This is a first-class snow job.

Byline: Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard

The inherent problem with ski films, or `ski porn' as the genre is impolitely known, is that the movies all look the same. After all, how many ways can you tell the story of a dozen or so athletes ripping it up on steep slopes around the world?

To remedy the problem ski movie makers often try to affix a simple plotline to the film, which tends to be about as effective as the story lines attached to adult films. As with dirty movies, ski flicks are all about the action, no matter how much filmmakers try to tell you otherwise.

"Tangerine Dream" is the latest film from Teton Gravity Research, and it too has a lame opening sequence that skiers will enjoy fast-forwarding through once they bring the DVD home. The plot revolves around the company's beater pickup, nicknamed "the Dream," which has become a mascot of sorts for TGR.

While the introduction doesn't do much to advance the skiing and snowboarding segments in "Tangerine Dream," once the movie starts, the film criticism flies out the window of the orange pickup, and the core filmmaking team of Dirk Collins, Corey Gavitt and brothers Todd and Steve Jones reminds us why their company has become one of the most admired brand names in the ski movie industry.

TGR has earned its reputation not by making perfectly thought out, perfectly edited films, but by capturing jaw-dropping sequences set to music that push mountain sports to new levels. "Tangerine Dream" is no exception.

At one point in the film, skier Jeremy Nobis even mentions the fact that he has helped nudge skiing a little closer to the edge. And he doesn't sound the least bit pretentious after the performance he has just put in for the cameras.

Nobis' sequence is one of the highlights of "Tangerine Dream." He flirts with death on impossibly steep faces that look like wrinkled bed sheets hung out to dry. The film crew slickly frames the action from inside a hovering chopper.

Snowboarder Jeremy Jones, a TGR veteran, also pushes the limits of sanity in a sequence highlighting his addiction to steep lines. Footage of Jones tunneling through a nearly vertical wall of snow atop a steep mountain precipice to get a better shot at his line is proof that he definitely isn't growing timid with age.

Jackson Hole, the home territory of the TGR boys, gets plenty of screen time, and so do the mountains of Utah.

During one sequence, a group of Utah locals that includes Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Pep Fujas, Andy Mahre and 14-year-old Kye Petersen travel to the Utah backcountry to visit the pyramid gap jump, a horizontal kicker that requires massive speed and questionable mental faculties.

Skiers don't just clear the gap, they launch backwards, complete rotations, counter rotations, inversions and appear almost weightless as they soar through the blue Utah sky.

The weakest segments in "Tangerine Dream" are the ones featuring the most exotic locales. Skier Micah Black leads a trip to India and Turkey, where the TGR team find lots of artistic camera angles but less-than-ideal skiing conditions.

Nevertheless, it's hard to criticize the footage captured in "Tangerine Dream." Filmed on 16mm stock, the sequences are as crisp as a January morning, and the skiing and snowboarding is at times so well documented you truly do feel like you are there.

Warren Miller may be the biggest name in ski movies, but TGR (along with its Colorado rival Matchstick Productions) are arguably the best and this movie shows why. For those who value serious skiing and snowboarding over Miller's ridiculous scenes of firemen skiing down the hill with hoses, this is the movie to see.

Reach Lewis Taylor at 338-2512 or ltaylor@ guardnet.com.

MOVIE REVIEW

Tangerine Dream

What: The latest ski and snowboarding film from Teton Gravity Research

With: Dana Flahr and Will Burks and hip-hop musical entertainment from Blue Scholars

When: 8 p.m. today

Where:WOW Hall, 291 W. Eighth Ave.

Tickets: $12 at the door

CAPTION(S):

Dylan Hood catches some air at Chamonix, France, in a scene from `Tangerine Dream.'