UKC

This film is remarkable, a wholly unsentimental attack on bourgeois suppression in the climbing scene of Sheffield, an exposure of deception amongst the working class on first ascents in Scotland and the final redemption and emancipation of a whole flock of sheep in the English Lake District.

It metaphorically addresses a very modern fear, the fear of falling great distances onto a hard surface.

This is a climbing film that will draw families together around the hearth at the end of these short winter days and will inspire them to dream of long days on the high crags of the English Lake District. It will warm your heart, a feel good moment.

Well OK, maybe not......but you will learn of Dave Halsted's (Shrewd Ape Media) love affair with Morph, the filthy hermaphrodite in "Take Hart.

Set In Stone is the story of a shepherd boy (Birkett), his South American Peruvian Pan Pipe playing muse (Mary), some gnarly old author of walking guides (Bill), and three sheep (Jerry, Ben and Johnny) in a complex relationship of love, hate, loathing and redemption.

And the landscape photography is worthy of Galen Rowell.

http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=270

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:

Nice article. Dave Birkett, he da man.

I saw him at the ODG in summer, came over all starstruck and it was all I could do to restrain myself from rushing over and begging for his autograph... Luckily, Fergus told me not to be so stupid and stuck another pint in my hands.

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:

Re: Mary.
Do you mean that her Peruvian pan pipes are South American? Which I think we could list under "statements of the effin' obvious", they being Peruvian and all.

Or do you mean that the player of the Peruvian pan pipes, Mary, is South American? I was under the impression that she was South African?

The people demand to know!

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com: Good read. The film profiles a quietly impressive climber doing what he does best in inspiring suroundings that he obviously loves. The film does a great job of displaying the Lakeland crags, but have to say I didn't find the film as dramatic or entertaining as 'E11' - maybe Dave B just made everything seem so easy?

In reply to Marc C:


I have to disagree. I saw E11 first & enjoyed it & did not expect to see a better climbing film over the Kendal weekend. However, Set in Stone is in another league altogether, It helps that the Lakes scenery is so much more breathtaking than Dumbarton! I believe Set in Stone will become a new seminal climbing film E11 as good as it is will not reach than level

Andy

In reply to TobyA:

I can confirm she is definitely South African. That Capetonian accent is unmistakeable.

In reply to Chris Fryer:


Perhaps she's just a Peruvian under deep-cover? Remember, most people take Paddington Bear to be a cockney, not the dangerous-darkest-Peruvian-sleeper-agent that he actually is!

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:
Nice article, but could do with a few more similes and metaphors

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:

Excellent article Mick/Greg. The slightly unusual layout is well put together and very readable.

Nice to see Mr. B. getting a bit more credit for his impressive CV.

In reply to Andy Saxby: Scenery stunning, agreed. Guess one 'criterion' of any climbing film's appeal is whether one would choose to watch it over and over again...can't say I felt like watching either 'E11' or 'Set in Stone' again. E11 is obviously focused on one climb, so it would soon pall after seeing Dave Mac finally top out (and the music's irritating!)- but it's given humour and mundane humanity by interspersing the siege of the climb with contributions from Dave's wife. Set in Stone has great scenery but lacks IMO any really dramatic moments (like I say, Dave B, apart from one tenuous slap, makes the climbs seem fairly straightforward), the interviews with Bill B and Paul C aren'texactly riveting fare, and (crucially) Dave (although superb climber and all-round nice bloke) doesn't add any fascinating personal philosophy or eccentric showmanship to the mix. For me, Hard Grit & Stone Monkey are still the tops.

PS My personal fave from Kendal (setting aside the non-climbing film 'Trapped Under a Boulder') was 'First Ascent'. This had a very dodgy section featuring Timmy Macneil 'selling' a film idea to Hollywood, but the climbing footage of climbers in Yosemite, Squamish, deep water soloing in Thailand, Switzerland, and Black Canyon of Gunnison was terrific. Didier (the Swiss guy with an obsession with climbing Cobra Crack) was a star!

In reply to Marc C:

This is the great thing about film its so subjective & everyone’s opinion varies. Personally I don’t actually watch films over & over again however good they are but I take your point because a good film to me is one that I would watch again. Personally I would watch Set In Stone again I feel it is of the same quality as Hard Grit & Stone Monkey like those films did in their day I feel it attempts to do something different & achieves it well. I like several things about the film as well as the stunning scenery; I liked the straight forwardness of Dave B & the lack of showmanship & his down to earth attitude. I felt that the fun he has climbing (which is identifiable to us all) shone out from the film. So often climbing films are prone to take themselves to seriously this was avoided by SIS. I also thought that the changing relationship between Dave B & Lee / Halstead was very interesting as well. At the start of the film Its Dave B is almost shy by the end it would appear they have all become mates. I understand from Dave H that the film as you see it is largely the order in which it was shot

Dave B does appear to climb the routes easily but then in all but the first climb (where I felt the tension especially after it was over came out well) were repeats for the camera, personally I don’t think the ease he did the climbs detracted from my enjoyment. I have to disagree with you on the interview with Bill B I thought it was a touch of class. The film does not rely on big scenes such as the fall on Hard Grit but its strength seams to me to be its overall quality & humour which never slackens & is genuinely new in the fact it is set in the high fells. Certainly Lee & Halstead are gifted as film makers who hopefully will continue to go from strength to strength.

I did not like ‘trapped under a boulder ‘&’ first ascent’ was to American for my taste.


Andy

In reply to Andy Saxby:

Ha ha! Taste, eh? Fair comments about 'Set in Stone' - but think Dave could have least given us a 150ft fall onto a pile of dead sheep - just for the camera

In reply to Marc C:


Ha Ha yes when you think about it there were far more jokes available with the sheep

In reply to Andy Saxby: We need sheep jokes in the caption comp..... Oh its gone!