Whitewater Odyssey Offers One Heck Of A Ride

“Paddle Frenzy” Polar Bear Peroductions

Following the recent winning trend in filmmaking, “Paddle Frenzy” (Polar Bear Productions; $24.95) proves that shorter is sweeter.

The low-tech video, subtitled “A Kayaking Odyssey on Northwest Whitewater,” packs punch after hellacious punch into 35 minutes of tape.

These riparian daredevils might be all wet, but they absolutely love taming major confluences and spinning like so many jackstraws. Cameras convey their emotions and draw viewers in nicely.

While refreshingly underdone, the skeleton script does offer one interesting insider’s take on a whitewater ride.

“All you see is the first wave,” the kayaker explains. “The intimidation factor is real high.”

We’ll largely overlook the muddy mike work and out-of-sync dubbing in favor of the raging rivers - from Oregon’s Eagle and Deschutes to Idaho’s Clearwater and Lochsa to Montana’s Logan and legendary Kootenai - played to excellent tunes by Blind Melon, I Mother Earth, Odyssey and Rich Joslin.

Olympic skier Tommy Moe might be the only recognizable paddler, but, by film’s finish, they’re all heroes. Our rating:

To order, call (800) 727-6689.