Life on the edge (2006)

Who are extreme sports enthusiasts?

Chemist Lyudmila Baratova talks about genetic predisposition and the human nervous system.

Biologist Tatyana Yemelyanova talks about adrenaline and other things that make a person want to experience the same sensations again.

Excerpts from an interview with alpine skier Maria Dobrokhotova, the 2006 Russian champion in freeride skiing; the girl talks about her sports career and the injuries she has suffered, assessing her actions and reactions from the point of view of various areas of psychology.

Biologist Andrey Kamensky talks about the differences in motivations using examples of human and rat behavior. M. Dobrokhotova demonstrates mountain biking as an example of the fact that any human activity carries an element of risk. L. A. Baratova criticizes television programs that promote extreme sports.

Psychologist Vadim Petrovsky conducts experiments with students to illustrate the differences between certain types of people and determine their readiness to set and complete tasks of high or low complexity.

Amateur cavers conduct a tour of Moscow quarries, Emergencies Ministry rescuer Konstantin Silaev talks about life underground. A.A. Kamensky about behavioral defense mechanisms in animals, in comparison with people.

Biologist Alexander Kaplan about human self-realization and the role of mental organization in this.

Winter cave hikes, rules of entry and exit and behavior below. V.A. Petrovsky about the regression of psychological age in dangerous situations. K. Silaev and amateur caver Proff about emergency situations underground and the search for additional extreme sports. A.Ya.

Kaplan about the reasons for the "hussar" behavior of people. V.A. Petrovsky explains why some people strive to repeat what they have learned, even if this means repeating the previous mistake.

Amateur cavers Proff and Elena Magdachenko about communication with like-minded people, the role of an underground club of interests in the lives of its participants. A. Ya.

Kaplan on the correspondence between the external and internal worlds of man: imbalance as a path to splitting of consciousness, illness and death. T. Yemelyanova on the possibility of falling into a state of suspended animation in a critical situation.

Emergencies Ministry rescuer Ignat Orlovsky, also an industrial climber, knocks down icicles and repairs drainpipes.

Videos from a personal archive: parachute jumps. A. Ya.

Kaplan debunks the myth of adrenaline junkies.

Pediatric dentist Marina, Ignat's wife, talks about her work and people's fear of dental treatment. I. Orlovsky on the main rules of playing with danger and the causes of death of climbers. A. A. Kamensky with new examples of differences in the behavior of people and animals: unlike humans, an animal will never voluntarily leave a place where it is cozy and safe.

The work of stuntmen on the set of a film: a robber falls into an ice hole and a fight with a policeman in the water.

Preparing stunt performers for the next take.

Jumping from heights and sword fights.

Stuntman Nikolai Sysoev about cowards, brave men and simply about those who lack thrills in life.

Stills from the feature film "Bread, Gold, Nagant" (1980, directed by S.V. Gasparov).

Horse stuntwoman Yulia Panarina talks about her sports career, an injury she suffered and a change of profession.

Performing a stunt with burning while riding a horse.

Training in the gym, pool and on the grounds.

Stuntman Elena Lotanova about the strength of the female spirit and the impossibility of living without stunts.

Comments by A.Ya.

Kaplan about the production of hormones and other chemicals in the human body that are necessary for salvation in an extreme situation.

Stills from stunts during competitions and filming. N.P. Sysoev about female stuntmen.

The tragedy of Paralympic weightlifter Sergei Istomin.

Fight fire with fire: fear of heights and parachute jumping.

Exercises at home and in the gym, participation in competitions.

The story of musician Yuri Shapovalov.

Traveling and participating in wheelchair marathons.

Life changes completely when a person has a goal.

The duet of S.E. Istomin and Y. Shapovalov: from singing to climbing Elbrus. Y. Shapovalov's shooting range in the park at the All-Russian Exhibition Center. S.E. Istomin participates in sports, circus and television shows.

Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov: all discoveries were made by adventurers.

The ideological inspirer is traveler Georgy Sedov. V.A. Petrovsky on the role of childhood values in a person's future life. A.Ya.

Kaplan on the feeling and understanding of freedom.

Video recordings of travels from the personal archives of F.F. Konyukhov (on yachts, on a dog sled, in the northern and southern seas).

Freedom in the understanding of the traveler.

Chapel of St.

Nicholas the Wonderworker built by F. F. Konyukhov.

The traveler about the belief in the immortality of the soul. F. F. Konyukhov and his painting.

An unrealized dream - to spend the winter in the deepest bay of Antarctica.

Plans for an expedition to the Arctic and Antarctica.

The ship's captain Vladislav Agapov about people's readiness to take risks.

The final cut from the film.

The eternal question: does a person have limits in knowing himself?