Willy Bogner Jr. was an Olympic-caliber ski racer, a business man who nurtured a family clothing line and was heir to a fortune. But he was also one hell of a filmmaker who thought entirely outside the box. His quirkiness was indeed ahead of its time.
Bogner, from Germany, shot many of the scenes for James Bond movies between the 1960s and 1980s. And he had a knack for placing sporting events together in seemingly odd pairings, a philosophy that has almost certainly had an influence on Austrian-based Red Bull’s quirky events of today like the Flutag (where participants create their own flying apparatus) or Crashed Ice (combining hockey and skier cross). And just like Red Bull’s magic touch in mixing sports, Bogner’s combinations usually worked too (see paragliding and kayaking).
While Bogner shot scenes for Hollywood productions, he also tried making his own films, like the one below–1990’s Fire, Ice and Dynamite. The feature film had a loose plot–an entrepreneur is in debt so he fakes his death. His offspring, along with several companies seeking retribution, must compete in extreme sporting events—like kayaking—to decide how to divy his inheritance. The action scenes obviously long outlived the plot line:
Bogner’s Youtube channel is on fire of late. It’s mostly used to promote Bogner’s fashion line which includes everything from winter wear to sunglasses. But the company has released old scenes from Willy’s trove of film work over the years and it’s incredible (click down there). Plus some new stuff like this jet surfing clip on an alpine lake. Oh yeah, you may remember Bogner filming with Chuck Patterson for a scene where the waterman snow skied at Jaws? Regardless, you can definitely see at least a strip of Red Bull’s DNA in the Bogner archives.
