Iconic Duos.
Peas and Carrots. Batman and Robin. UK Climbing and Controversy.

John Dunne isn’t your average elite climber, and the title of this film alludes to it in multiple ways. Yes, there is a route featured called The Big Issue, itself rife with controversy of chopped\smashed bolts (it goes on gear). Yes, John’s self promotion rubbed some the wrong way, and quiet conversations challenged whether he’d done the things he said he’d done. And part of the reason for that doubt, that John addresses outright in the film, is his build. John Dunne is a big dude, especially compared to the stickfigure build that was in vogue in the 1980s.

This film follows the beefy Dunne across UK crags, on both routes and boulders, with a fair amount of insight and interview provided by John, and voiceover to fill in the context and history otherwise. While the bouldering is comparatively pedestrian by modern standards, the trad sends documented still hold up today, including a bit of background on the ground-breaking ascents of Parthian Shot, The Divided Years, and The Big Issue, all thought to be E9 or harder at the time.

I’m impressed how the controversy is courted out in the open, dragging Dunne to a newer boulder line to session on, and then revealing the true intent of the invite – to convey that (named) others were talking trash, and then to measure his mettle against the test-piece. John’s forthright that he is arrogant at times, and while that may have soured some of the community, his achievements are real, and his character is what it is.

VHS quality and of its time, this profile piece serves as a history lesson. The camera-work is fairly simple but captures the action, and the soundtrack is largely absent, the audio dominated with John’s breathing on-route, voiceover, or both. The only detraction I see from the film is that given the consequence of gritstone climbing, most of the notable routes are shown as top-roped repeats for camera, John having done them on proper lead at earlier dates without camera rolling.

Verdict: Watch It. There’s value in seeing different body-types in climbing, and at 38 minutes this film feels like the average Reel Rock profile segment prior to the final edit. As the credits roll we see John trying the line that would become Gerty Berwick, whose FA was captured in the film Grit Flick, with John himself looking on.

The Who: John Dunne

The What:
The Big Issue
Parthian Shot
The Divided Years
Wellington Crack (Solo)
Breach of Peace
Not to be Taken Away (Solo)
On the Car
Various Unnamed Yorkshire Boulders
Ron’s Traverse
Great Western
Elder Crack
New Statesman
Sloping Beauty