Comments on: Mountain biking documentaries galore http://www.singletracks.com/blog/uncategorized/mountain-biking-documentaries-galore/ Mountain bike news, trails, travels, and dirt. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 01:39:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: klunkerbill http://www.singletracks.com/blog/uncategorized/mountain-biking-documentaries-galore/comment-page-1/#comment-2123 klunkerbill Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:58:35 +0000 http://www.singletracks.com/blog/?p=962#comment-2123 For a glimpse into the history of our sport, you should check my film, KLUNKERZ. I screened it last week up in Marin County on the side of Mt. Tamalapais (Pine Mountain actually) under the stars for a team of 50 international cycling journalists. This amazing event was put on by Mike Sinyard and his team at Specialized. The next day we rode Repack on old-school bikes with Charlie Kelly, the man who started the Repack races back in 1976. Otis Guy was our EMT on the course, and it was a good thing, too. We ended up needed him as there were several nasty spills. Joe Breeze, Ned Overend and Jacquie Phelan were hanging out with our host, Mike Sinyard, afterwards. A good time was had by all. If you haven't heard, the film looks at the off-road scene in the years 1968-1983 in the Bay Area. I chased historic footage and photos of the guys from as far away as Brazil. I've got footage of the guys road-racing on Mt. Tam in the early '70s, racing cyclo-cross in the mid-'70s, and bombing off-road starting in 1975. It's got all the usual suspects (Breeze, Fisher, Ritchey, et al), and some more 'obscure' folks who influenced these pioneers. From the outset I really tried to make a film that could reach a wider audience than just the hard-core cyclists cyclists out there. The subjects of the film are athletes, visionaries and entrepreneurs who created a multi-billion dollar industry and an Olympic event in just the last 25 years. That's pretty amazing to contemplate, even if you don't ride a bike. I wanted to take a historical approach to the material, but keep it fun with a lot of humor. To me, that's what cycling is...FUN! And with $5.00 gallons of gas out there, we can expect to see a lot more people having fun on the roads and out on the trails. It's tough to break through with a documentary on any subject, but after doing a massive festival tour, the mainstream press is starting to pick up on it. The film has screened in the festival circuit all over the world and is now available on DVD in nearly 100 countries through the VAS, TCG, and the QBP catalogs. You can find out more about the film at www.klunkerz.com. Here's a few recent blurbs from the press... USA TODAY “Savage’s funny and often poignant film looks at how a bunch of semi-stoned hippies in Northern California developed a unique style of off-road bike riding through collaboration and competition…KLUNKERZ is worth checking out, even if you’re not a bike nut,” MOVIEMAKER MAGAZINE “Documentaries of this nature always appeal to a very niche audience, but KLUNKERZ is just as enjoyable for those of us who aren’t cyclists.” STUFF MAGAZINE “KLUNKERZ looks at the origins of the sport and the Californians who went big on street bikes back at the start of it all, way back in the hair-and-flair ‘70s.” MOVIE MAGAZINE INTERNATIONAL “KLUNKERZ is a small, but important, film that traces the history of modern day mountain biking.” THE MIAMI HERALD “KLUNKERZ is definitive-and destined for classic status…Savage succeeds in making the story appealing to movie buffs and bike geeks alike.” BIKE MAGAZINE “KLUNKERZ is the most compelling bike film made in quite some time.” MOUNTAIN BIKE ACTION “Maybe the most remarkable thing about the film is you don’t have to be a mountain biker to be thoroughly entertained.” VELONEWS “It was a period of camaraderie and innovation that has been loving and masterfully documented by Billy Savage in his film KLUNKERZ.” RIDE MAGAZINE SOUTH AFRICA “Combine the hedonistic philosophy of the times with the sort of expendable income and spare time for recreation undreamt of by earlier generations, and it becomes a no-brainer… William Savage perfectly captures this era.” Please continue to support INDEPENDENT filmmaking. Go to screenings and buy DVDs. And remember, burning DVDs isn't just bad Karma, it's against the law. Ride on! Billy Savage writer/producer/director KLUNKERZ www.klunkerz.com For a glimpse into the history of our sport, you should check my film, KLUNKERZ. I screened it last week up in Marin County on the side of Mt. Tamalapais (Pine Mountain actually) under the stars for a team of 50 international cycling journalists. This amazing event was put on by Mike Sinyard and his team at Specialized. The next day we rode Repack on old-school bikes with Charlie Kelly, the man who started the Repack races back in 1976. Otis Guy was our EMT on the course, and it was a good thing, too. We ended up needed him as there were several nasty spills. Joe Breeze, Ned Overend and Jacquie Phelan were hanging out with our host, Mike Sinyard, afterwards. A good time was had by all.

If you haven’t heard, the film looks at the off-road scene in the years 1968-1983 in the Bay Area. I chased historic footage and photos of the guys from as far away as Brazil. I’ve got footage of the guys road-racing on Mt. Tam in the early ’70s, racing cyclo-cross in the mid-’70s, and bombing off-road starting in 1975. It’s got all the usual suspects (Breeze, Fisher, Ritchey, et al), and some more ‘obscure’ folks who influenced these pioneers.

From the outset I really tried to make a film that could reach a wider audience than just the hard-core cyclists cyclists out there. The subjects of the film are athletes, visionaries and entrepreneurs who created a multi-billion dollar industry and an Olympic event in just the last 25 years. That’s pretty amazing to contemplate, even if you don’t ride a bike.

I wanted to take a historical approach to the material, but keep it fun with a lot of humor. To me, that’s what cycling is…FUN! And with $5.00 gallons of gas out there, we can expect to see a lot more people having fun on the roads and out on the trails.

It’s tough to break through with a documentary on any subject, but after doing a massive festival tour, the mainstream press is starting to pick up on it. The film has screened in the festival circuit all over the world and is now available on DVD in nearly 100 countries through the VAS, TCG, and the QBP catalogs. You can find out more about the film at http://www.klunkerz.com. Here’s a few recent blurbs from the press…

USA TODAY
“Savage’s funny and often poignant film looks at how a bunch of semi-stoned hippies in Northern California developed a unique style of off-road bike riding through collaboration and competition…KLUNKERZ is worth checking out, even if you’re not a bike nut,”

MOVIEMAKER MAGAZINE
“Documentaries of this nature always appeal to a very niche audience, but KLUNKERZ is just as enjoyable for those of us who aren’t cyclists.”

STUFF MAGAZINE
“KLUNKERZ looks at the origins of the sport and the Californians who went big on street bikes back at the start of it all, way back in the hair-and-flair ‘70s.”

MOVIE MAGAZINE INTERNATIONAL
“KLUNKERZ is a small, but important, film that traces the history of modern day mountain biking.”

THE MIAMI HERALD
“KLUNKERZ is definitive-and destined for classic status…Savage succeeds in making the story appealing to movie buffs and bike geeks alike.”

BIKE MAGAZINE
“KLUNKERZ is the most compelling bike film made in quite some time.”

MOUNTAIN BIKE ACTION
“Maybe the most remarkable thing about the film is you don’t have to be a mountain biker to be thoroughly entertained.”

VELONEWS
“It was a period of camaraderie and innovation that has been loving and masterfully documented by Billy Savage in his film KLUNKERZ.”

RIDE MAGAZINE SOUTH AFRICA
“Combine the hedonistic philosophy of the times with the sort of expendable income and spare time for recreation undreamt of by earlier generations, and it becomes a no-brainer… William Savage perfectly captures this era.”

Please continue to support INDEPENDENT filmmaking. Go to screenings and buy DVDs. And remember, burning DVDs isn’t just bad Karma, it’s against the law.

Ride on!
Billy Savage
writer/producer/director
KLUNKERZ
http://www.klunkerz.com

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