Lets be clear – Big Up’s Dosage Series is one of the most iconic series of climbing films. While I intend to review each individually over the next month or two, I want to make the argument for buying the complete collection. Yes, that can get expensive. Yes, not every one of them is perfect. But, lets look at the merits as a collection:
Cast of Characters: Brett and Josh Lowell have some pretty high profile friends. Chris Sharma, Dave Graham, Tommy Caldwell, Klem Loskot, and many others make appearances in not just one, but multiple films, with Sharma and Graham going 5 for 5. Even if they don’t make multiple appearances, other big names pop thier heads in and send hard; folks like Jason Kehl, Obe Carrion, Lisa Rands, James Litz, Joe Kinder, and on and on and you get the point.
First Ascents: Seriously. You’re lucky if you get one or two first ascents in a climbing film. The first Dosage film alone shows a stack of first ascents, including but not limited to The Mandala and Realization. Later in the series we’re treated to the opening of lines like Witness the Fitness, Meltdown, and Dreamcatcher just to name a few.
The Tunes: The Lowells always bring fresh tracks, and they aren’t your generic electro/house music. They use a lot of tracks with backing vocals, and far from being distracting, it makes it much easier to get stuck in your head for motivation later.
The Style: Speaking of the tunes, they contribute to the overall style that remains Dose after Dose. Jamming music that compliments the scenes, but is at a volume that doesn’t muffle the sound of skin and shoes on stone, the grunts and whelps, or the rare narration. Another stylistic choice, theres comparatively little exposition in these films, focusing on the action. There are no overarching storylines, no great message or story, just the sending.
The Nostalgia: This only applies to climbers of a certain era I suppose. I remember traveling onto the internet when climbing was first on my radar and marveling over grainy Quicktime playback of “realization.mov”. I remember when the second an third ascent of The Mandala were literally on the cover of climbing magazines (now its a problem that a dude in your gym may have flashed). When the pros only had one or two crash pads under thier projects. That was climbing when I started, and watching these films, it reminds me of the aspirations I had when first watching them, motivating me now.
That said, I think even without the nostalgia factor, these films are important to the generation coming up in climbing now. With the explosion in climbing, and the advancement of training, the climbs that are showcased in these legit feature films are more attainable than ever. How cool is it to have a chance to follow in the footsteps of these powerhouses, and to see a collection of climbs put to film that aren’t all V13+ and 5.14+?
Next week? The one that started it all, Dosage Vol.1
