Ultime épreuve

Matt Adler loves to surf in the local wave machine pools. He'll enter art school in the fall, so he decides to head to Oahu's North Shore to surf the big waves. After a rocky start which proves to him that he doesn't know anything about the people and culture, he is succored by old-line board shaper Gregory Harrison, who teaches him about waves, water and the joys of soul-surfing.He also has an affair with local lovely Nia Peeples. It's a nice mixture of teenage lover/learning about life, with handsome young people for eye candy. The real joy in the movie is Peter Smokler's cinematography, with plenty of handsome pictures of waves, water and sky. There was a flurry of surfing movies in the 1980s, and this one makes an effort to say something deeper than, say POINT BREAK. It's not terribly successful at that, but the visuals are outstanding.

Chandler Surfboards North Shore T-Shirts Rule "Chandler teach me how to big wave surf not even" Turtle "Here on the North Shore we treat friends mo better" Turtle "Yeah, design thing...design me right out of the picture hoale" "He one bad ripper yeah. I hear he break his stick he shred so bad" "Scrub it kook!" And the list goes on. If you love the movie you can quote every line. The DVD rules. Kudos to the company for actually believing in this film, after all of these years, and including interviews with the original cast. This film touched a nerve in a whole generation of surfers and wanna be surfers alike. Later Barneys.

My kid bro and me have watched it many times, and we love the dialogue and the surfer speak, and the lingo Turtle speaks. We spent two winters in Haliewa and know that it is a true -- if occassionally exagerrated -- mirror of the life there. And I've never ever seen better rides on film. "Occy" and Jerry Lopez are always great, and Laird Hamilton -- what a hunk!

Can't understand the 9 or 10 star reviews. This is a cheaply made 80's surfing movie with bad acting, bad cinematography, but pretty good music. Enjoyable in a yesteryear sort of way but miles behind movies like Big Wednesday.

Don't know how I missed this little gem. Adler leaves the wave machines of Arizona for the real big ones of Oahu. Equal time given to the big three beaches (Sunset Waimea and Pipeline) once he gets there. Film delivers exquisitely on its very simple level. The male version of Blue Crush, only 15 years before it. 10/10

This is a nice, if somewhat stupid, comedy and surfing B-movie. It had it's fair share of laughs and some great one liners, not to mention fabulous surfing scenes. It was entertaining enough and worth a rental if you're looking for a funny cheesy B-movie. A bit of a cult classic eh, yeah?.....yeah?.........no.

Wheter or not the film is a "b" movie or not this is a definite classic! Regardless of the absence of a blockbuster budget, there is much to be taken from this film. And yes it does portray some of the locals in an accurate light. (Some of the locals are very rude and extremely territorial over certain areas of Hawaii). All in all, the rite of passage made by the main character is very heartfelt. Although it may be a little cheesy and even dated, this film is A CULT CLASSIC! A must for surfers, especially 80's kids! Do not overlook this film's position in your DVD library. Even if you do not surf, there is a great love story and explorer's feel to the film. Enjoy it.