Customer Reviews

The Endless Summer

5 star:		(88)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This classic surfing documentary retains its charm, high quality, humor and nostalgia. Bruce Brown's 1966 Endless Summer was one of the first and remains one of the best documentaries on surfing. It's a laid-back almost relaxing documentary to watch which occassionally features some awesome displays of surfing pioneers hanging ten on perfect, imperfect and very dangerous waves. Tubes, Pipes, perfect waves, surfing towards, and away from the shore, ridin' the wave, wipe out. . . it's all here.

This was a low budget affair, but the camera-work and richness of color is quite impressive. Most of the footage was shot silent with sound-effects and narration and occassional music added later. Don't expect to hear the Beach Boys, or the Ventures or even Dick Dale on the soundtrack--you won't. You won't get MTV fast edits, or occassional messages about pollution, over-population, or politics either.

That's refreshing.

Most refreshing of all is that you won't see a lot of ads for sneakers or cars, or sporting goods plastered all over the surfboards or cars of the surfers either. It was a less chaotic, simpler time.

The movie follows two young surfers Robert August and Mike Hynson as they follow Summer around the world. First after leaving their native California and the crowded beaches of Malibu, Santa Cruz and Newport Beach (the Wedge) they travel to Africa and surf places probably no one has ever surfed before (and have to be careful not to step on dangerous and lethal stone fish). The natives are fascinated by the California surfers and their sport. Soon Robert and Mike are giving surf lessons to the natives. They hitch a ride with an African Game Hunter and travel along the coast with a perfect tour guide. They find the perfect wave. In Australia, Mike and Robert don't have good luck and are told the best time to surf in Australia isn't in the Summer (which is the U.S.'s late fall, early winter), but in the winter. They have a little better luck in New Zealand, and as they go off to Tahiti they are told there is very little to surf in Tahiti. Ah but there turns out to be plenty to surf in Tahiti. Then Mike and Robert are off to Hawaii for two months where water and air temperatures are 75 degrees.

While there will be a few folks who will find Bruce Brown's narration (Bruce an early surfing enthusiast wrote, directed, photographed, edited and narrated this film) annoying, most will find his disarming, tongue in cheek humorous laid back narration utterly charming. And there are no contests or points or organized competitions taking place. It's simply a film about two surfing dudes in 1965 travelling around the world to catch a wave.

28 years later, Bruce Brown would make a well produced sequel to this documentary Endless Summer 2. It's got better production values, more exciting surfing action.... but it lacks the simple purity of this film.

A gem. If I've sparked any positive curiousity in you about this film, you'll enjoy it. ...

I don't even surf and the Endless Summer is one of my favorite movies. I love the photography and the storyline of this film. People say, "But it's about surfing..." they got it all wrong; it's about freedom that the soul craves. I watch it at least 3x a year. Always puts a smile on my face and a joy in my heart. In fact, I rent it so frequently that finally I told myself that I'm gonna buy it... and that's what I'm about to do... I'm gonna buy me a movie that makes me feel good to be alive on this little blue and green planet that's third from the sun. This movie reminds us that we are all looking for the "perfect wave" in life and sometimes we just have to remind ourselves that we're already riding it. A beautiful film. Love it! Love it! Love it!

Way back in 1966, documentary filmmaker Bruce Brown followed two young surfers around the world in their quest for the perfect wave. It seems as if it were just the three of them - the two surfers and Bruce Brown who filmed that magical year with a hand-held Technicolor camera with no sound. Later, he edited the film and narrated it and his is the only voice we hear in addition to some original music by "The Sandals". There are no sounds of the surf, no remarks from the two surfers and we never hear the voices of all the colorful characters they meet along the way.

The concept was to surf on beaches that had never been surfed before. This led them Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti. And, naturally California and Hawaii. Sometimes the surf was to their liking. Sometimes it was not. But always it was an adventure, the kind of adventure that I quickly got caught up in even though it all seemed like a home movie and the camera was old fashioned. I remember one spot where there is a long smooth wave to ride and the narrator notes that the wave was so long that he ran out of film, stopped shooting, changed the film, and was able to continue filming the surfer on the same wave.

As the film was made in 1966, it expressed a view of the world that is not politically correct today. For example, there are a lot of little jokes about the "natives" in an African tribe. But in spite of the words, it was obvious that everyone in the tribe enjoyed watching the surfers. Later, with the help of our surfers, these "natives" tried it themselves and soon were improvising their own surfboards.

There are a lot of beaches in the world. But the sport was perfected in Hawaii as pure recreation. That's the way the Hawaiians lived for centuries. Our two surfers came from California, a place very much influenced by Hawaiian surfers.

Other details about 1966 stood out and made me smile. For example, a luxury hotel in Senegal cost $30 per night, which they thought was outlandishly expensive. Gas cost $1.00 a gallon in Africa, a very high cost. And the hairstyles of the two light-haired and sometimes sunburned surfers were short and slicked back with lots and lots of grease. Also, the bodies of the surfers did not look like the surfers today. The two men had narrow chests and the musculature in their arms and legs was just enough to handle their surfboards. Obviously, they never worked out in a gym. They just rode those waves. And loved every minute of it.

This is a film that was made with the pure love of the sport. It is indeed a classic. And a "must" for anyone interested surfing.

"The Endless Summer" is truly a thing of beauty. Bruce Brown captures so much greatness -- the warmth of the sun, the ocean's vast power and the bond of friendship -- and ties it all up in a humorous and touching tale about surfing. We the audience are swept away to exotic locales -- Hawaii, Australia, and Africa --following the carefree journey of surfers Robert August and Mike Hynson. Undoubtedly the luckiest guys in the world, Mike and Robert goof to the max as Brown's hokey, but oh so funny narration keeps us entertained. In fact, throughout the film, we hear only Brown's voice and some really cool 60's surf instrumentals. I truly love "Endless Summer". It effectively captures a time and, perhaps, an innocence which is forever gone. Most of all, it captures our imagination. Who among us wouldn't trade our stressful lives for a life of endless sun, sand and surf? Until I can capture the peace of mind so beautifully expressed in "Endless Summer", I'll just have to watch the video over and over again. Enjoy it. Surf's up!

This movie captures a time and a place, or should I say places, as Bruce Brown follows two surfers around the world in an endless summer of exotic locales including West Africa and the perfect wave in southern Africa, which never seemed to end. Surfing was a new thing in Cape Town and many would-be surfers flocked to see Hynson and August, but the best moments are the more candid ones such as in Senegal, when they turn over their boards to the locals and are amazed to see the chief get up on his first wave. The adventure takes in Australia, Tahiti and Hawaii as well, bringing them back to Malibu to close off what has to be the quentessential surfer's movie. Brown followed it up with Endless Summer II, but it lacked the spontaniety of the original as he went back to many of the same places many years later. This movie captures the romance of the big wave like no other movie, and is one you can watch over and over again.

The "plot" of this film is almost absurdly simple: two clean cut, kind, affable guys touring the world in search of the perfect wave.

A previous review hit the nail on the head -- "Endless Summer" documents a time and place in American history that will likely never be repeated -- ever.

It's not the storyline that is unique, it is the innocence of its two lead characters, Robert August and Mike Hynson, and the absolute lack of any dramatic devices or political overtones in the film. Truly refreshing, and for the uninitiated, a revelation. It makes one realize the highest, most satisfying, most long-term form of relationship is indeed friendship.

My dad used to surf, so I bought him this movie, because I remember him talking about it one time. I didn't know what to expect, but the first line Bruce Brown says ("For us it's the sport of surfiiiiinng!"said as a surfer bails out) tells you what kind of movie this is going to be. If you think this is going to be some lame travelouge, think again. It's fast paced, filled with a ton of laughs, and has some great photography. The best part of the movie is Bruce Brown, who throughout the film seems like your funniest friend telling you this long crazy story that you aren't sure went 100% how he told it, but is still entertaining as anything. Without any sound in the movie (besides music and his narration) you still get a good feeling about who the two protagonists Mike Hynson and Robert August are becuase of Brown's words. I watch this movie every summer, it gets me in the mood to try new things. You should see it, it's one of the most inspiriing movies of all time because these guys do something some people will never do,they live their dream.

Wow, this is one of those movies that those of us who watched it in 1966 when it was released are now proud to show to our own children - giving them an example of what a REAL surfing movie should be.
Shot as a documentary by Bruce Brown, it follows two surfers as they trek around the world, looking for the perfect wave. Do they find it? Contrary to our love of the ambiguous ending, yes, they do find it, down in South Africa on a beach where the wave starts at the tip and seems to go on and on and on, following the coast long enough that you think, by the time the surfers beach themselves, they'll probably need a taxi or a train to take them back to their point of origin.
There's not a huge story line, but that's an advantage. It allows Brown to focus on subtler themes: the sun, the ocean, friendship, travel, and a period of innocence which is gone forever.
This is definitely one to buy and to watch over and over and over.

this movie is grainy but it's just the way the film was in those days. its a simple film with great location shots, a little silliness put in and a lot of cool surfing. it doesn't have all the hyped up style and show off crap of todays spoiled brat surfers. its simple and very cool. the surfers are polite and know how to enjoy the basic idea of a surfer and a perfect wave. enjoy it.

This movie provides a connection to surf, surfing, and surfers, even for those of us who are no longer surf-connected (living in the midwest in my case). I first watched this show in a run-down old theater on the Oahu's north shore nearly 20 years ago. What a rush! Great footage, excellent story-telling and music.

What is the endless summer? It's the quest for the perfect wave.

This movie is probably best described as a biography of the essence of surfing. If you are in the mood for an outstanding break from the digital scenes of current box-office offerings, and you enjoy watching real people do real things in beautiful real places -- give this movie a look.

Still a crowd pleaser. Anyone will enjoy this movie.

5 stars all the way.

Alan Holyoak (formerly of Oahu and Santa Cruz, CA)