When Burton comes to town, you better make sure your calendar is clear, because their crew knows how to party. Last week, Burton took over Denver, Colorado and premiered their highly anticipated team flick, Standing Sideways.

The Ogden Theatre was the site for all the action and the perfect location to debut this hyped film. Burton’s entire shred team was on hand for the festivities and signed autographs, mingled with the crowd, and took advantage of the open bar tab all night.

Burton has been dishing out team flicks for over two decades, and Standing Sideways delivers as one the best of the bunch. With banger parts all the way from Kazu’s opener, to Jussi’s ender, Standing Sideways is this year’s feel-good film that will make you want to strap on your board and get out there and shred immediately.

Snowboarder Mag’s Pat “The Eye” Bridges was on hand and breaks down all the key elements of the film.

Words & Photos: Pat Bridges

2011 could go down as one of the best years in the history of snowboard cinema. I can’t recall any other season in which so many videos were delivering on their hype. In addition to Rice’s Art film anyone looking to purchase a new video can’t go wrong with Capita’s “Defenders Of Awesome”, VG’s “Shoot The Moon”, 32′s “Ammo”, Think Thanks’ “Ransack Rebellion” and several other options on sale now. Burton Snowboards latest team video “Standing Sideways” has made its debut and it finally lives up to the Chill legacy making it another contender for everyone’s must see list. For those unfamiliar with the above video reference let me explain. Released in 1990 Chill was Burtons 3rd team video and it highlighted a legendary squad which counted Kelly, Brushie, Ford, Wallace, Jacoby, Brandon and Davis within it’s ranks. In addition to halfpipe, carving and that sweet, sweet pow Chill has been credited by many as containing the first jibbing ever filmed.

In the two decades between Chill and Standing Sideways Burton has released many other team videos, including For Right or Wrong, The Big B, Guy In The Sky, It’s Always Snowing Somewhere and others whose names I forget. While each of these projects had their standout moments they garnered little acclaim. Few can argue that Burton has always had a team of riders unrivaled in terms of variety and depth of talent. Yet capitalizing on this means having as much skill behind the lens and in the editing bay as you have in front of the cameras. It could be argued that they’ve had that to but it always seemed like something was missing.

To that end there are several elements that distinguish Standing Sideways from Burton’s previous efforts. The first is the editing and art direction. Unique and less kitchy than in the past the intro’s here look pro but remain light-hearted. In terms of editing the parts and tricks are tighter as well. It appears as though the token clips have all been cut and so have any riders/segments which didn’t reach a higher standard. Actually there isn’t one mini shred shot in the whole movie. Every trick is stepped up. Lastly, the soundtrack to Standing Sideways is on it’s own level. Not since Fly Like An Eagle accompanied Jim Rippey in TB3 has the Steve Miller Band been set to snowboarding as well as when Mikey Rencz shralps to Serenade. Other tunes are provided by Martha and The Vandellas, The Stooges, Queen and David Bowie, Boston, Joy Division and even the Kinks!

Head over to Snowboarder for the rest of Pat’s recap and check out the photos here.