Having spent my life in Florida and California, I know a lot about surfing. Learned it all from the classic songs written by Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, who never shot a curl in his life.
That's no handicap when it comes to appreciating great surfing movies. 2005 saw the DVD release of Z-boy Stacy Peralta's "Riding Giants
Neither of these films demands much from its audience beyond a sense of awe. The movies aren't made just for surfers -- they take time to explain what's going and preach to the unconverted with a loose evangelical tone. After watching these artful docus, it seems like a good idea to get out there and take a lesson or two.
LionsGate Entertainment's "Step Into Liquid" looks quite good on Blu-ray, sometimes sensational, although the HD disc is well shy of reference quality. The film was shot on both HD and on film, with the priority on action, so the quality of source materials varies. The DTS-HD front-centered audio is strong and sure-footed.
Surfing stars as well as regular guys (and gals) personalize each of the segments. Director Dana Brown (pictured), whose father created the seminal surf pic "The Endless Summer," sounds a lot like his dad when he's doing the narration.
The ratio is 1.85:1, as shot. The surf-porn visuals are all you'd expect -- but in this film they're half of the draw. The video-wow shares the ride with the dramatic content, which comes in a series of human interest stories.
There's the profile of Dale Webster, a somewhat athletic aging hippy out of Northern California who has surfed every day for 30 years. The brothers Malloy find the forbidding seas of their ancestral Ireland worthy of surfing; while not riding, they share their watery passion with kids from both sides of the troubles. A guy who was paralyzed while surfing still rides with the help of his loosey-goosey pals.
In Costa Rica, we're reunited with "The Endless Summer" star Robert August and his senior sidekicks. On the Gulf of Mexico, surf's up in the wake of oil tankers. Oahu's North Shore and this primo spot a hundred miles off the California coast provide the big-wave action -- and the jaw-dropping HD visuals. Don't stop the movie before the skyscrapers-of-water finale. Surf is about as up as it gets.
The Blu-ray extras are OK; some are pretty basic. There's a visit to a custom surfboard factory, a borderline-worthless surfing 101 video and an extended chat with amateur Webster. Deleted scenes include "Surfing Rabbi." Two featurettes and some clips look at how the movie was shot. The extras were ported over from the DVD.
The casual commentary comes from director Brown, who talks mostly about what's happening onscreen, and what it was like traveling the world to make "Step Into Liquid."
Both of these films come with killer surf-music soundtracks, as we've every right to expect.
"Riding With Giants" first wanders through the history of the sport through the eyes of 1950s and '60s surf legend Greg Knoll, rider of what is considered the mother of all 20th century waves. The amateur footage takes us back to the days before (and after) "Gidget" made surfing a commodity. Then there's a lengthy visit with the loons who surf the rocky coast of Northern California, a potentially fatal challenge that felled a top rider from Hawaii.
The "Giants" are on full display in the film's final act, in which surfers are towed into the deep waters where the waves get up to 80 feet or so. The story is told via a life of big-wave tamer Laird Hamilton, whom we meet as a sun-bleached island boy in need of a dad.
Generous extras include a commentary with director Peralta, best known for his outstanding skateboarding documentary "Dogtown and Z-Boys." The other track has Knoll, Hamilton and some other stars swapping stories. Sony has the rights; let's hope a Blu-ray will surface soon.
Surfing looks like so much fun, it really does. I might have ended up trying it someday, then I took a psych class with a woman whose brother-in-law was a surfer. He hit a bad wave and slammed his head into coral, destroying part of his brain - the part that apparently held his personality. Now he's bitter and mean and is the total opposite of his former fun-loving self. Not worth it, IMHO.
I still wish I could surf.
Posted by: Liz | June 24, 2008 at 08:37 PM
Blu Ray brings the waves very dramatic. Sometimes it's hard to believe the waves are real they are so big and look so awesome. This is a must for any surfer.
Posted by: Nokia 5800 | January 27, 2009 at 12:19 AM