Great climbing movie with outstanding cinematography that appeals for many reasons . Croft and Caldwell helped balance the narrative immensely for me. Jimmy Chin should be joining Mike Hoover's "Solo" with the only climbing films ever nominated for an Academy Award .
What was the rating of the hardest move in the movie ?
Two recent films ,"Ladybird" and "Free Solo" , with Sacramento native connections is a hoot for Central Valley Folks .
Went in for round 2 last night - still good. I'll rent if I see it again. The theater was still maybe 75% full at the 9pm show. Didn't look like much of a climbing crowd.
Croft made me cringe even more than the first time. He's jealous and flat-out mean and shaming to Alex. I felt bad for Alex. He wants approval and connection with Croft, but Alex just slumps and looks sad at Croft's comments about the cameras, like he's back in his childhood getting ripped by his parents or something. Meanwhile Croft takes the opportunity to brag about his own soloing to the same camera.
I agree completely with Schaefer's comments on the Runout podcast. Alex knew what making that film meant - it was the community, support, friendship and motivation he wanted and needed to pull it all off. I don't think he's beyond needing and enjoying the attention of being a star, but that aspect really seemed to come second.
I didn't really get the sense that Croft was being mean to Alex. The footage was a little awkward and Croft is maybe a little awkward guy in person, or on film is probably more accurate. Let's face it, it takes a special "weirdness" to solo at those levels (I would think). But I do agree there was a little bummer factor in the Croft scene.
Then Alex just turns and walks away from Croft and I thought, "hey thats rude, you can't do that to Croft". Then I remembered this is just an awkward movie scene. They're pretending its a natural conversation but its part of a movie script, albeit a loose script. They might have both thought it a little weird; two great giants. "Now Peter you stand over here and Alex walks up to you and you have a conversation about free soloing".
Just listened to the Runout Podcast #7, Free Solo Film and the Sweaty Palm. They talk about their reaction to the film, having just seen it.
One of the tidbits is that Jimmy Chin spent months trying to get approval to use a drone, to no avail. The crew later discovered that once you reach an altitude of 6000' from the Valley floor, you are technically no longer under the jurisdiction of the NPS, so they rented a helicopter and a very expensive "Hollywood camera" for the stunning post climb shot.
It is my hope that one day they release a "Free Solo, Climber Edition" or "Climber's Cut" (vs Director's Cut). I would have no problem at all sitting through hours of uncut footage from multiple angles - and I'm sure I'm knott the only one!
It is my hope that one day they release a "Free Solo, Climber Edition" or "Climber's Cut" (vs Director's Cut). I would have no problem at all sitting through hours of uncut footage from multiple angles - and I'm sure I'm knott the only one!
The crew later discovered that once you reach an altitude of 6000' from the Valley floor, you are technically no longer under the jurisdiction of the NPS, so they rented a helicopter...
Another good podcast (despite El Cap being located in Yellowstone National Park). Some good Q&A, and no drones were used, according to Alex. Also, Peter Croft and Tommy Caldwell are his heros. Worth listening to.
I got into treating SpecOps for a while. I recognized the wiring.
I didn’t get that Croft was awkward. He seemed authentically supportive.
It’s at some level hard to get my head around. I was wondering who felt most tweaked by the crux scenes - the climbers or non-climbers there.
No matter how effing incredible Honnold’s climbing is, if he chooses to continue slicing it so close to the bone, he will get the chop. It does seem he’s clear and OK about that.
Hmmm- I'll have to disagree with JLP on Croft. I didn't get that feeling at all.
What I saw was a person who views soloing as a deeply personal and totally solitary venture.
The "awkwardness" ( to me) seemed to stem from Croft being very uncomfortable with the film crew's presence and the inevitable pressure ( as much as they try to make it no-pressure... there was) - for Alex to succeed . There was, perhaps, a hint of disapproval over Alex's willingness to film such a dangerous venture. I sure didn't get any" jealousy" or " mean" vibes.
My interpretation of the Croft scene was that he was super uncomfortable with the media attention on many levels. Not the least of which being that Alex is a super likable guy and soloing El cap for work can get you seriously killed. Think Al Rouse, Scott Fisher, Rob Hall, Uli Steck, and many, many, many other sponsored climbers making bad decisions to fulfill sponsors expectations. He told Alex several times you don't have to do this.
Interesting everyone's take on the Peter Croft scene... My read on it was it was freakin' awkward for everyone. Just like it was awkward for Mike the cameraman. Here Croft is asked to touch base with Alex on the progress of something that may very will kill him.. how do you not seem awkward in that situation. I thought Peter was encouraging with Alex when he realized he didn't feel 'right' on the first attempt and bailed. There is just not a lot to say in that situation.. so "yeah, right, see ya" is about as verbose as most climbers are going to get!
Two corrections if I may...
1) Not everyone
2) I think by Mike, you meant Mikey [Schaefer].
I think he [Peter Croft] should have been edited out. In the middle of shaming Alex for having a film crew around for his solos and telling us how his own style was so much purer back in the day, he's sure to look right into the very camera he's criticizing and drop that he's solo'd the Rostrum 50 times. Beyond this holier-than-the-film dynamic everyone seemed to play into, he had nothing else to add.
In the recorded conversation, Alex Honnold clearly asked Peter Croft, "how many times have you free solo'ed these two routes [Astroman and the Rostrum]?" He was merely answering the question truthfully. I get the awkwardness, but I sense that it comes from a master who truly understands what free solo'ing Freerider entails and he was genuinely worried for Alex.
As Mikey said in an interview, he'd witnessed Alex Honnold fallen many times on the route throughout the process. Don't think he had a weak heart looking away from the camera; he, being up close and personal, simply knew way more than most of us.
It confirms what Tommy Caldwell said in the film, "those who really understand what he (Alex) is doing, are FREAKED OUT."
I walked out the theatre believing that Alex Honnold took a huge risk, even for himself, and luckily got away with it. And I know I'm not alone in this thinking.
Even if Croft was being hypocritical with a look at me comment, and I don't think he was, I think Croft's comments were really valid and deserved to be in the film even if some, including the film audience, find them uncomfortable.
If Alex can make a comfortable living doing something he loves, more power to him.
If he has such little regard for his own life, and given that high risk soloing is so much more important to him than being in a relationship, I think he should be single.
And I was more than a bit reluctant to financially support what I see as the glorification of a dangerous undertaking. It was actually my non-climbing co-workers that convinced me to go.
Everyone in the film has a moral conundrum. Alex, GF, Chai, Jimmy, Tommy, Peter Croft, Mikey.... And it appears the audience has one as well.
Mea culpa. I must confess I went to see it for a third time. "Just for the cinematography" I told myself. "While it's on the big screen". And indeed I enjoyed the cinematography and the musical score immensely. But I found myself being drawn into the story again, even though I knew it well. I hope my financial support can be forgiven.
Promoters have been making lots of money drawing audiences to every imaginable daredevil activity for thousands of years.... this is no different. Alex is an adult and knows the risks.
“Nobody would climb if they couldn’t talk about it,” a friend of mine once said. On a climber’s internet forum it’s no wonder that critiquing feats unimaginable for themselves is fashionable. I’m surprised more pundits don’t chime in....it’s Monday morning boys, time for some quarterbacking!
Interesting point. I never found soloing as satisfying as interaction with partners on rock & ice routes.
Descending the East Ledges with a full haul bag was a big part of an El Cap climb .
Interesting interview on the USC campus. What was interesting to me were the interviewer's monologue prior to the interview. One thing he said is something along the lines that our own minds are the limiting factor or empowering factor in out lives.
i agree jerrya...i don't like climbing alone....i miss my partners when i do...that said when i think about it el cap takes me a week (atleast) to climb....4 hours alone i can understand and his friends were near by....i wonder if alex thinks it would have been easier or harder if nobody new he was going...and thus was truly alone (if that is even possible these days on el cap)....i feel like he was so prepared the cameras did not matter that much..,which makes sense in a way
Most interesting comment at the end of Mikey's interview, saying that when he got to the top, Alex wanted to solo it again. Soloing can be very addictive, it is really a powerful buzz to come so close to death and live. I'm glad I don't do things like that anymore.
Finally got to watch Free Solo.
Mind blowing physical and psychological accomplishment.
The Boulder Problem and Enduro Corner sequences had me pretty stressed out even though I knew the outcome.
I couldn't detect any ill will in Croft's comportment but rather, a level of avuncular concern that could only come of his unique perspective on the enormity of the undertaking and the consequences of a mistake.
Now that he's done it, it would be nice to see Alex dial it back a bit.
he also mentioned that on the descent of shunes (backside) he thought a hold was dubious but that if it broke he could grab a tree >>>hold broke he grabbed the tree!!!!
Promoters have been making lots of money drawing audiences to every imaginable daredevil activity for thousands of years.... this is no different. Alex is an adult and knows the risks.
Sure. And there is a sucker born every minute. I'm trying to not be one of the suckers and perhaps I'm not being so successful at it.
I don't begrudge Alex pushing himself by taking calculated risk. Over many years of climbing, I pushed my much more limited skills and took some pretty big risk. Some of which, I don't think I realized how big until later. Stupid risk might be a better description than big risk. Maybe what he did is no more dangerous in the scheme of things than what I did.
I don't think I'm all so different than a lot of climbers about being conflicted about a dangerous activity that I really loved.
And although it perhaps goes against human nature, I would personally rather not contribute to the glorification of risk for risks sake.
Also, I think you can understand that people have the right to make decisions, that shouldn't keep other people from being able to criticize it. If someone making $10/hour is spending 10% of their income buying lottery tickets: it's their money and I think I should be free to point out they are also being stupid.
Again, if Alex can make a living by shouting look at me take these huge risk and succeed, more power to him. I'm just not real psyched to be a fawning fan financially contributing to that living.
I never found soloing as satisfying as interaction with partners on rock & ice routes.
I did all my free soloing with partners. Sometimes coiling the rope just to move more quickly on the easier sections especially in the alpine environment. But even on completely unroped climbs, I never did anything more than fourth class alone.
The movie is interesting because of the character studies. The camera guy does a great job capturing facial expressions at key moments.
One thing I missed during the first viewing was that Alex's response ~ "I could quit, but really I don't want to do that" - it's a response directly to Sanni, and he's staring right at her, seemingly holding back a bit of anger in front of everyone at her question, that she continues to not want him to solo.
Deifying these people as perfect humans is an absolute bore, it would have ruined the movie. I've met and interacted with Croft - eons ago. He's cool and secure with his amazing strength, talents and history in the sport - but when you start moving into his comfort zone - I think he becomes hyper competitive. Alex surpassed Croft's lifetime of climbing achievements - maybe over a decade ago?
I saw what I saw in their exchange, it all seemed very clear to me. I also at the same time can appreciate what others saw.
-----Promoters have been making lots of money drawing audiences to every imaginable daredevil activity for thousands of years.... this is no different. Alex is an adult and knows the risks.
Sure. And there is a sucker born every minute. I'm trying to not be one of the suckers and perhaps I'm not being so successful at it.
Why does watching the movie make you a sucker? Alex risks his life, when there's a million other things he can do to make money, and you pay to see it. Everyone wins until he comes up short one day.
There are scores of people risking limb and losing the bet every day that you never hear about. Think of the old test pilots on the first Apollo missions. Dudes with nuts the size of cantelopes... "Climb up on top of that there ICBM loosely retrofitted with a 'capsule' on top... sure! Light it up boys!"
People like him are just wired differently. Without them we'd make very little progress as a species. I think people like Alex inspire others to step a bit outside their comfort zone from time to time, no matter what their more mundane daily fields of battle might be.
first. 100% respect to honnold for his action: i [probably fortunately] ain't worthy to carry his shoes and don't know the guy personally, so while in the grand scheme of things it is effectively irrelevant, still for me, his act stands on its own intrinsically profound boldness.
second. 100% respect to vasarhelyi, chin, et al for their action of making a movie: if a good friend is going to do something mind blowing regardless of whether you are going to film it or not and you are a filmmaker, what choice do you really have?
third. so if the above is true, why write what follows? cause this can be a campfire and i'd like to shoot some shIt...
<shit>
i'm going to give this movie a pass unless honnold ends up moving onto another phase of his life.
why?
this is the first time, that i can recall, seeing a movie about a rock free soloist, even near to this duration, that marketed itself, at least to some degree, not just on the "consequence" involved...
but rather also on the "risk".
maybe i missed something significant but i don't remember the fellow rock climbers surrounding a free soloist talking about "how scared they were", in past creative representations.
now, that doesn't mean past free soloists weren't playing a bit of conscious roulette at times... and there are of course, also shorter exceptions that come to mind [one of osman's filmed single pitch free solos for starters]...
and that also doesn't mean the people that surrounded the free soloists weren't scared.
i just don't remember that being a major part of the story that was being told regarding a rock climbing free soloist.
otoh, that does seem to be part of the case here, at least based on the trailers i've seen...
and so in this case i'm going to respect and accept what i'm hearing.
and so i'll be refraining from watching this movie, for the time being.
i'm not willing to take a chance that i might contribute something granular to someone feeling like in order to make a living or to be loved, that they need to film themselves taking risks that, so far as i can tell, the filming of, contributes nothing directly to the collective.
now this is, of course, a philosophical pickle, given i haven't seen the movie.
how can i say it contributes nothing when i haven't seen it?
well, this is where near as i can tell, all we can do is play the odds and follow our hearts.
and so that's what i'm going to do.
maybe in two, five, ten or thirty years honnold will dial it back, i will go ahead and watch this movie and then i'll have to admit i was wrong and there were compelling reasons to put this on a big screen...
until then, i'm going to gamble that i'm not mistaken and so am not missing anything that might have enriched my life, now.
that's because for me and for the time being at least, the action was enough.
i suspect i don't need to see the 360degree version, with likely re-enacted and/or at least filmicly contrived conversation along with physiological tests on honnold's brain in order for me to understand how mind bogglingly bold honnold's action was.
i'm a climber that's been around a few blocks a few times, and so i'm gambling that i understand as well as i need to...
at least for now.
as i could be wrong, no harm nor foul, to all of those who feel differently.
and given v + c's track record, i'm sure it is a phenomenal movie.
so respect to all involved. [including the audience.]
The quote: "Nobody has died free-soloing on anything cutting edge" is a bit worrisome, considering all the people who have died on terrain that was trivial for them:
Derek Hersey on the Steck-Salathé - most likely on a 5.9 section. John Bachar on a 5.10 he'd done countless times. Elizabeth Brynes who slipped and fell from the top of a 5.10 crack in Indian Creek after soloing it and was setting up a top rope*. Cameron Tague on 4th class terrain, Longs Peak Jason Wells and Tim Klein on the "trivial" last section of Freeblast. all of the people who have fallen off the 4th class cable route on Half Dome.
i'm going to give this movie a pass unless honnold ends up moving onto another phase of his life.
i'm not willing to take a chance that i might contribute something granular to someone feeling like in order to make a living or to be loved, that they need to film themselves taking risks that, so far as i can tell, the filming of, contributes nothing directly to the collective.
maybe in two, five, ten or thirty years honnold will dial it back, i will go ahead and watch this movie and then i'll have to admit i was wrong and there were compelling reasons to put this on a big screen...
I think Alex has moved on. A great thing about this accomplishment is that it's so singular. Where do you go after free soloing El Cap? Nowhere. 1. It was a huge step in free soloing. 2. There's nothing bigger (at least easily accessible that would lend itself to the exhaustive work required to successfully free solo it, and although there's arguably a few bigger walls in the world, El Cap is the most iconic and historic). 3. Alex has fulfilled his lifetime dream. There's no reason to "one up" it.
The movie does get into some interesting / somewhat disturbing details of his childhood and how that perhaps factored into his desire to do something that required "perfection". But he would have done it or at least explored if he could do it without the film. IMO this was HIS dream and 99% of it was for himself. The film was a double edged sword. It gave him a lot of help (with fixed lines, support, motivation) but he probably would have liked to do the actual climb without being filmed so he didn't have to worry about his friends possibly seeing him die.
It was really cool to see how Alex developed as a person (becoming more open and communicative), which was really the main subplot in the film and made it so powerful emotionally and more than a typical climbing film. It also looks at what responsibilities do you have to other people in your life vs. sacrifices needed to fulfill your accomplishments.
I often see movies with action and effects on the big screen where I can really be immersed in the scene. And wait for dramas and comedies to watch at home. For me this the THE most important movie to see on the big screen of all time.
For me this the THE most important movie to see on the big screen of all time.
For me also. Don't miss it on the big screen. I'm not even interested in seeing the dvd when it comes out. Also the musical score by Marco Beltrami was very well done and sounds good at the theatre.
When you stand on the shoulders of Giants you never truly surpass them.
Cliche and irrelevant to my comment.
Before doing much that was new, Alex systematically repeated pretty much everything major done in Yosemite over the past 20 or so years, almost always faster or in better style, and to varying degrees he put it back in the face of the people he bettered - Croft included - among Potter Florine, Schneider and Osman in particular.
the musical score by Marco Beltrami was very well done
Agreed. As with the case of most good soundtracks and cinematography it should heighten the emotions/experience without calling attention to itself. There was a point somewhere in the middle where I payed attention the the score for a few moments and realize that it was another good part of the movie. Really the movie was firing on all cylinders including story, cinematography, score, pacing, humor at the right times, etc. And I think that's reflected in it's reviews and success. Any movie about such a monumental achievement would have been good, the exceptional work of everyone involved made it great.
On that note, I have to bring up another sports documentary, 24 Solo (Amazon and Netflix). That's truly a show case of how a human being can push his body beyond his physiology limit. The movie comes back to my mind from time to time when I need more perseverance. And I think the music score in that film is top notch -- the kind that makes your eyes tear up. It's too bad that the film never received much publicity. The trailer does not really do its justice, but it's better than nothing. I bought the DVD, but have lost it since (loaned out and never got it back). Well worth the purchase.
Certainly imo, giving him push back is essential so that he is not soloing out of control (like he admits he has).
"Not all of Honnold’s solos have gone smoothly. Early on, in 2005, he fell twice soloing in Owen’s River Gorge: once while downclimbing a 5.10 and another time climbing to the first bolt on Pippy the Zenhead (5.9). In 2008, on Half Dome, he stood 2,000 feet off the ground, stroking a carabiner, contemplating grabbing the metal to pull past an insecure slab move. He compromised, placing a single finger pad on the biner and making the move. On the Rainbow Wall (V 5.12b) in Red Rock Canyon in April 2010, Honnold climbed up and down into the dyno crux, 750 feet off the ground. He had climbed the route years before but barely remembered it. As he wrote in Alone on the Wall, referencing a recent breakup, “ … in the mood I was in, I wanted to finish what I’d set out to do.” Honnold crimped so hard on a dimple he got a blood blister, making the move. He climbed into 5.12 terrain above, which felt harder than he wanted to solo but that he now had to no choice but to climb.
In September 2011, Honnold called me from the Direct North Buttress (V 5.10b) of Middle Cathedral, looking for directions. In late 2011, Honnold created a short film with Corey Rich. Why showcases the Nikon D4, which Rich used to film Honnold soloing Equinox, a 5.12c finger crack in J-Tree. After lap three, Honnold was tiring. On his last effort, his foot skated slightly. He caught himself on a fingerlock (4:12). In 2012, he backed off John Bachar’s infamous J-Tree solo Father Figure (5.13a). In Zion in 2012, Honnold onsight-soloed Shune’s Buttress (IV 5.11+). As he scrambled to the summit through snowy, loose terrain, Honnold broke a hold, fell into a tree, and landed on a pedestal, narrowly avoiding the plummet to the valley floor. Though Honnold climbs well, he’s not flawless."
I just got around to listening to the joe rogan interview. It's crude, but actually kinda good. Alex is articulate as usual. Thanks for posting, mouse.
One thing I learned is that Alex does not understand the acceleration of gravity (32 ft per sec per sec). It takes only 2.49 seconds to fall 100 ft., not the 4 to 5 seconds Alex guesses (1:05:30). He should learn these things...
Went back and watched the movie again.
More girlfriend stuff than I remember for the first viewing, but that's how you draw in a larger non-climbing audience. Great documentary that should be seen on the big screen.
Interesting takes on the Croft scene. I agree with what Kingtut posted.
Pretty much the only guy on earth that can challenge Alex like that is Croft and his input was invaluable to how Alex went back up and TR'd a better sequence. Even being up there with Sanni and falling was an essential part of the process and made him up his game.
Dang, toward the end of the movie I really had to pee bad. Alex is young, but if he had to, which pitch could Alex stop to pee on during that 4 hour free solo? ;-)
Has the Rich Roll podcast been mentioned? Kinda long but I found it riveting.
For you Moabites, are they gonna have a showing down here? I only found northern UT stuff on Nat Geo.
Dang, toward the end of the movie I really had to pee bad. Alex is young, but if he had to, which pitch could Alex stop to pee on during that 4 hour free solo? ;-)
Like everyone I'm sure, I hope he looks back at this in a few decades and laughs. Till then, maybe he'll stop sometimes, look at those around him, a bit more wobbly, or hunched over, and laugh. If anyone has peed further, it is because he stood...
edit: he's the man. he put in work, went up there and he got it. no mas eh?
I liked the score, but I don't know how good it would be without the cinematography. (BTW the 6:47 track when he is free soloing is entitled "Huge Stones".)
Alex, Jimmy, Chai, Clair, and Mikey Schaefer bring home the bacon!
"... NatGeo’s vertiginous climbing movie “Free Solo,” also took home three Critics’ Choice documentary awards from the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA). Directed by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, “Free Solo” won Best Sports Documentary, Best Innovative Documentary, and Best Cinematography."
"Host Bill Nye lead the celebration of this year’s honorees for Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary — Scotty Bowers (“Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood”), Ruth Bader Ginsburg (“RBG”), Alex Honnold (“Free Solo”), Joan Jett (“Bad Reputation”), Quincy Jones (“Quincy”), David Kellman and Bobby Shafran (“Three Identical Strangers”), John McEnroe (“John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection”), and Leon Vitali (“Filmworker”)."
I'm saying it grosses at least $50 Million world wide when its all said and done....
Has it aired overseas yet? My guess is it will go over better in Europe than in the states.
"Free Solo" has not yet aired overseas to my knowledge, and may in fact do better in Europe. The British climbing docudrama "Touching the Void" only grossed $4.6m domestically (US), but more than twice as much, $10.8 m, internationally (with a production budget of $2m). Free Solo has already grossed $8.1m domestically and is still in its theatrical run. It would be easy to imagine $15m domestically and another $30m internationally. Time will tell.
I saw this over the weekend. I liked it much more than I thought I would... I was hesitant about the packaging, marketing and glamorization of something that seems pretty personal and is so dangerous. After seeing the movie it didn't come off that way to me; rather, it seemed more of a character study of a very unique person. I thought some of the middle parts could have been edited out but I think that about almost every documentary I watch.
I of course knew Honnold was successful but I still couldn't watch him do the final sequence of the boulder problem- I reacted by covering my eyes!
After watching Solo several times and reading dozens of reviews and evaluations from dozens of perspectives, I realized most all of them were "true" - from that perspective. Ultimately, Solo was about someone's experience, and attempting to translate that into objective terms reminds me of the old Oscar Hammerstein lyric from South Pacific:
Who can understand it?
Who can tell you why?
Fools give you reasons;
Wise men never try ...
Saw Free Solo last night at our local theater brewpub. Sold out, excellent story/film, even knowing the outcome, the excitement/relief for Alex when he completes the boulder problem was palpable in the theater.
Funniest part was Alex shopping for a refrigerator with his girlfriend.
Saw it last night also. Don't think I could have sat through it if I hadn't known the outcome. Kept thinking of doing laps on the boulders at Stony Point, all moves that were totally wired, and then one day finding myself unexpectedly on the ground after falling about 12 or so feet and not having any sense at all of what happened. How easy it can be to not be fully there for just a second, and then? Monumental achievement beautifully filmed.
The question is: Just how much was Alex there? Just how far can a person get in there - crawl inside the bubble of the moment without it popping? Letting go enough to be THERE - pretty special. But, we know there was risk....and it was worth the achievement of that goal. And then there's the after-math.....calculating what's in the future for all of us - or do we mostly let that go? Let the mind flow to the fingers and they will type out the next reality.
Starting from rest and assuming terminal velocity is 120 m/h, how long does it take to fall 3000 feet? I get 19.8 seconds (physics 1A). Which leads to a very important question.
It's currently making loosely about $100k / day and $500k / weekend for $8.2m to-date in limited release at 392 theaters and has not yet been released internationally.
Jstan. Folks tend to mix up the swears when they fall. When my partner fell off Odell's it was sh#t and Fck from both of us. Happened really fast and really slow depending on perspective. He accelerated incredibly fast but the whole thing was also in slow motion. That was just on Grade 3 ice.
How many of you that have free soloed anything hard remember your thoughts during the climb? In Alex's case, there had to be thoughts in between crux sections, where his mind might let go a bit. I'm thinking there's got to be a good story there to put on paper. Maybe there was some real terror, like how did I get here!!?? I can hardly fathom the miles and miles of rock people like Alex and Croft climb that makes the base of what they do. Sometimes interviews and video and podcasts can't do what pen and paper can. Maybe Alex and Peter can do a story together like Robbins and Peterson did with Tis-sa-ac, but friendlier. That would lead to more people free-soloing though!
Free-soloists put in the time on the rock to build that 'beyond' confidence skill. It seems like there could be a good story for Alex about the climb, one that encapsulates much of what led to it over the years. We all pretty much know the story, but it would be fun to see it written, pitch by pitch, even if it required a ghost writer.... lol. I have read his book and liked that. The story of the Fitzroy Traverse is insane. We are climbers and readers and we want our entertainment!
I've free soloed my whole career and still do, but not anything hard and not on a regular basis. The 'flow state' you get in is remarkable by any measure and in that state, it's not really about 'confidence' so much a simply knowing in an absolute sense.
The scale of his ascent is almost beyond imagination as is the mental work memorizing that many sets of sequences in the prelude. And maybe the latter is what I'm most impressed by in terms of how many years did it take him to build up the mental ability to remember that many sets of sequences and then get to the point where they just appear when he needs them without working to remember them.
I have an interesting request. I am collecting sound bites from rock formations. Hollow flakes, depending on their size have some cool tones. Different rock types also have unique tones as well. These sound bites will be incorporated into a soundtrack and will also be available for free download for others to play with or incorporate into your own creations.
B
Werner, you are no different - there you go telling him what he should do. His amygdala would disappear without climbing. We need to know more about his amygdala. ;>)
Edit: Funny story Werner....I took up bowling BITD, and to strengthen my fingers did some buildering. The buildering led back to climbing and then a climb of El Cap.
"...the IDA’s executive director, Simon Kilmurry, believes the troika of Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, RBG and Three Identical Strangers will make the Academy’s shortlist of 15 feature documentaries, to be announced in December. And he points to another hit documentary as a strong awards contender—Free Solo, the story of climber Alex Honnold’s quest to ascend Yosemite’s El Capitan rock wall without a rope. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin directed the movie, which has soloed atop the doc box office charts for weeks.
“It’s hard to prognosticate, but those films I would imagine will end up on the Academy shortlist,” Kilmurry observes. “It’s harder to predict this year than perhaps any year that I recall.”"
"The fifth annual Visionaries Tribute took place today at Manhattan’s Edison Ballroom. Veteran filmmakers Wim Wenders and Orlando Bagwell received Lifetime Achievement recognition. The Robert and Anne Drew Award for Documentary Excellence went to Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Meru, Free Solo) and the Leading Light Award went to Tabitha Jackson, Director of the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program."
I liked the film. I was getting squirmy when his girlfriend started getting emotional, because I've never met a free soloist who even had a girlfriend.
He sent her on a quest, cleared his head, and fired it.
The crux was wild. I got gripped watching, and I KNEW that he had done it.
I just saw it, very impressed with the production. Got a bit nauseated seeing him approach the boulder problem and work through it, knowing, of course, the outcome (which even Alex himself could not know at that time).
The star was Peter Croft in my opinion. Said all the right things at every critical juncture in the story line. What an invaluable asset (to Alex).
RE Lonnie Kauk's preferred location and state of climbing fitness
There aren't any climbers of his caliber who could free solo El Cap. Brad Gobright is the closest there is right now. Lonnie Kauk can free solo 5.13's but prefers to stay in Tuolumne.
... As for Brad and Lonnie, you might want to catch up on Lonnie's present state of climbing fitness...
"Beyond Magic Line and the routes mentioned above, Lonnie has become known as one of the preeminent free soloists and highball boulderers."
I know it doesn't compare to free soloing El Cap, though...
I have to concede here, he looked like he was all done and past his prime just a few years ago, too much snow boarding if I recall, looks like he went out and fixed that. Mikey is looking a lot leaner in that photo than in the movie as well.
I really like the movie. Can’t wait to get it on DVD eventually. Gonna print the movie poster in full size eventually and maybe Alex will make it to San Diego sometime and I’ll get it signed and then frame it.
Not sure it will ever be done again by another person. Unbelievably spectacular truly.
I woukd like to say though the real inspiration for this incredible human physical feat was Captain Kirk. Captain Kirk went for it. If it wasn’t for Spock he would have cratered. Lol c’mon Alex confess. Captain Kirk was the inspiration. You wanted to finish what Captain Kirk could not 😂😎🤙
Has it aired overseas yet? My guess is it will go over better in Europe than in the states.
Free Solo is having its Dutch premiere at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) tomorrow. It is included in their "Best of Fests" program. According to IDFA, "Striking documentary films from the international festival circuit are central to Best of Fests. The program showcases prize-winners, public favorites, and high-profile titles from the past year." All of the scheduled showings are sold out.
Technically, the international premiere was in Toronto back on Sept 9, when it won the Peoples Choice Documentary Award. But that's not overseas.
Solo in title a bit of an oxymoron. Many others involved...
Samurai pulling out best sword? Some collect swords, some collect guns? Maybe trad., if "lucky", swords are sometimes given, and they have a caretaker for a time.
Warrior seeking perfection so not to die? No, but good start, maybe half way there. Also, there may be many other ways there, none less too.
Something similar from a master, ... if you look east, for a warrior's way, you may not have to go far. Some cast out, live east of eden. Why be a warrior?
If interested, take it to Japan. Maybe look up Yuji. You don't have to wear red so high, if you choose to, why? Lose more often than not, or at best break even.
Another master said he taught, no matter how old he became, he could always improve. Croft cameo, in spades, hearts, diamonds...
"“Free Solo” won the Grand Prize at the Kendal Mountain Festival on Saturday night. A contender in Kendal’s main International Film Competition, the documentary from E. Chai Vasarhelyi, who helmed Sundance hit “Meru,” and Jimmy Chin, a climber in that film, was the overall winner in a lineup of 90 mountain and adventure films.
The audience – despite being predominantly mountaineers and outdoor enthusiasts themselves – still shuddered, flinched and sweated as the story of this unroped climb of the El Capitan rockface by the climber Alex Honnold unfolded. Not only does this film record the extraordinary achievement of a near impossible climb, but it also is not afraid to confront the climber and colleagues with the real possibility of failure and death."
(About Kendal Mountain Festival - Kendal Mountain Festival, held in the town of Kendall in the Lake District of England, is an award-winning event that has grown in size and diversity over the last 17 years. It is also the main social event for outdoor enthusiasts in the UK)
The first time I saw it with a few guys and I remember thinking, "his girlfriend is nuts, he needs to run for his life."
Then I saw it with my wife an thought, "he's kind of a jerk to his girlfriend."
Obviously I don't know much about them, but being in that relationship (how I perceived it) would scare me about as much as free soloing.
Great work by everyone involved and the music in the final climbing scene was spot on and gave me chills. I can't imagine filming a friend do that, I get scared when friends just rappel out of sight.
I've heard from a reputable source, this is a good book.
"The Warrior's Path: Wisdom from Contemporary Martial Arts Masters"
by James Sidney
You have the crew, seem to be on the tour. Get together and go interview some of the previous generation. Some of the stories are being lost. Maybe one on one meetings, watch some footage of Free Solo together, get some reactions. Ask them to share some old pictures and stories.
Be sure to talk to Mr. Caldwell. Get some embarrassing pictures and stories of Tommy.
Pay respects. It will likely go in unexpected directions, hopefully sometimes sideways. Roots of a tree, growing into the trunk... I can't explain it.
Do it! Might be a good follow up to a very good film.
Finally, perspectives change with age. The perceived value of a van chick may change too...
My van chick and I bought a new 77 Dodge van for our first Yosemite trip. Her perceived value hasn't changed since then and is still infinite. But I digress.
I watched Free Solo a week ago and I think I'm still processing it. I'm no music expert, but the score really amplified the emotional intensity. Here are 2 pieces from the end of the movie.
I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that Alex is incapable of loving a person. Documentary film makers often take liberties in the editing room to enhance the story. In fact, that's part of what made this movie so much better than a climbing movie -- Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi is a real deal storyteller. Also, the events in the movie took place more than a year and a half ago.
" //“The Dawn Wall,” “Free Solo,” “Hal,” “Into the Okavango,” “RBG,” “Three Identical Strangers” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” have been nominated as the best produced documentaries of 2018 by the Producers Guild of America, the PGA announced on Tuesday.
The winner will be announced on Jan. 19 at the 2019 Producers Guild Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.// "
I finally caught it last night, and while it is amazing to see the footage, the film really missed a lot of opportunity to be great.
By miring itself into the interaction with Sanni and then only briefly acknowledging the grandeur of the achievement before, and not at all after, there was almost no emotional payoff. Particularly if you aren't a climber. The people I saw it with were blown away by the act, but were left feeling hollowness and purposeless around it.
I think its an ok choice to let the climbing footage stand for itself as opposed to talking about the scale of the achievement and the quantum leap in possibility for humans, but if you make that choice- you need to sit with a lot more footage!!! I wanted the climb to have a lot more time and detail placed on it.
Please please please let there someday be a "climber edit" where we can have access to a lot more of the climb.
Took my extended family to it tonight. Ages ranged from 5 to 80. They all loved it, as did I. I loved the decision to include the film crew as part of the documentary, and their own emotion and involvement. The footage was spectacular. Jimmy Chin and crew should be very proud! Great job!
Good video, HFCS. I'm all for the 4 hour climbers cut.
I thought Jimmy's frank discussion about the Peter Croft moment, after the failed first attempt, was most enlightening. Apparently it was stressful for all concerned and Jimmy was glad he didn't have to shoot it. His verite team got the job done and it turned out to be a great scene in the movie.
Good story and photo of the verite team in Alex's van...
(Jimmy)...credits Vasarhelyi for the emotional honesty of the film’s subjects:
“That was Chai,” he says in the RI interview. “This film really represents our two strengths. Both of us agree that neither one of us alone could have made this film. She was much more invested and interested in the character study and the cinema vérité part of the film.
“Vérité filmmaking for documentary filmmaking is the bar where you’re capturing the moment in real time. … [Y]ou have to sit and shoot endlessly. We shot 700 hours of footage. So what you’re seeing are these gems. When you know that Alex is going to try to solo El Cap [the next day] and Sanni [McCandless, his romantic partner] doesn’t …”No scenes were re-enacted.
Getting the candid moments, he says in RI, “comes from sitting with them. It’s a craft.” He further says he does not think he would have gotten the moments that she did.
Great film. The section where Alex buys a home are quite funny because Alex is so out of his element. I like how they walk past the $1800 stainless steel refrigerators in Home Despot and select the basic $400 white model. The obvious climber's choice
Close to becoming the 4th documentary this year to gross over $10 million...
"...Free Solo from National Geographic Documentary Film and Greenwich Entertainment is climbing ever closer to the eight-figure mark. The title grossed just over $496K in the three-day estimate, averaging $3,397 putting it at $9,693,201 as of Sunday."
Free Solo came in 3rd in the IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) audience competition on Saturday. A total of 33,156 people voted. Free Solo scored 9.16, only 0.1 behind the winner which scored 9.26. Competition was stiff this year; 194 films were entered.
"Free Solo" makes Vanity Fair's top 10 movies list for 2018, coming in at #4, ahead of "Mission Impossible Fallout" (#7) and "A Star is Born" (#8). Just one critics opinion, but it encompasses all genres, not just documentaries.
"Not for the faint of heart, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s harrowing climbing documentary would work well enough as simply that, a movie about a guy climbing a tall thing at the risk of life and limb. The climbing footage—of Alex Honnold scaling Yosemite’s El Capitan without any ropes—is ravishing, whether bracingly intimate or zoomed out for boggling scale. But Free Solo is more than just a death-defying sports movie. It’s also a fascinating character study of Honnold, a man whose processing of danger and fear is almost alienly different from most others’. Free Solo also turns a bit meta, with Vasarhelyi and Chin examining the effects and responsibilities of documentary filmmaking. It all bundles together into a sleek and fascinating feature, at once unnerving and triumphant, visceral and cerebral..."
This might be of interest if you're in the LA area on Thursday.
Thursday, Dec. 6: “Free Solo”: The first documentary in the series, “Free Solo” follows rock climber Alex Honnold as he attempts a record-breaking free climb – no ropes – of El Capitan in Yosemite. Directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin are guests for this one...Tickets for the screenings are $20, or $10 if you’re a Hammer member or become one. All screenings start at 7:30 p.m. ..
Those that don't subscribe may not be aware that there is an excellent article by Largo in the current edition of Rock and Ice, entitled "Are You Not Entertained?".
"Climbing's biggest film of all time knocks it out of the park"
Also good interviews with Alex and with Jimmy Chin about "Free Solo".
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 08: Jimmy, Chai, Clair Popkin, Shannon Dill, Mikey Schaefer and Evan Hayes of Free Solo attended the 2018 IDA Documentary Awards last night in LA. They had been nominated for Best Feature Documentary and Best Cinemetography and were hoping for awards, but were bested by Minding the Gap and Distant Constellation.
In the past few days Free Solo was passed over for Best Documentary awards in Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, where it had been Nominated by the respective Film Critics groups. This adds to a list that includes New York, Washington DC, Detroit, Amsterdam, and Toronto among others.
Metacritic reports Free Solo has garnered a total of 11 Best Documentary Nominations from important Critics organizations (which is tied for the lead and impressive in itself), but no Wins. Leading the pack in Wins are Won't You Be My Neighbor (5), and Minding The Gap (3).
Seems most Critics think Free Solo is a very good documentary, one of the top 5 of the year, just not the best. At least so far...
Have you seen the edge-of-your-seat documentary, “Free Solo?”
It’s the true story of Alex Honnold (the first and only climber) to accomplish a free solo ascend (meaning no ropes, and safety harness) of “El Capitan,” in Yosemite National Park.
El Cap is a 3000-foot sheer vertical cliff. Or if you prefer, a half mile. Straight up.
Now I don’t know about you, but trusting my longevity to chalk and the friction between my shoes and a slippery rock face, is not the way I like to manage my affairs.
Likewise, and accuse me of being “risk adverse” if you want, but when it comes to investing in cannabis start-ups, it’s my opinion that this is not a “free solo” undertaking.
The cannabis industry is arguably one of the most idiosyncratic.
Each U.S. state has completely different rules. The legal market competes with the illicit.
Business and consumer markets have unique characteristics.
No standard formulas exist for business structures and valuations.
And these are just some of the peculiarities when it comes to Cannabis investing.
Now it’s unlikely to be life-threatening if you make some poor investment choices, but destroying investment capital on bad deals never did good for anyone.
Don’t get me wrong though. Investing in early-stage cannabis has the potential for life-changing returns. We need only look at the fortunes early investors have already made.
In years to come, we will look back at the U.S. cannabis market of 2019 and realize it was like the Canadian cannabis market of 2016. The whiff of legalization in the air and companies scrambling to raise capital and position themselves for first-mover advantage.
The difference is the U.S. is the world’s largest Cannabis market, and this is where the considerable opportunity lies, far surpassing what we are seeing in Canada.
According to research conducted by Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics, legal spending in the U.S. is forecast to grow to a whopping $23.4 billion, relative to Canada’s $5.5 billion.
If you feel like you've missed out, you haven't.
Momentum is growing. Massive amounts of capital are being invested, and we are seeing the political changes that will inevitably lead to the full-scale Federal legalization of cannabis in the U.S.
Big alcohol is already investing in Cannabis, and now tobacco is snapping at their heels. And it won’t be long before big food joins the party.
Constellation Brands, the third largest U.S. beer company and owner of Corona snatched a $4bn, 38% stake in Canopy Growth last year.
Molson Coors has a joint venture with The Hydropothecary Corporation out of Canada.
And now Altria – makers of Marlboro cigarettes, has just announced a $1.8 billion investment in Canada’s Cronos Group, paying a premium of 41.5%.
The big returns in the coming years will come from selecting a portfolio of the best early-stage cannabis opportunities.
But as I was saying, I don’t consider investing in early-stage cannabis something investors should lightly consider taking on alone.
Before making capital commitments, you need to see a myriad of opportunities. This way you get to compare and learn the nuances of each sub-niche you are interested in, and develop the feel for what investments are most likely to work out.
You also need a ready network of other experts and investors to collaborate with, and to share ideas and expertise.
The sector is just too complicated for any one person to grasp every critical aspect.
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Tomorrow, I’ll share more about the benefits of the Investor Network, and some of the notable successes our investors have recently enjoyed.
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You are also welcome to email me at mbrosgart@arcviewgroup.com and either a member of my team or I, will answer any questions you may have.
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Michael Brosgart
Vice President
The Arcview Group
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Alex, Chai, and Jimmy are in London for the UK Premier of Free Solo. They will do a satellite simulcast Q&A to theatres across the UK and Ireland. General release is Dec. 14.
Free Solo will release in the Netherlands January 10.
Audiences love Free Solo. In addition to previous Audience Awards at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Mill Valley FF, and Virginia FF,
The National Geographic Documentary Film recently won the Long and Mattone Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature during the 11th annual Hamptons Doc Fest at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor.
“We are thrilled to win the audience award at Hamptons Doc Fest,” directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi said on learning of the award. “It’s wonderful to have the film be so well received in a place that is so special to us.”
Minerals' link has an interesting from Alex-to-self missive at its tag end, but I'm pretty sure (99%) it's an invention by the writer of the article, making it Flake News.
Minerals' link has an interesting from Alex-to-self missive at its tag end, but I'm pretty sure (99%) it's an invention by the writer of the article, making it Flake News.
A good Alex and Sanni interview from last summer, just after Telluride but before Free Solo was generally released. Sanni talks about her experience of the filming (including being accused of "dropping" Alex).
The Seattle Film Critics Society (SFCS) has named Free Solo "Best Documentary Feature." Finally a win, after so many nominations. Congratulations Chai and Jimmy.
"Free Solo" is a digital product and thusly can be manipulated to be any size,
I knew someone was going to say that but the original digital format has to have enough megapixels per frame to be able to enlarge without losing quality on such a large screen.
Walleye lunker your answer doesn't really satisfy me yet ....
Cool then I want a portrait version instead of the widescreen (landscape) fare that I had to watch at the theater... I'll be happy to put my big screen TV on end to watch that
Following is a list of films released in IMAX which use IMAX, a motion-picture film format and projection standard. IMAX cameras and film stock are rarely used for mainstream films; the cameras are heavy and the film stock is expensive. However, since 2002, some feature films shot with digital cameras or on regular 35mm film stock have undergone IMAX Digital Media Remastering (DMR) processing for showing both in 70mm IMAX theatres and in Digital IMAX theatres.
I'm sure this release is in reaction to Free Solo getting included on the list of films for Oscar consideration.
More on the special IMAX release:
"The news follows this week’s Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announcement including FREE SOLO in the list of 15 documentaries that will advance in awards consideration."
“Oscars Spotlight: Documentary Feature Shortlist” will screen theatrically in 13 cities nationwide beginning on Dec. 31 and concluding on Jan. 21 — the day before Oscar nominations are to be announced.
Why not the typical national release of this movie rather than this limited release artsy fartsie action.
I think there's certainly enough interest. I can't remember the last garbage cgi thing I saw in a theatre... Free Solo would certainly be memorable. I've had scores of fat sedentary people at work mention how they saw the ny times piece and trailers galore.
The upcoming IMAX release of Free Solo starting Friday has been advertised for a couple weeks, but the IMAX website does not have up to date information. However, in some cases local theatres are selling advance tickets. eg Sacramento
This link shows a leader leaping to the handhold and making it (3 minutes in) as well as a climber following the pitch with a karate kick to the opposing corner.
This link shows a leader leaping to the handhold and making it (3 minutes in) as well as a climber following the pitch with a karate kick to the opposing corner.
"Those shooting on the wall had stripped-down Canon C300 MIIs, and we also had a number of fixed Canon 1DX MII cameras set up for remote trigger shooting in some of the most precarious spots where we wanted to give Alex the most space. We used a traditional jib arm where we could but also built a stripped-down wall-climbing jib arm we could use up on El Cap. For the aerial shots, we had a helicopter 3,000 feet above the valley rim, with a mounted ShotOver gyrostabilized system and a Canon Cine-Servo 50-1000mm lens. We also had a Canon Cine-Servo 50-1000mm lens shooting from a distance on the ground."
Click California in the drop down menu to see locations.
Hardman, if you do this you get the Landmark Opera Plaza Theatre on Van Ness. I don't think its an IMAX. Sacramento is the closest IMAX venue selling tickets (so far)...
Starts about 5 min in. What's kind of fun is considering the contrasting povs of Armstrong and Honnold.
"The garland feels about half-way to having kids to me - it's pretty committing."
re: the silverfish
"Silverfish are agile runners and can outrun most of their predators (including wandering spiders and centipedes). However, such running is possible only on horizontal surfaces, as they lack any additional appendages, and therefore are not fast enough to climb walls at the same speed."
Of the six major contributors to the Nose FA, Wayne and Dick and Rich Caldereood are still with us (I think). Warren, Bill Powell, and Bill "Dolt" Feuerer have passed on.
Free Solo was also recently nominated by DGA (Directors Guild of America Documentary Feature), PGA (Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures), DFCS (Denver Film Critics Society, Documentary), and ACE (American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards for Best Edited Documentary).
They were also recognized by CFCA (Columbus Film Critics Association) and IFC (Iowa Film Critics Association) as runners up for Best Documentary.
Lots of nominations and runner ups, not too many wins so far...
Just want to give a shout out to... Icarus (2017). It was mentioned, along with The Program (2015), in the Lance Armstrong Alex Honnold sitdown (previous page). I thought it was very good - smartly showcasing a number of subjects / issues.
Icarus won an Oscar, Best Documentary, 2017. It's currently showing at netflix.
That a great interview Alex does with Lance Armstrong - who didn't ask any inane questions the way Joe Rogan did.
Nice to see him so happy, even says he might never do another significant solo.
Would have liked to of heard more about his world view and foundation though.
HFCS, thanks for heads up on Icarus... just watched it on Netflix. Quite an amazing story, almost seems like fiction how the beginning leads to that ending.
* SPOILER ALERT *
I recommend not reading below if you are unfamiliar with the story and plan to watch it. It is more beautiful to let it unfold when you know nothing about it.
Some dots that I didn't connect until a few minutes after watching:
1. The initial impetus for the documentary is to show that anti-doping regulations and enforcement are ineffective, through a personal example of the author in the amateur cycling world.
2. The case is made that doping is widespread in the cycling world, and Lance was singled out for doing it.
3. Russia is singled out for having a long-running doping scheme, which begs the parallel question, what other countries are also doing it? Most/all?
4. Further begging the question, the International Olympic Committee ignores the conclusive findings of the World Anti-Doping Agency that Russia was systematically doping their athletes, and reverses the ban on Russia so they can compete in Rio Olympics. What could have motivated this? Increase ratings/interest by maintaining the classic world rivalries? Extortion? Maybe Russia was able to expose the dirt on other (all?) countries also doping their athletes? Threats/bribery to IOC members?
The documentarian set out to use his amateur cycling hobby as a way to prove his thesis, which was already interesting, and then it turned spy novel and gave way to an odyssey involving the highest possible level of global story definitively demonstrating his thesis. Brilliant.
Frustrating for the athletes who have some sense of honor or values tied to performing without enhancements, and perhaps disillusioning for fans who feal "cheated" in some way by this. But the results of the documentarian in his personal odyssey also point toward a path for reconciliation. He showed that his own elite-level doping regimen was not sufficient to overtake the performance of other amateur athletes who were better than him. (Or maybe, they had the same or better drug regimens too)
(Bringing it back on-topic to climbing here....) It reminds me of a primary ethos for climbers sharing their exploits- just be honest about what you did and how you did it and let others enjoy that for what it is. The point is that everyone at elite levels is optimizing their training regimen, and if the standard is to include performance enhancing drugs, then just accept that that's what people are doing and don't cast shame on it. Just put it out there and let the peanut galleries judge. The only reason this is a problem is because too much money and pride and identity of individuals and groups and countries get wrapped up in the results of the competition.
* END SPOILER ALERT *
And finally.... back on track to the thread topic...
I'm psyched to see Free Solo for first time this weekend on IMAX! The big dome at the Tech Museum in Santa Clara. Tickets bought, dragging my daughter along. Thanks Ed for posting the locations.
Like you, I could say more about it all (incl the rampant corruption seemingly most everywhere in the human condition) but right now I'm rather exhausted having spent so much time this morning so far in social media re the culture wars in academia. I need a break now, a big one.
Saw it at IMAX in San Jose, it was worth it in some ways... and good to see it again in a very different venue than the Auditorium in the Valley (which was awesome, of course).
"Free Solo" won 3 Cinema Eye Honors Awards, including "Outstanding Achievement in Production"," Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography", and the one we all voted for, "Audience Choice". Chai, Jimmy and Mikey Schaeffer all won awards. Alex has previously been named to the "Unforgettables", a non competitive honor.
I'm real curious about Alex referencing roping up for an ascent with Croft then cutting loose above the Boulder Problem.
Did this really happen and is there video to prove it?
Was this premeditated or did Alex ditch his date in a fit of toxic masculinity?
Did Peter rap off or jug out?
Yep, Alex did attempt freerider with Peter. They made it up to the boulder problem and then Peter wasn't feeling it anymore. I rapped with Peter. Alex solo'd the next two pitches and then mini traxioned to the top on our fixed ropes. I think I scared Peter a little bit simulrapping on a 9mm static and 6.5mm static. That was a first for him!
A minor footnote: I believe Derek Hersey, who was a prolific free-soloist back in the 1980's, died when he fell while third-classing the Steck-Salathe.
Congratulations to Chai, Jimmy, Alex and the team!!!
Very interesting that the documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor was snubbed. Ouch. I had thought Mr Rogers was the toughest competition for an Oscar. Three Identical Strangers also didn't make it.
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Solo by Mike Hoover
Free Solo by Jimmy Chin & co
I've seen all three.
Alex was the best alien, by far; and the best climber, by light years; was he the best actor? http://www.newsmov.biz/alex-honnold-hands.html
Extra credit: How many fingers are these two holding up?
I just watched FIRST MAN - the new movie about Neil Armstrong and the first moon landing. It had so much in common with FREE SOLO it's uncanny. The only thing missing was the refrigerator shopping!
ms55401
I saw this & that you have been around here a while.
"I found this fellow petty & full of can't. . . "
Talk about "Petty posts!:
"perhaps half of the posts here are from the original poster. that's quite a bit of cheerleading . . . ."
hey, MS55...
you are a gang of one,
Go bully some political thread if you feel the need.
Why did you come here just to say that? Do you feel is It your job?
So what is it to you?
you don't have to visit this thread, do you?
what is wrong. too cold where you are to appreciate what has been glorified here?
What is it exactly that you have a problem with?
Rattlesnake Arch, do not let some cheesy frozen sot tell you what to do you should not let anyone tell you when where or how much to post!I will go ahead nowAnd double your post count, if I feel like itFrom here on out if anyone got a problem with that ~ come here and gripe about how undeserving Honluv is "the movie is good and will continue to be good if you were to post a touch less frequently"
C'mon man, this thread remains~the Cordless Dude abides
This thread, in large part thanks to you, will probably end up a great resource of relevant links, info, commentary, etc relating to the subject. Way to go.
At the risk of being exposed as one of the few people left in the world who still reads paper magazines, I just want to mention that Alex and his story made the cover of National Geographic for February 2019!!!
This thread, in large part thanks to you, will probably end up a great resource of relevant links, info, commentary, etc relating to the subject. Way to go.
Agreed, have referenced this thread for that very reason to several folks already.
back to the movie.... just saw it in Berkeley with my daughter. Great film IMHO. But if your non-climber girlfriend lets the line run through the grigri when lowering its climber's fault for not putting in a stopper knot. Just saying....
Now I just hope you guys will get on with making babies and give up this free soloing stuff. Your point made and then some.. :)
I certainly think Free Solo should win - and I predict it will.
If it does, to hell with notions about who should be on stage for the presentation. Alex should be there, and if he is it will be one of the best moments of the event.
(Which may not be saying a lot, since the Oscars ceremony is mostly a long series of "Say, aren't we just about the most wonderful humans anywhere?" moments.)
Yes If you are in the room when the win is announced - Storm the stage, be in front of as many of the elite few, the crush during the announcement & the need to have smooth efficient production for TV, if it is not highly regulated, might allow you to make it onto the podium.
From what is the push to get the win & given the side-lining of the competition.
As well as the evidence of the money being spent in all sorts of other arenas, Everything points toward an Oscar win.
(I have family in the game/publicity plus speciaL SAUCE getz-ya-da-win)
THAT COVER of The Current of ROCK&iCE ! That Special Sauce
Whether that is a good development for Climbing, Big "C"
given the debauchery of the inclusion of plastic-pulling in the strange stage that is the Olympics is a highly debatable issue.
The idea that the Entertainment/globe will be introduced to Rock climbing, by "Free Solo"- A cordless near one-time event brings the debate's value up in importance....
Especially if you happen to be a breeder/have impressionable Yootz
At the risk of being exposed as one of the few people left in the world who still reads paper magazines, I just want to mention that Alex and his story made the cover of National Geographic for February 2019!!!
That's much better than the Wheaties Box! The new pics posted above (frome Gnome).....would sure like to see more video of that stuff. Don't ask me why....it's the art of man. Will the climbers edition come out? There's probably a pretty big market still for that DVD or download.
Now that the Mr Rogers flick is out of the picture, it seems that Free Solo has a real shot at an Oscar. "Awards Circuit" is currently predicting a win, while GoldDerby puts the odds on RBG. I personally think there is no comparison but that's just me.
For those who missed it the first go-round, Academy Award Nominee Free Solo returns to IMAX theatres for another glorious week on the big screen, starting February 1.
Next up.. the Oscars. Can't wait to see some of our own on the red carpet walk.
While he did not get the red carpet treatment, one of our own has won two (I think) Academy Awards in 2006 and 2011: Mark Chapman for technical achievement. Anyone watching the SuperBowl will clearly see the fruits of Mark's achievement: the camera sliding above the players. Sometimes you can see the guide wires from other cameras.
There was an interview with Alex and Jimmy today on WBUR's "Here and Now". The page with a transcript of interview highlights and link to the ~11 min audio is here.
With Jimmy Chin quoted as saying: “Maybe someday. Maybe someday” and the DVD set to be released on March 5th, I think it’s fair to say there will knott be a “climber’s cut” on it.
I imagine people have been asking for this from day one.
I recommend buying Synnott’s book.
There is some stuff in there you guys will be very interested in knowing. Mark has known Alex for a long time and they have gone on several international trips together. This is a friend’s telling of a tale, with all the deeper insights you would expect from a personal connection.
If you can, I’d preorder it through Amazon before they sell out.
A climbing book sell out? Lol you say... but the audience for this is much wider than all the other climbing tales. I’ve heard a lot of non-climbers talking about Freesolo and I’m surprised at their level of enthusiasm. I know an accountant, a fisheries biologist, an oncologist, and an engineeer that all want to talk to me about Freesolo. It really has made the leap over into mainstream thought.
The book isn’t just about Freerider, it takes a much broader view of the evolution that lead up to that, including some stories from Mark’s early years in Yosemite. It is much more than just the book version of the movie.
Don’t hold your breath for video of the whole climb, get the book.
When it sells out, you can sell it on eBay for double what you paid for it.
The online sports betting odds currently favor RGB (-200) over Free Solo (+250) in the Oscar Race. Minding the Gap (+450) is third, while the other two are long shots.
This means you would have to bet $200 on RGB to win $100 (if you are correct). A bet of $100 on Free Solo would win $250.
In Europe, Free Solo is doing pretty well too. right now 10. in box office in the Netherlands for 2019. In Belgium it comes to the theatres this week and in Germany, it will be shown mid-march.
National Geographic will pick up the tab for Free Solo's TV premiere. It will air commercial-free on Nat Geo in the U.S., followed by a global rollout in 172 countries and 43 languages. Additionally, Fox Home Entertainment will release the film on digital platforms, including iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu and more, beginning Tuesday, Feb. 12.
Free Solo wins British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for Best Documentary; a very prestigious honor considered to be the British equivalent to the Oscars...
"My best ideas when it's not actually in an edit in front of the computer or watching material normally come in my transitions. Like it's on the subway just thinking about what transpired or I see something that triggers an idea. Recently like we've been traveling a lot and I had this one car ride. I was with my daughter and she fell asleep and in those two hour I had more ideas about what I want to do next than what I've had in six months." -Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
I work in idea generation, and my experience is similar. I could consider visiting ST one of my "transitions" where a good idea might emerge or intensify.
...
At this point, as of today, I'd be very surprised if the gang did NOT win the oscar.
re: Croft Honnold exchange in movie, posted about way way way up thread somewhere
So I just had the opportunity to watch Free Solo again at home from the comfort of my couch, and I gotta say today's impression regarding the Croft Honnold exchange is exactly what I recalled after watching the movie the first time. Peter's interaction was perfect, spot on, imo. Let me say again, I thought it was perfect, a class act, from a true climber who's been there with decades of wisdom.
So I can't speak for anyone else but I actually got more from the film watching it at home, where I could pause, rewind, etc at leisure, than in the theater. But still glad I saw it in the theater too.
The online sports betting odds currently favor RGB (-200) over Free Solo (+250) in the Oscar Race. Minding the Gap (+450) is third, while the other two are long shots.
This means you would have to bet $200 on RGB to win $100 (if you are correct). A bet of $100 on Free Solo would win $250.
Alex sure looks uncomfortable in a tux.
A trailer from I Bring What I Love by Chai Vasarhelyi. This film shows another side of Islam plus if you like Youssou Ndour's music it is essential. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lImUlLCVP4A
"Though he's avoided the big-time exposure that comes with big-time sports brands, Honnold will almost certainly make seven figures this year and next. Says his manager at RXR Sports, Jonathan Retseck, "For rock climbing, that's pretty good.""
Sorry for hijacking the thread... but "They Shall Not Grow Old" was outstanding. If you have any interest in seeing the past brought back to life, and get a chance to see it, do so.
Free Solo wins the Cinema Audio Society (CAS) award for Excellence in Sound Mixing. Some well deserved recognition for the sound crew. It takes a lot of people to make a great movie.
MOTION PICTURE – DOCUMENTARY
“Free Solo”
Production Mixer – Jim Hurst
Re-recording Mixer – Tom Fleischman, CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Ric Schnupp
Scoring Mixer – Tyson Lozensky
ADR Mixer – David Boulton
Foley Mixer – Joana Niza Braga
Free Solo ties with They Shall Not Grow Old for Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) Golden Reels "Documentary" Award. This should make Mighty Hiker happy...
The cake is baked. Voting for the Oscars is complete. From Variety:
DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
It would make sense for the Academy to go for “RBG,” given the tenor of contemporary American politics. Not to mention, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg made it back to the bench last week, right in the thick of Oscar voting. (Just saying!) Across the pond, however, BAFTA voters opted for “Free Solo,” and that could be a harbinger. National Geographic’s campaign turned it on in the final stretch as rock climber Alex Honnold became a full-blown rock star (no pun intended). The film also notably got a big pop at the Oscar nominees luncheon earlier this month.
Will win: “Free Solo” Could win: “RBG” Should win: “Minding the Gap” Should have been here: “Shirkers”
Minding the Gap was a great doc. It took awhile for it to settle in with me. it was fairly subtle and almost muddy at times but so is life. I'm sure it was an incredibly hard piece to edit but they really did an amazing job putting it together. They definitely were cleaning up on the awards circuit and for good reason. From a film making perspective I liked it more than RBG.
Watched it last night. We really enjoyed it.
While I thought it was well done I didn’t think it was Oscar caliber.
However, I wish it luck. Jimmy Chin does do pretty spectacular work.
Being a documentary feature of an unprecedented free solo and filmed in real time following Alex up on a +3000' wall, and giving the audience a birds eye view, is spectacularly done! Just saying!
I think it's pretty weak that Bradley Cooper didn't make the director's cut for A Star is Born. I think it's hilarious that Emma Stone and Rachael Weisz are both nominated for The Favourite given their (supporting) roles in the film, lol.
of course it was going to win. the footage of alex doing the boulder problem is THE most intense footage ever, anywhere.
Radder than surfing a 100 foot wave at nazarre. kudos to the guys that rigged that.
congrats jimmy and chai, but you could have rehearsed your congrats speech a little better
I spent the day walking around south SF bay marshlands with my daughter, now chillaxin' and thought it would be funny to share pics of Alex in a tux, but I guess it's kind of anti-climactic now if they won an Oscar.
Congratulations. Telling shout-out to Sanni Mccandles. My guess is she was the Oscar tipping point. Mccandles showed us, not told us, the emotional center of Free Solo.
Very well deserved. I thought that they'd hit perfectly the "sweet spot" between showing just a bunch of climbing, and what kind of person it takes to accomplish such a feat. (which is what I think actually captured the interest of the general public).
I saw all of the nominees, as well as a number that I thought were passed over wrongly. Some were close, but I think justice was done.
Unlike others who've posted, I do not think this film is captured well by streaming or DVD on a small screen. I imagine it will take another round of theaters, and I'd strongly recommend seeing it there, particularly in IMAX if possible.
Obviously congrats to the crew, directors, camera staff, all!
But fame and fortune are adversaries no lesser than gravity and fear.
Good luck battling those two evils. They can destroy people's life.
(I only wish them onto my worst enemies). Watch yourselves kids...
On another hand, there is always a place to return to and feel human again,
it is called Camp 4.
Dirt bags rule...
Tongue in cheek:
Can't wait to see the day the Duchess of Camp Bridge wears a formal North Face gown at the Ahwahnee.
Tom, I have a wealthy friend whose son is a producer. I have always assumed a producer just raised the money. My friend corrected me: a producer brings all of the pieces together to get the film made. No one else can do their job unless all the pieces are connected. There is no one else to do it. I think that in big movies, like Black Panther, the studio acts as the producer and in small movies, like Roma, the director pulls it together.
I do find the inner workings of a production such as Free Solo pretty mysterious and fascinating, so I am going to ask a few questions. Please feel free to chime in based on your knowledge or speculation (would be nice if you make it clear).
1. So, did the producers Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill dreamt up the idea of a documentary about Alex Honnold's character? (I know free solo'ng Freerider came after the start of the film making.) Are they even climbers?
2. Or, did Chai and Jimmy Chin come up with the idea and pitch it to Hayes and Dill, or maybe NG, for funding? I find it likely, but if so, why did Chai even need to thank NG, or anyone for that matter, for hiring them to do the job?
3. Where did National Geographic fit in this picture, or when did NG come into the process?
Thanks to those who have made this thread. Reading about how the film was doing was fun. Hearing that it won an Oscar was a real kick. But seeing the photos from the ceremony elevated it to surreal, somehow.
Directv has one feed so there is no East Coast/West Coast feed, but it is based on the East Coast. Interesting! I guess the standard "check your local listings for times in your area' tag line applies!
Good post Oscar roundup. Special thanks to MGuzzy.
I do find the inner workings of a production such as Free Solo pretty mysterious and fascinating, so I am going to ask a few questions. Please feel free to chime in based on your knowledge or speculation (would be nice if you make it clear).
1. So, did the producers Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill dreamt up the idea of a documentary about Alex Honnold's character? (I know free solo'ng Freerider came after the start of the film making.) Are they even climbers?
2. Or, did Chai and Jimmy Chin come up with the idea and pitch it to Hayes and Dill, or maybe NG, for funding? I find it likely, but if so, why did Chai even need to thank NG, or anyone for that matter, for hiring them to do the job?
3. Where did National Geographic fit in this picture, or when did NG come into the process?
Those were interesting questions Mei. I have read, listened to, and watched a ton of material and I don't know the answers. Anyone out there who knows?
I have a trivia question of my own. Jimmy said something in a foreign language in response to a question at The Oscars Winners Press room interview (2:54). Can anyone translate it for us?
Jimmy said something in a foreign language in response to a question at The Oscars Winners Press room interview (2:54). Can anyone translate it for us?
Chai whispered something into his ear, and then he said, in Mandarin, "we all love China very much."
I went straight to the timestamp. Didn't watch anything before or after that statement, so I don't have the context for his saying that. No interest in knowing anyway. In the past couple of days, I watched a couple of minutes of their interviews from the Oscar celebrations, and found it a bit painful to watch. Nobody is themselves, not even Alex Honnold. I'm not criticizing because I believe nobody can still be themselves, and talk normally, when they are under that kind of limelight and surrounded by that kind of Hollywood vibes.
I have a trivia question of my own. Jimmy said something in a foreign language in response to a question at The Oscars Winners Press room interview (2:54). Can anyone translate it for us?
He says in Mandarin " We all love China very much!"
Curious if there's been any more info on the guy in the bunny suit? you know, the unicorn man? Did he see the film? Did he send? Etc...
So I just watched Alex execute the Boulder Problem again. A couple times now I couldn't watch it straight through - I had to pause - because it's just so, so, so very intense.
"Free Solo depicts athletic feats that many viewers will find beyond reason - and grounds the attempts in passions that are all but universal."
lol
Alex is truly a one-in-a-billion... and this climbing achievement also a one-in-a-billion. I am so glad it got documented, for starers; and then I'm so glad that this documentation, on top of that, go immortalized in this near-unbelievable way - by winning an Oscar for best documentary film before a worldwide audience. Perfection!
I won’t mind if Alex turns out to be human after all. Kind of makes his accomplishments all the more impressive! In reality, he could suffer worse fates than having us watch him on a reality tv show. And I hope he doesn’t. I hope he keeps his head on, in whatever way suits him.
I think that Corrigan Op-ed covers it quite nicely.
I thought Corrigan made a valid point 4 months ago when I first read his lucid analysis. On rereading, in the light of what has transpired, his point remains valid. Free soloing is not a viable path to fame and a 7 figure income. All the more remarkable that Alex was able to pull it off.
I paid to see it 4 times so I am as guilty an enabler as anyone. And if I get the chance I will gladly indulge myself and watch it again (but only on the big screen) ...
From Forbes: "Free soloists who have fallen – of which there are quite a few – don’t give interviews." Well put, but have there been 'quite a few?'
Good article. That said, maybe the most important bit was not discussed: the 9 of 10 success on the slabs does not qualify as wired. Forbes didn't include the "Just do it" aspect of Alex' ascent.
That said, maybe the most important bit was not discussed: the 9 of 10 success on the slabs does not qualify as wired. Forbes didn't include the "Just do it" aspect of Alex' ascent.
Curious, when Alex pulls through the boulder problem he says something into the camera. What does he say? I do not think he says what the subtitle / the CC says he says.
I was overwhelmed with emotion from the Boulder Problem entry to the top out: had tears in my eyes. I am so happy to have witnessed such a feat of perfection.
So will the movie encourage more people to free solo? Probably a couple. But at the same time, did we all encourage Honnold to free solo El Cap by lavishing praise upon his previous big solos and, later, by lining up at the box office for this documentary? I think we did.
Whilst I still contend he has a valid point, his logic suffers here. Honnold had already free soloed El Cap by the time we lined up for the documentary.
I just watched Free Solo with my wife last night for the first time. I had a vague tingling of something I wrote on RC.com in 2003 about a free solo death at Donner. I just went back and dug it up to read it again.
While I would agree in hindsight it is a little dramatic and doesn't really focus enough on the personal accountability aspect, here is what I thought about it then and still feel to some extent:
1st off, condolences to the family. I hope they will get through this tough time.
W/O knowing the background of the individual, it is obviously all speculation at this point, but it makes you wonder what the effect of all the media coverage in both magazines on soloing will have. How many people will it lure with the seductive simplicity? How many of those people will be lured into a false sense of secuirty after a few easy outings on pristine rock and good weather? Someone who's partner bails and they are stuck only to remember a magazine article telling him how "cool" it was to solo? Was Justin one of those people?
Then a hold breaks, a thunderstorm hits, high winds, a small tear in the rubber of a climbing shoes, or just a regular foot slip causes it all to come crashing down resulting in a rather pointless loss of life. I am sure Justin had people who love him dearly, all of his future and potential gone :(
I don't know what the answer is to the dilemma that I see. Hell maybe there is no problem at all and it is only an issue to me, but I know as I have read the "Dangerous Games" article and other pieces on soloing, I thought about how many younger people would read it and think soloing was cool for all the wrong reasons. I know magazines don't kill people, but they sure can plant a seed, a very dangerous seed that sometimes the inexperience of youth is not yet fully capable of cultivating.
I know if I worked at the mags, I would seriously be wondering if somehow I was not an accomplice to senseless death. I know Justin is the one who made the decision to set rubber to rock that day, and he paid the ultimate price for it. But why sensationalize an activity that can easily have death as the final outcome? Sure you put in a little tagline at the beginning of the article telling people, "Soloing is dangerous and you may die..", but then you move on to expound it's glories for 20 pages. Within seconds the tagline is forgotten.
Some people will claim its Natural Selection or something akin to that, but at some point the magazines need to realize that there are impressionable, or even worse, mentally unstable people who will read a piece that talks about how cool soloing is for 20 pages and not fully realize the consequences. Why would they? Something bad always happens to the other guy right? It would never happen to them.
Well, meet "some other guy". His name was Justin and now he is gone.
I just saw it for the first time. I enjoyed it! It seemed to me to strike a measured balance of perspectives, especially coming from a climber director.
It is I think unquestionably a stunning almost inconceivable accomplishment on Alex’s part.
But maybe like Sanni, it’s hard for me to understand what it’s an accomplishment in service to - the world’s most accomplished mental warrior vanquishing his personal windmill in a way that society values comparably to a moderately successful dentist.
But I’m glad he does it, if that’s what he wants to do, and I especially admire his honesty and humor and humility about himself. If other people derive happiness from forming connections with people, whereas he, as he says about himself, gets a sense of “satisfaction” from doing this, feels “good” to do this, is “delighted” by doing this - great! I’m glad that he’s trying to make himself happy like those other folks are doing.
And while he has this transcendent capacity to control his mind in a way that allows him to free solo el cap, maybe he’s self-aware enough to know that he lacks an ability (that others might possess) to control his mind in order to transcend the simmering resentments he would feel if he allowed his social connections to interfere with pursuing his dreams (like his neurologically diverse dad was unable to do?), even if maybe transcending those resentments is not something he’s been willing to even try to do. Maybe doing that, or trying to do that, just wouldn’t make him feel satisfied or good or delighted in the same way that doing that makes other people feel happy.
And maybe he just slightly underappreciates how humans’ pro-social emotionality, as manifested in other people, contributes to humanity’s “accomplishments” compared to his appreciation of his own drive for “perfection.” Anyone can be happy and comfy? It doesn’t really seem like he can do that (he won’t allow himself to enjoy carving a pumpkin in the context of a socially connecting shared holiday because he resents being told when to celebrate that socially connecting shared holiday), despite his incredible abilities and privileges, and it might not be as easy for other people as he seems to believe it is.
And if those other folks (or we) can’t understand exactly what it is that he accomplished, or why, it probably shouldn’t surprise us if he (or we) can’t understand the same about them.
I’m grateful to Alex for helping us expand our awareness of what a human mind is capable of. And I’m grateful for my dentist too.
And for the filmmakers! At the end of the film Alex says that the movie might be better if he cries, but honestly, I think the movie is better that he doesn’t.
...the fault mostly lies with Alex for not properly instructing her etc. I believe he admits as much...
Alex writes:
"I didn’t really blame her—I should have asked how long the rope was, tied a knot in the end, and been generally more attentive. It was obviously her fault, since the rope went through her hands. But as the vastly more experienced climber, it was really my responsibility to make sure we didn’t get into that kind of situation."
Honnold, Alex. Alone on the Wall (Expanded edition) (pp. 214-215). W. W. Norton & Company. Kindle Edition.
I wonder sometimes about the influence of images, stories and videos that depict free soloing--or unroped climbing as it's more commonly practiced. At a coffee shop in Bishop a couple of years ago, a young barista was hyper excited about going to do her first "solo"--Cathedral Peak. I had no idea about how much roped climbing experience she had. That wasn't long after that young man died soloing Matthes Crest. Just last year, a young friend of ours, a woman in her early twenties, did her first "solo" on Cathedral Peak, no doubt encouraged by her boyfriend. This particular ascent of course made it onto social media with a pic of her far off the deck and some line about being so grateful for the experience. I found this ascent to be extraordinarily unwise. She'd only been climbing a couple of years and had done very little traditional climbing and virtually no alpinism. She didn't crash and burn, which we're extremely grateful for. I wonder, however, if she would have even tried it if the climb were truly SOLO. When you're out there totally alone, no emotional support or encouragement from others, it's a different game. I dabbled in unroped climbing and some solo alpinism. My technical rock solos are very limited, but I did them with years of experience under my belt, including some grade V's and one El Cap route. If anyone is thinking of getting into the unroped game, they'd do well to consider how much care, practice and experience Honnold et al. put into it.
I saw it that night. It was great. Wonder how many times he practiced the
'karate kick move' and nailed it. Was he 10 for 10 on top rope before he went for it? He seemed very confident from there to the summit. Such control..
The changing thumbs move was pretty friggen hairy just by itself.
Ricky Bobby: Wait, Dad. Don’t you remember the time you told me “If you ain’t first, you’re last”?
Reese Bobby: Huh? What are you talking about, Son?
Ricky Bobby: That day at school.
Reese Bobby: Oh hell, Son, I was high that day. That doesn’t make any sense at all, you can be second, third, fourth… hell you can even be fifth.
Ricky Bobby: What? I’ve lived my whole life by that!
I’m glad Alex never got the clarification, and glad Sanni never needed to. They make a good team.
MGuzzy, thanks for the link. It took me to the NYT piece by... Daniel Duane. I had missed that.
"Vanishingly few elite climbers make careers out of free-soloing, and plenty call it irresponsible and deplorable, but in their heart of hearts they all recognize it as the final word in bad-assery."
"The changing thumbs move was pretty friggen hairy just by itself"
I can't imagine doing that with all that space below you
Not even in my dreams. Even grabbing a huge god-hold like that "weird ear" Alex at some point refers to high on the route would give me the heebie jeebies imagining just my luck it might break off. Out of this world.
My understanding has been that a Producer is the "owner" or principal shareholder - the Executive Producer sometimes gets that title for being a large shareholder/funder, but not necesarily involved in execution. The Director is like the CEO - having to oversee the whole damn thing from start to finish, all the departments & staff etc.
So a producer can either be not involved at all, or very involved, working with the director.
Just my ignorant opinion on something I know little about.
The movie has grossed $20 million now. My question is how does that get distributed? What percent of the gross do each of the participants get - producers, directors, cameramen, climber, sponsors, etc?
Pretty Shure camera jockeys and riggers are just hired help. You get a day rate or hourly rate and that's it.... I did an album photo shoot for an Irish band I had no clue who they were at the time and can't remember now. must have been early 90's. I got my day rate in cash. I heard the album went platinum in Europe..
The movie has grossed $20 million now. My question is how does that get distributed? What percent of the gross do each of the participants get - producers, directors, cameramen, climber, sponsors, etc?
Figure in the production costs also, i.e. ropes for rigging, cameras, etc.
Also you have to figure in the editing time. I think, Jimmy, and Elizabeth did the editing, and they probably did that pro bono.
In fact, they may have had an agreement with the crew where they paid them up front, and if the film made money, they would be paid a bonus.
Sponsors make money thru advertising.
I read somewhere the production budget was about $2 million. That would probably include hourly labor, equipment, travel expenses, etc. The film has made 10 times that at the box office. Add ongoing revenue from streaming, dvd sales, etc and you have a tidy profit. I don't know how it is distributed but I would guess some of the principal players would get a percentage of net profit, as MGuzzy points out. Those who weren't able to negotiate a percentage feel left out, no doubt.
Everyone who was associated with the production got something to put on their resume. I doubt that hurt anyone's career.
Seems Alex and Jimmy are teaming to guide Tom Brady up El Cap ...
What would that cost? Probably just a joke but what would that cost???
Lol.
If it did happen it would probably inspire the rich to start going after it. Another feather in their cap and for their exclusive bucket list. How hard could it be? ...
Climbing culture is not unique. I have dabbled in a lot of different things, and see a similar pecking order in most of them, even the dirtbag culture of doing something full time that doesn’t pay.
As for him giving talks and making good coin, good for him. A climber might roll their eyes a little, but why should anyone really care other than jealousy?
This Life Coach comes of with three different take-aways in her YT vid.
I'm good with her take-away's, but all of those damn cuts drove me nuts. I don't think they're edits, as if she couldn't get through two sentences in a row. Rather, she's using edit-like cuts as a sort of video punctuation. I became totally distracted trying to predict when the next one would come. Actually, they come across like momentary absence seizures.
ec
Let us know!