The new Grateful Dead-themed action sports film, Fire On The Mountain, was released on streaming services Friday by Teton Gravity Research.
The film—which pairs several unique action sports with a Grateful Dead soundtrack and themes—was announced in October. It was directed by Chris Benchetler and Tyler Hamlet along with supervision from Dead archivist David Lemieux and features narration by NBA Hall of Famer and noted Deadhead Bill Walton. Sharing his thoughts ahead of the film, Walton explained,
This project is one of the coolest things that I have ever been involved with, and it validates my criteria for why I do things—people, passion, and purpose. I live on the edge, and beyond. ‘Fire On The Mountain’ takes this notion to incalculable heights and spectacular places.
Top-tier athletes are featured throughout, including legendary snowboarders Jeremy Jones, Kimmy Fasani, and Danny Davis, skiers Michelle Parker and Chris Benchetler, and surfer Rob Machado.
Unlike a traditional action sports movie, the film is not sectioned into “parts”, with each athlete having their own segment. Rather, each scene contains two or more athletes, often jumping from land to water.
To start, Walton narrates over scenes of sprawling landscapes cutting back-and-forth with imagery of Grateful Dead-inspired art. Walton’s proclivity for narration is obvious from the very first scene, in which he notes, “I’m here to share a little story about an assorted lot of individuals all tuned to the same wavelength. They all set sail into the unknown to create something they couldn’t otherwise orchestrate on their own.”
The tracklist contains storied Grateful Dead cuts, including “Brown Eyed Woman” from Europe ’72 and “Fire On The Mountain” from5/8/77 at Barton Hall.
Below, you can watch the full Grateful Dead-themed Fire On The Mountain movie and check out a list of tracks used in the film.
Fire On The Mountain
[Video: Teton Gravity Research]