As if it possesses its own unique version of a Midas touch, anything the energy drink company Red Bull puts its seal of approval on is inevitably an over-the-top spectacle. For its latest bit of flashy pageantry, Red Bull took snowboarder Travis Rice‘s high-octane 2016 flick The Fourth Phase and chopped it down to a single, 18-minute sprint. Dubbed The Fourth Phase Action Cut, it’s the perfect, white-knuckle thrill as winter inches closer.
Originally a 92-minute excursion through the lens of Rice, the updated Action Cut turns to punk band Nofx’s 18-minute long cut The Decline to pace the entirety of the film. From beginning to end, Rice and company traverse snow-covered peaks in Russia, Japan, Alaska, and Wyoming over the span of four years, pushing themselves to the utter limit — yet another on-brand, Red Bull trope.
“While exploring the untapped backcountry of his native Wyoming with mentor Bryan Iguchi, Rice plots a 16,000-mile course to follow the hydrological cycle around the northern Pacific, where snow and ice create dreamlike landscapes on the towering mountains above,” read the film’s description. “The Fourth Phase carves a fresh path, using an artistic blend of action, story, and cinematography to bring this stunning feature to life.”
For Red Bull, The Fourth Phase Action Cut is yet another release in a long line of high-octane stunts and events put on by the brand. Aside from its annual aviation-themed contest called Flugtag, the company also collaborated with adrenaline junky Felix Baumgartner several years ago as he literally jumped from the edge of space (some 24 miles in the air). It chronicled mountain biker Rebecca Rusch’s journey through Vietnam to find the final resting place of her father in Blood Road and even let a Digital Trends writer experience 5 Gs in a stunt plane.
Travis Rice and Red Bull’s The Fourth Phase is out now on iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon, as well as on DVD and Blu-ray format.
