The Endless Summer

As a surfing-themed movie, "The Endless Summer" is one of the most impressive things that you'll ever see. Bruce Brown (RIP) and Mike Hynson know how to travel the world to look for the perfect wave. However, it IS very much a product of its time. Brown and Hynson clearly weren't raised with any consciousness about the rest of the world. In Ghana, they have a Euro-centric view of the native people. While in South Africa, they never once mention apartheid. But aside from that, it's a fun documentary. I suspect that it inspired countless other people to start surfing. I never have, but there are people who are really into it. I recommend the movie.

You do not have to know what "Hang Ten" means to enjoy this wonderful surfing documentary. In 1963-1964 two surfing buddies, Michael Hynson and Robert August, simply decided to follow the summer sun around the world, from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern back to the Northern. The travails of the two are documented by Bruce Brown, whose apropos tongue-in-cheek narration is a howl. The photography is breathtaking. In the early scenes we see some noted personalities on the Californian and Hawaiian surfs. Hawaii's air and water temperature were a perfect 75º F. But California was cooling down by November, as attested by Santa Cruz' nighttime temperature of just 48º F (California does get a winter). So it was off on a flight across the Atlantic to Senegal and Ghana in West Africa, where the two leads demonstrate that they may just have been the first surfers there in world history. Before long the locals were converted to enjoying the waves. Incidentally, the beach temperature was 70º F and the surf better than that of California. A gas station was appropriately named AGIP (a gip), as the price for a gallon of gas was $1.00, or twice as much as in the USA at the time. Next stop: Nigeria just north of the equator. Water temperature: 91º F and air temperature of 100º F! It was so hot that the wax on the surf boards melted. Then Bob and Mike fly across the equator to the southern hemisphere, to South Africa. There were surfers in Cape Town, but just one hundred or so, and the average age of the surfers was older than that of the Americans, about 30. In Durban, on the Indian Ocean side of the country, there were nets to protect the surfers from sharks. The porpoises do seem to get through, though the sharks do not hang with them. You see, quips Brown, "Sharks and porpoises have yet to integrate in South Africa" (!). Further east, at Cape St. Francis, the surfing exceeded that of Malibu. After that, our surfers fly in a wide arc from northeast South Africa to India to Perth, in Western Australia, where there is no surf. So it was on to Melbourne, two thousand miles away. There the guys find that they missed the best surf by six months. Or is "You just missed it" a common refrain? So it was on to Sydney, farther east still, where the surf was minimal ("You just missed it." Hmmm). They do meet Pearl, a surfer girl, who wears a bikini. Bruce Brown explains that, as the girls tend to lose their swimsuits when they wipe out, the thoughtful lifeguards have spare suits. In New Zealand Mike and Bob find the surfing to be great on the west coast. And on Christmas Day, the boys are surfing in a huge cove near Auckland. The next stop is in Tahiti, where, contrary to local reports, there is indeed surfing. Finally the guys are in Hawaii, where they know the surf, the best in the world. We find out that the big wave surf break in Waimea Bay was ridden first in 1958. The waves are two and three stories high, and wipe outs are massive. Surfers who do so must quickly dive deeply into the ocean, lest they get struck by their boards and suffer severe injury. At the end, the boys explain that finding good surf is a hit or miss proposition: they were lucky in Africa, not so in Australia, and OK in New Zealand. But the guys reflect on the wonderful events that they have experienced in their exciting young lives. Hang ten (stars, not toes)!

Interesting, intelligent and well-narrated movie done in the days of innocence before boring thrash-metal soundtracks drowned out commentary from surf-movies. No matter what age you are, if you like surfing (and probably if you don't) you will find this movie interesting as it travels around the world examining cultures and people as well looking for the "perfect wave". Sure, Bruce Brown's commentary may sometimes sound goofy but it enhances the innocent feel of the movie and its place in time. This is the definitive surf movie - the measure by which other movies can only be judged. A recent "Realsurf" website (Realsurf publishes worldwide surf reports on the internet) reader pool of '000's voted "Endless Summer" as the best surf movie of all time with daylight second and Endless Summer 2 next.

What a fun little film this is! Every 5 or 6 years I revisit this work and enjoy it as much as the first time I saw it. My hat is off to Bruce Brown for having the vision and determination to create this film. With cinematography, music, and narration that is easy on the mind and eyes, this film floats through the screen and has you envisioning your own paradise, whether or not you're a surfing aficionado. The two featured surfers in this film are at the top of their sport and seem to be doing it only for love - NOT for big prizes or cash purses. There is a unique innocence about this film that is very appealing. See this film because it is not violent. See it because there are no special effects (save one or two jerky camera moves). See it because it takes you back to a simpler time when the world (and you do see much of the world) seems much simpler. Still fun and still an inspiration, this film will remain forever timeless...

Being something of a surfing enthusiast, myself (in my younger days I've surfed in both Australia and Hawaii) - "The Endless Summer" (from 1966) certainly turned out to be a very entertaining and enjoyable documentary, highlighting the thrills and excitement of this tres' exhilarating sport. From sunny Malibu Beach, California, to the uncharted waters of West Africa, to the tropical paradises of Tahiti and Hawaii, 2 young, American surfers accomplish in a few months what most people never do in a lifetime - They live their dream. And that dream for Mike and Robert is to find and ride the perfect wave. Director Bruce Brown's whimsical narration in "The Endless Summer" gives the whole production a very comfortable, easy-going feeling that greatly contributes to its overall charm and appeal.

It's a brilliant thesis for surfers - if you had the time and money, you could keep traveling around the world, participating exclusively in each location's surfing season. Thus, "The Endless Summer" would provide limitless opportunities for catching waves! Out searching for the elusive "perfect wave," surfing director Bruce Brown (he photographed, edited and narrated) follows Malibu surfer pals Mike Hynson and Robert August around the world with a camera. The young men follow the sun to one glorious location after another. My pick for the perfect wave is the one found in Cape St. Francis but you may prefer the big ones at Waimea Bay. The waves aren't the only things perfect in "The Endless Summer" - so is the photography, narration and soundtrack. Hey, surf's up! Forever... ********** The Endless Summer (6/15/66) Bruce Brown ~ Bruce Brown, Mike Hynson, Robert August