The last king. Ski movie?

Last night I was bored looking through Netflix and decided to watch a movie called "the last king". It was about two Norwegians, entrusted with an infant kings life, during the civil war in 1204. This is a modern movie, made in Norway, but dubbed in English, so no sub titles.

Didn't really dawn on me that this could be a ski movie. Lots of old school tele skiing. Great travel scenes.  Mountain scenery, schussing.. but there are some Chase scenes that will put James bond and better off dead to shame. Quite possibly the best chase scene in any ski movie ever.

Has anyone seen this who knows Norwegian history? Wondering how close to reality this movie was.

There is some violence, and death. Swords and arrows. Mostly small skirmishes. To be warned, but it is a war movie.. or is it a ski movie? I think there was more skiing then fighting. Must watch for the tele dudes.

Love that movie!! It is well produced, filmed and edited. For those of us truly hooked on skiing it is a must see! I too just happened upon it on Netflix when sitting a vacationing friend's house. I am planning on buying a copy.

Glad you agree! I can't wait to see it again.

I'd like to see more movies like this. I'm going to cross search the actors and creators to see what else they have done.

best 3 minutes in cinematic history

Too much paramarking for my taste, but then again, it wasn't until the 1860s that our hero Sondre Norheim "invented" telemark so I guess they can be forgiven...

Thanks for the rec!

I've never seen the movie, but I'm assuming it is an adaptation of the story of the Birkebein party which seems like it is more truthy than legend but I'm sure it's a mix of both.

The story was the inspiration for a very famous cross country ski race in Norway ( Birkebeinerrennet ), a 50+K race which draws thousands of racers including some top names. The largest cross-country ski race in America (the American Birkebeiner ) is our take on it.

Fun fact about Birkebeinerrennet: racers are required to carry a knapsack with a weight representing the baby Prince.

Too much paramarking for my taste, but then again, it wasn't until the 1860s that our hero Sondre Norheim "invented" telemark so I guess they can be forgiven...

Thanks for the rec!

A good friend of ours last name is Norheim and he is a Norwegian. He used to be a telemark skier but he crossed the line to rando.

Finally! A ski movie where I can completely relate to the cliff-hucking style of the on-screen professionals! #almostapro

I watched this last night based on this post. What a great movie! Amazing scenery and some really cool ski shots.

The skiing seemed so fast, fluid, and natural. No transitions, and pretty cool to watch how fast they moved over rolling terrain. Any suggestions for a modern equivalent to the type of gear they're using? Fishscale skis with 3-pins maybe? Want to go get my Birkebeiner on .

... Fishscale skis with 3-pins maybe? ....

Kick wax -- Norwegians don't need no stinking fish scales.

My Norwegian XC ski instructor was horrified by the idea of "waxless" skis when they started appearing in the 70s. By '80s he had accepted them -- manly because Cascade Mountain conditions really are tough to wax for -- with the temperature hovering close to the freezing point getting kick wax right is tricky -- impossible if you are climbing more than 1000 feet.

In areas where temps are consistently colder -- e.g. below 25F and you only need green and blue waxes -- kick waxing works quite well.

You should really check out the Heavy Water Wars. Another great series about the race between the Germans and the Americans to create the Atomic bomb and the supplies they needed were in Norway!

A couple weeks ago I watched a ski movie made in 1976 called "Snow Beast". If you like 'B' movies its kind of fun. They have the entire movie on Youtube.
It was filmed at Crested Butte ski resort in Colorado.

X: I think that's the movie that Randy linked above.

Thanks Micah , it sure is !

Ha.
Jph, that was probably the best sequence. It looked like me and my buddies trying to split board ski.

And thanks, my movie list grows.

The snow beast reminds me,  can't think of the name. There is another bad b type yeti movie where it it supposed to be on glacier peak during a bc ski trip. Funniest part is when they are lost on the mountain and guy pulls out what appears to be a road map. He points and says. " we are here, we need to get here, to muckleshoot... " be one check of a traverse.

The movie was obviously filmed at a ski resort. All the skiing was on the glacier peak groomers.