Ruddy guys on skies! Heroic guys at war! Grace and shussing under fire! Environmental responsibility! Fire on the Mountain's got em' all! A quirky--although oddly engaging--little piece of historical trivia, FOTM is the rousing story of the 10th Mountain Division of the Army Infantry, a crack group of perennial ski bums and mountain climbers, college and professional athletes, and other hale outdoor types from the U.S. and Europe assembled in 1944 to assail winter-bound Nazi mountain strongholds in Northern Italy. Using an assemblage of rather incredible archival photographs, film footage and home movies, the film chronicles the creation of the unit by National Ski Patrol founder Charles Dole; the grueling three year boot camp training of the 10th's 14,000 troops in Colorado; and the division's heroic and internecine night time assault on Riva Ridge at the edge of the Po Valley. The postwar careers of notable 10th Division vets is also briefly covered--including environmental activists, ski entrepreneurs, and the guy who invented Nikes. The program offers much on-screen reminiscence, nostalgia, and fifty-years-after tearfulness from veterans of the division, and Steve Kenneally (of TV's Dallas fame) provides the weirdly inflectionless narrative. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the video lies somewhere under this script; it's the story of a bunch of downhill Peter Pans who joined the war as a lark and were quickly forced to come of age in the face of wartime horror and death. I concede that I'm probably not the best choice to review this piece: about the closest I've come to skiing is wearing woolen socks, and my appreciation of things military is on a par with my love of dental implements. Nonetheless, I do admit that Fire on the Mountain is bound to be a crowd pleaser in most public libraries. It may even work in academic libraries bent on collecting military or sports history. Aud: C, P. (G. Handman)[DVD Review--June 17, 2003--First Run, 72 min., not rated, $29.95--Although some of the archival footage shimmers a bit here, that's more a problem with the source material than the transfer. DVD extras include the four-minute featurette “The 10th Mountain Division in the 21st Century,” a four-minute interview with filmmakers Beth and George Gage, a two-minute photo gallery with captions, and trailers. Bottom line: not much in the way of extras, but it's nice to see this wonderful documentary finally available on DVD.]
Fire on the Mountain
(1996) 72 min. $29.95. First Run Features Home Video. Color cover. Vol. 12, Issue 4
Fire on the Mountain
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