Product Details

• Actors: Matt Adler, Gregory Harrison, Nia Peeples, John Philbin, Gerry Lopez
• Directors: William Phelps
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: April 11, 1995
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300186180
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,736 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #80 in

  Video > Drama > Sports

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The dialogue is laughable, and the plot is by the numbers. But if you're a surfer (or an armchair surfer), this ultra-silly movie may prove hard to resist. It's the one about the kid from Arizona (Matt Adler), who's surfed only on artificial waves in that landlocked state, coming out to spend his last free summer hitting the serious water of Hawaii. He falls in with a mystical surf guru (Gregory Harrison), one of those surf-Zen masters obsessed with the cosmic significance of hanging ten, but he's also tempted by the flashier stunts of the younger surf crowd. Oh, and the Arizona kid also gets romantic with the prettiest girl on Oahu (Nia Peeples), which precipitates trouble with her resentful native family. If the story's no winner, the surfing action is excellent, with many real-life surfers contributing their talents. For shredders, a guilty pleasure. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a Haole's review of the North Shore, brah! Don't be a barney, July 16, 2002

By	T. Huff (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Turtle: Stay loose, Howlie.
Rick: What's a Howlie?
Turtle: A tourist, a mainlander, like you.
Rick: I'm not a tourist.
Turtle: Whatever, Barney.
Rick: What's a Barney?
Turtle: It's like Barno... Barnyard... a Howlie to the max, a kook in and out of the water. Yeah?

and so the world is a better place because of the 1987 movie "North Shore". The acting isn't that great, but the surfing is great. it is such a great b-surf movie from the 80's. the one liners are great! my friends and i have watched it since we were little, over and over. it is a great movie! buy it right now on amazon.com...and watch it over and over and laugh and enjoy the waves!

Cool waves and shaka-to-ya-frada-cause-you're-nothing-but-a-bradda.

"could i use burkhardt's board...in the contest" - rick kane
"go ahead. go shread" - chandler

"you one bad shredder, yeah? Yeah, he shred so hard he broke his stick"

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Come back to the North Shore via DVD", April 15, 2005

By	David E Hanna (Western Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: North Shore (DVD)

"North Shore" tells the story of Rick Kane (Matt Adler), a naive Arizona boy who dreams of competitive success surfing the big winter swells which thunder onto the North Shore of Oahu in beautiful Hawaii. What Rick lacks in experience (Arizona is not exactly an international surf Mecca), he makes up for in outright ignorance of the danger. In the words of one distinctly unimpressed Hawaiian kid, Rick is "J.O.J." - "just off the jet!" It seems Hawaii is not quite ready for Rick Kane and he is certainly unready for the challenge of the North Shore.

Thus, Rick embarks upon a struggle for self-knowledge and acceptance every bit as challenging as learning how to survive those magnificent waves that pound Waimea Bay and Sunset Beach. Nor is it just the water which threatens to rearrange his anatomy. The Hui, a local Hawaiian surf club and Vince, their laconic, tough guy leader (played by Hawaiian surf legend, Jerry Lopez) take a thorough dislike to him. This enmity is further intensified by Rick's (very understandable) interest in Vince's cousin, the lovely Kiani (Nia Peeples).

Kiani proves to be a good friend, as does the likeable Turtle (John Philbin), a local surfer whose heart is as big as his smile. And then there is Chandler (Gregory Harrison). As Obewan is to Luke Skywalker, Chandler is to young Rick. He mentors Rick into big wave surfing - a decision which, for a time, he lives to regret. Rick has his heart set on the competitive surfing Chandler hates because, as he says, it "brings out the worst in the human animal." Thus the stage is set for a ripping little surf drama, made on location at the splendid North Shore.

In this movie, the egotistical pursuit of material gain at any cost is represented for what it is: a game for professional losers like Lance Burkhart (played by giant wave rider and highly respected North Shore identity, Laird Hamilton). In a world immersed in materialism, superficiality and televised violence, a kid could do worse than take on board the true aloha spirit which pervades this engaging narrative.

If you already have the VHS version, get the DVD for your collection. The additional features (especially the interviews with the cast) are well worth it. And remember that you don't have to be a surfer to enjoy "North Shore." Ignore the cynical criticisms of the ignorant; see it for yourself.

Maybe, like this reviewer, it will cause you to go see the actual North Shore for yourself too. The old heiau (sacred site) where Kiani and Rick go walking is still there in all its ruined majesty and, down below in Waimea Bay, there are real surfers riding very real, incredibly powerful waves, just like in the film. As Kiani says in fond farewell, "You [will] come back to the North Shore!" Just press "play" and this cool DVD will take you there - again and again and again.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The Karate Kid" on a surfboard, only much better, April 3, 2006

By	otro lector mas (Caimito, Puerto Rico, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: North Shore (DVD)

Similar storylines: 1) Clueless rookie arrives at new place and gets into trouble with locals. 2) Jaded, reclusive master pities said rookie and takes him under his wing, thereby turning rookie into expert.

The similarities with Karate Kid end there. I would have never predicted the outcome of this movie.

I don't surf, but this movie teaches many invaluable life lessons for anyone, from the effects of competition on human nature to what makes a marriage happy.

I write this review because my 7 year-old has started to surf and I got him this movie so he may learn what (I figure) a real surfer's attitude ought to be. I saw this movie once almost 20 years ago and I was amazed at how much detail I remembered. In other words, this is a movie that will make a positive impression on you for a lifetime.