Watched Downhill Racer last night and I'd forgotten how really rather good it was. Directed by Michael Ritchie in 1969 it was a cult film during our early skiing years. It had a French feel to it and the technical accuracy in both the script and the skiing was faultless.

Robert Redford plays the arrogant new boy on the US ski team, hauled from his Idaho backwater when a team member is injured. He squabbles with the abrasive Gene Hackman, the team coach, as the entourage travels from Kitzbuhel to St Anton to Wengen and several other world cup venues. The dialogue is sparse and to the point, and the music as minimalist as it could possibly be.

The love interest provided by the gorgeous Swede, Camilla Sparv, was short, sharp and in no way spoilt the skiing, although her performance was wooden. When she gave him a pair of leather motoring gloves as a Christmas present (and a brush off), I cringed. It reminded me of the early seventies when I chased a girl half way round the world and she gave me a pair of leather motoring gloves for Christmas and then a brush off. Of course... she must have seen the film!

The skiing was excellent and as I recognised some of the runs they were crashing and skidding down, Kate (my wife)  seemed to be quite familiar with the scenes shot in the posh hotels and night clubs. She told me that back in the sixties she had left a night club in Kitzbuhel with a girl friend without paying for the champagne. They were woken up the next afternoon by a knock on their door. It was the Polizei. They wouldn't go to prison if they paid up so willingly went back to the night club and apologised.

After a bit more whooping it up to celebrate their good fortune they were soon broke ...

Ski Jungle Blog - Downhill Racer - St Anton, Kitzbuhel and Wengen