THE BEST DOCUMENTARIES ON EXTREME SPORTS: Get your adrenaline pumping at home with these adventure-filled documentaries!
When we think of extreme sports, the first thing that comes to mind is adventure and adrenaline. Challenging nature and putting our human condition to the test makes us feel truly alive along the way. But behind every adventure, there is always a great story… a real story! About real brave people, in real places.
The asphalt, the snow, the sea, the sand, the cold and the heat, the most vertical rock, the most unexpected storm... and everything that the most intrepid adventurers live for, is impregnated with the indelible marks of those who simply cannot live without taking their lives to the extreme and leaving their fears behind, using them as fuel.
We know this all too well. When a person is thirsty for adventure, and hungry to overcome what the rest of us classify as “impossible”, it makes them want to take on the world even more. And the best part is that we have videos to prove it!
We have compiled the best documentaries to get your adrenaline pumping from home and immerse yourself in the most incredible and inspiring stories of those who simply could not help but let out the spirit of freedom that characterizes them.
They are all here because they are cool... You can't miss them!
DISCOVER THE 10 BEST DOCUMENTARIES ON ADVENTURE AND EXTREME SPORTS!
DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS (2001)
Duration: 1h31m
Punctuation IMDB: 7.7/10
Directed by: Stacy Peralta
Step back in time to the 1970s, the era that forever revolutionized the skateboarding and longboarding scene. Immerse yourself in a California that saw the transformation of the 1970s. riders into true rock stars who were passionate about surfing the asphalt and who would gradually inspire an entire generation. It explores a time when skateboarding was on the verge of extinction until a group of boys in California decided to take inspiration from surfing to take this sport to its maximum expression and turn it into a lifestyle.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP9EMH6R50w
VALLEY UPRISING (2014)
Duration: 1h43m
IMDB Score: 8.1/10
Directed by: Peter Mortimer, Nick Rosen & Josh Lowell (co-director)
Dare to discover what it was really like to climb Yosemite in the 70s, when generations of hippies and bohemians decided to leave society behind and dedicate themselves to climbing the biggest rock walls they could find. Experience with them the passion and evolution of climbing and the counterculture that all this represented, and that today thousands of athletes take to the extreme.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQXWnoipdFE
UNDER AN ARCTIC SKY (2017)
Duration: 39m
IMDB Score: 7.1/10
Directed by: Chris Buckard
Join this group of surfers on their winter journey to a remote corner of Iceland, in their quest to surf the most perfect waves, even if it means encountering the worst storm of their lives.Six surfers join photographer Chris Burkard and filmmaker Ben Welland to find and surf uncharted waves on the Hornstrandir Peninsula, under some of the most stunning skies on the continent.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJF_ox4UEfM
MOUNTAIN (2017)
Duration: 1h14m
IMDB Score: 7.2/10
Directed by: Jennifer Peedom
Director Jennifer Peedom takes an in-depth look at the relationship between adventurers and mountains in countless corners of our planet, including Alaska, Tibet, Australia and Norway. With impeccable cinematography and scoring, “Mountain” seamlessly explores mountaineers, climbers, soloists, wingsuiters, mountain bikers, snowboarders… and their passion for living the most extreme adventures that only the mountains can offer.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxtWMOAHoiI
TAKE EVERY WAVE: The Life of Laird Hamilton (2017)
Duration: 1h58m
IMDB Score: 7.4/10
Directed by: Rory Kennedy
Learn more about the revealing story of American icon Laird Hamilton, who revolutionized the history of surfing with his skill and passion. Explore in depth the personality of this ambitious pioneer on his journey through the biggest, most challenging and “impossible” waves, which no one had dared to surf before. A story of overcoming and adrenaline that will change your perspective on this incredible sport.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aSZsAqf4Do
BLOOD ROAD (2017)
Duration: 1h36m
IMDB Score: 6.7/10
Directed by: Nicholas Schrunk
Discover the story of Rebecca Rusch as she searches to find the last place her father was seen alive forty years ago, when he was a pilot in the US Air Force. Join Rebecca and her travel companion Huyen Nguyen as they pedal 1,200 miles along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in the jungles of Vietnam, and uncover the mysteries surrounding her father's story.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCzVqiN950M
THE DAWN WALL (2018)
Duration: 1h41m
IMDB Score: 8.1/10
Directed by: Josh Lowell & Peter Mortimer
Legendary for his drive and story of overcoming, climber Tommy Caldwell ventures into uncharted territory in the climbing world: the Sunrise Wall of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. A story of pure bravery in this extreme Californian location, explored from an angle never seen before, and now told in depth in his own words.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Hc8tB9uhho
KILIAN JORNET PATH TO THE EVEREST (2018)
Duration: 1h20m
IMDB Score: 7.2/10
Directed by: Sebastien Montaz-Rosset, Josep Serra Mateu
Discover the deepest and most revealing side of renowned climber Kilian Jornet, who after years of climbing peaks and summits around the world, and completing his historic double ascent of Everest, continues his quest to achieve new extreme challenges.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTb5_B0wSUQ
FREE SOLO (2018)
Duration: 1h40m
IMDB Score: 8.2/10
Directed by: Jimmy Chin & Elizabeth Chai Vararhelyi
Discover the story of the most successful solo climber of recent times. In “Free Solo,” 23-year-old Californian Alex Honnold prepares himself physically and mentally for his next challenge: climbing Yosemite’s 975-meter El Capitan without ropes or protective equipment. Honnold leads a generation of “superhumans” who are putting exploration aside and taking on history’s fiercest big wall climbing challenges in increasingly challenging, dangerous and breathtaking conditions.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89H0BHXjkXI
RUNNING FOR GOOD: The Fiona Oakes Documentary (2018)
Duration: 1h14m
IMDB Score: 7.6/10
Directed by: Keegan Kuhn
Follow Fiona Oakes, the world record-breaking marathon runner, step-by-step in her quest to conquer the world's toughest foot race: the Marathon Des Sables, a 250km route through the Sahara Desert. A story of overcoming challenges and ambition that inspires in a unique way.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWPRAjb4Nto
Amazing stories from even more amazing personalities! There's nothing like spending an afternoon watching movies and being inspired by the drive and spirit of adventure of these great athletes. What other adventure and extreme sports documentaries do you recommend?
