Surf Movies That Don't Suck

September 8, 10:40 PMSurf ExaminerPat Pemberton

Previous Next

2 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Surf Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

If you read my entry on surf movies yesterday, you know I can be a little critical. But, hey, I hate to spend money on something only to find out that it sucks.

And it’s not like I’m the only one who notices.

 When I interviewed surf film maker Jack McCoy last spring, he agreed there were some duds out there. Yet, the formula for a good surf movie, he said, was fairly simple.

“I just think it has to be entertaining and have a story line,” he said. “Give them something they can appreciate other than just watching wave after wave of surfing action.”

That wave after wave thing is one of my complaints about bad surf movies. But so too is lousy music. And this is something McCoy, whose movies include “Storm Riders” and “Free as a Dog,” is very particular about.

“Music is the emotion to your film, so I like to try to get the music right,” said McCoy, who has used music from acts like the Foo Fighters, Jimi Hendrix ad the Doors in his movies.  “I use as many as 20 or 30 songs per film so it’s hard to pick just one and say, ‘This is what I like.’ I try to make it a bit of a rollercoaster ride, where you don’t really know what music is coming up next.”

While I sound like a crank when it comes to surf movies, there are actually several that I like. Here are my favorites:

5.) “Endless Summer II.”

Three decades after “Endless Summer,” surf film pioneer Bruce Brown came out of retirement to help his son Dana launch his own career in the industry. As Dana Brown told me a couple of years ago: “He never says it, but I’m pretty sure it was him saying, ‘OK, we’ll show Dana the ropes by accepting this,’ I always tease him and say, ‘You did that because of me, and then I had to live with you forever complaining about coming out of retirement.’

I especially like the segment featuring surfers in Alaska. And I was surprised to learn that the guy who led the surfers through a safari got mauled to death by lions not long afterward.

4.) “Riding Giants”

While this movie focuses on big wave surfers that most of us can’t relate to, it’s a well-done documentary by Stacy Peralta and Sam George. The movie focuses on three big wave riders – Greg Noll, Jeff Clark and Laird Hamilton. You’ve got to love Noll, the most quotable guy in surfing. A former film maker himself, he also provided great vintage clips for the film.

3.) “Sprout”

A more recent flick by artist Thomas Campbell, this is one of the few surf movies with a consistently good soundtrack. Not much of a story, but it’s artfully done and mellow.

2.) “Endless Summer”

While Bud Browne was the first real surf film maker, Bruce Brown was the first truly successful one, this film making him a millionaire. 

Noting that his resume dropped off after this movie, I recently asked Brown what he did during the 30-year lull between “Endless Summer” and Endless Summer II.”

“I was a surfer,” he said, matter-of-factly. “I didn’t have to work anymore, so I had fun.”

His film about two guys who find waves around the world was a hit in landlocked Kansas and has continued to inspire surfers more than 40 years later.

1.)    “Step Into Liquid”

Dana Brown learned from the master, so it’s no surprise that he’d come up with a great surf flick like this, a movie – like “Endless Summer” – that played well before crowds in middle America. My favorite part is the segment about those Packers fans who surf Lake Michigan.

Honorable mentions:

“Five Summer Stories” – Featuring lots of good Beach Boys tunes (and, if you’re into them, Honk), this has one of the better soundtracks for a surf film. 

“Gidget” – Yeah, it was cheesy. But you can’t argue its impact on surf culture. A friend of mine recently ran into the real-life Gidget, Kathy Kohner, a couple of years ago working at a restaurant in Malibu. I read she recently started surfing again.

“Search for Surf” – A collection of Greg Noll films, this offers a nice historical perspective.

“One California Day” – A new surf flick by Jason Baffa, this features nice scenic video of California plus stories about surfers like Noll, Lance Carson, Joel Tudor and the Malloy brothers.

 “Single Fin Yellow” – It’s a story about a traveling surfboard. How could you not like it?

“Thread” – Another artsy flick, with lots of good Joel Tudor footage.