The Holy Mountain

German filmmaker Arnold Fanck made this beautifully photographed Bergfilm, or mountain film , in 1926. Written in three days and nights especially for Leni Riefenstahl, The Holy Mountain took over a year to film in the Alps with an entourage of expert skiers and climbers. Ostensibly a love triangle romance - between Riefenstahl’s young dancer and the two explorers she encounters - Fanck relishes the glorious Alpine landscape by filming death-defying climbing, avalanche dodging, and frenetic downhill ski racing. (Eureka Entertainment)