Bike Movie - Pure Sweet Hell

Posted At : September 26, 2007 1:46 PM | Posted By : Erik Voldengen
Related Categories: Bike Movies

Like pretty much all cyclocross movies, this is another documentary. This one gives a pretty good illustration of what cyclocross is, and the history of where it came from.

The film opens up and introduces the sport of Cyclocross, defined by the athletes that do it. It really tries to tell the story of not only what 'cross is, but why people do it.

As a cyclocross racer myself, I already know why I do it, and to hear athlete after athlete get all emo about how cyclocross makes them all tingly inside got old pretty quick. Individually, the athlete interviews were very insightful and interesting. But the recurring WHY stuff had to much emphasis and I got sick of it.

You do cross, it's hard, you like it...I get it. But maybe the film assumes you don't, because it just keeps on going and going.

Luckily, that's not the only thing going on in the film. There's a lot of nice footage from the 2002 and 2003 race season. It's interesting to watch, but not very motivational.

The footage cuts from one race to another so quickly that it pretty much just background texture. It'd be a great video to play over and over without sound at a bike shop. It's interesting to watch at any given moment, but does not seem linear in any way.

Another issue I had with the footage was the extensive use of black and white, and the shakiness. Black and white is cool, and has a nice affect, but I think the film was about 80% B&W, which made each scene seem even more repetitive than it really was. And the shaking, well shaking footage (think running along with a handheld camera and filming) also is a nice artistic effect, but I think it was again way overdone. The result...I felt a little sick at times.

One cool thing I really liked was the old-school footage from a long long time back (think hair-net helmets and short shorts). It was cool to see old footage with guys going just as nuts then as they do today, on equipment that wasn't nearly as suited for the task. This was the best part of the film, for me.

In summary, I didn't really like this movie. It was a good one to see once, but I'd never pull it out to get pumped for a cyclocross race. I actually watched it once and then traded the DVD to Guy Smith for a 120mm stem.