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Human Attraction to Danger
Have you ever found yourself hiking somewhere remote and asked yourself the question “how long could I survive here if I was stranded?”. Maybe you’ve been cutting through swells of lake water with your canoe and found yourself wondering “could I cross the open ocean with nothing more than the propulsion of paddle power and sheer will?”. Perhaps you have been atop a mountain, staring up at the pure sheets of white, hoping they won’t unleash their wrath, while simultaneously questioning your ability to survive them if they do. We as humans have an indisputable fascination with overcoming the elements and their natural threats.
Why do we enjoy Outdoor Adventure Movies?
Whether you are able to live your outdoor fantasies firsthand, or you’ve simply been spending too much time imagining yourself in these dangerous, but interestingly enticing scenarios: there is something undeniably magnetic and exciting about an adventure. Why is it that when an adventure, be it chosen or unexpected, occurs, we are unable to look away? As much as we enjoy safety and security, we love a good death-defying, envelope-pushing, obstacle-overcoming story and there are no stories that check those boxes quite like those recounted through adventure films. These films and stories educate us, motivate us and remind us that we are capable of individual greatness.
Films that Excite, Inspire, and Straight-up Scare us
We have created a list of outdoor adventure films and outdoor travel documentaries that make us feel everything from: inspired to get off of our couches to see the world, and petrified to the point of staying absolutely put, to absolutely angry about the state of the world. These pieces of art each share an individual story pertaining to the world of outdoor adventure.
The Ultimate: “Just go do it” Story
Certain stories move us to tears due to the emotional depths we are taken to, and some make us angry because of the aggravating decisions made by those we could never see eye to eye with. Then there are stories that inspire us to achieve something we forgot we wanted, to go after a goal that had been lying dormant for years, and to chase a true outdoor adventure.
180 Degrees South follows adventurer and nomad Jeff Johnson as he attempts to follow in the footsteps of legendary adventurers Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia) and Doug Tompkins (The North Face). Filled with surfing, island exploration, cultural immersion, real-life adventure tales, and questions of conservationism, hardship, and perseverance, this is not your ordinary travel documentary. At its core, this film reminds us that we possess an immense ability to pursue adventure and to live our lives unconventionally. A word of caution: viewing this film may force you to quit your day job.
A Classic Wilderness Survival Flic
Have you ever been stranded in your car, in the country, without cellphone service and found yourself devising a plan for how you will make it back to civilization? Imagine flying in a bush plane with almost strangers and crash-landing in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness. This fictional, action-adventure movie may not prompt you to grab your outdoor gear and load up the car for a weekend hike, but it will excite you and take you along for quite a ride.
Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin co-star in this survival thriller, taking you through a range of emotions, from enduring the elements and learning to live off the land, to a chase with a starving Kodiak bear, to the inner turmoil of two people driven by desire and classism. To delve into a fictional, story-driven outdoor adventure film with the perfect dose of 90s filmmaking magic, check out The Edge 1997.
For those on the (cliff’s) Edge of their Seat
By this point, you have most definitely heard of a film that follows a famous free climber in his attempt to summit Yosemite National Park’s infamous El Capitan. Free Solo 2018 is as inspiring as it is terrifying and turned the beams of the international spotlight onto the climbing revolutionary: Alex Honnold.
If you have any interest in the world of climbing or extreme sports, you will be absolutely drawn to this adventure film. If you don’t have any interest in extreme adventure, then you will still find yourself unable not to come along for this journey. To see someone so immersed in their craft that they are willing to risk everything, including their life to accomplish their own version of greatness, is a spectacle to behold. Apart from pushing the envelope for human achievement, this film is an incredible insight into the life of someone who seeks to be the absolute best that they can be.
A Different Perspective
It is so easy to hear the terms “outdoor adventure” or “wilderness survival” and to immediately possess images of rugged adventurers, braving the elements, while wearing makeshift outdoor garments fashioned from fur and random luggage. We often picture a human, making their way back to their home, group of companions, or some form of society, but there is an entire world of adventure that exists on a daily basis if you are living as an animal.
The Bear 1988 is an action-survival film that follows the trials of a young grizzly bear in the Canadian wilderness. After witnessing a tragedy, the young cub must learn to eat, find shelter, travel safely, and evade dangerous threats posed by humans. This film, though dated, features some wonderfully lush landscapes all while presenting themes of fear, excitement, difficulty, and achievement through the eyes of a timid young creature.
A Seriously Important Sea Documentary
Though there are a lot of outdoor adventure films and documentaries that present fun, life-enriching levels of excitement and intrigue, there are some stories that are much grimmer. Grim, but extremely important. Not for the faint of heart, the 2021 documentary Seaspiracy shines a light on an absolutely heart-wrenching collection of ongoing events taking place in our world’s oceans.
From forced labor to illegal fishing operations, and the fact that the commercial fishing industry is one of the main contributors to global pollution, this is definitely not your feel-good outdoor adventure movie, but it confronts issues that could devastate our ability to have adventures at all. Follow along with passionate filmmaker, and documentarian Ali Tabrizi as he tackles some issues you’ve maybe never heard of, but that will positively enrage you and make you take a hard look at the products you consume. For more information on this issue, you can check out CBC media’s podcast series The Outlaw Ocean.
As outdoor adventure enthusiasts, we can’t always live the adventures first-hand, sometimes we need to take the time to rest, educate ourselves or plan our next adventure. We at GuidED hope you find these films as interesting as we do.