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Surf movies fall into three distinct genres:
The earliest-known footage of people surfing was captured byRobert Kates Bonine in 1906 in Hawaii. Bonine (1861-1923) was shooting anactuality film forThomas Edison from May 31 through at least August 12, 1906. Edison's film,Hawaiian Islands, was distributed in 1907 and features more than 30 segments, of which three (Panoramic View - Waikiki Beach Honolulu,Surf Board Riders - Waikiki Honolulu andSurf Scenes - Waikiki Honolulu) depict people surfing.[1]
The surfing documentary film was pioneered byBud Browne in the early1950s and later popularized by directorBruce Brown (ofThe Endless Summer fame) in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Surfing films were later advanced byGreg MacGillivray and Jim Freeman (in such films asFive Summer Stories) in the 1970s and beyond; MacGillivray and Freeman later went on to filmIMAX movies such asTo Fly! andSpeed. The genre itself has been defined by surfers traveling with their friends and documenting the experience on film. Starting in the 1960s, the films of Bruce Brown, Greg Noll, Bud Browne,John Severson and others were projected for audiences in music halls, civic centers, coffee houses, and high school gyms and auditoriums.
During the 1980s, the market for surf films surged with the release of more affordable video cameras. By the following decade, thesurfing market became saturated with low- and medium-budget surf films, many with soundtracks that reflectedsurf music. With the advent of surf films onVHS andDVD led to a decrease in public showings. Furthermore, large surf brands began sponsoring surf films to promote clothing and product sales. Titles likeSonny Miller'sThe Search forRip Curl redefined the genre with exotic locales, big budgets, and big name surfers such asTom Curren.
Since the late 1990s, there has been a revival of the independent surf film. Artists such asThe Malloys,Jack Johnson, and Jason Baffa have reinvented the genre by shooting self-financed 16mm films with music by artists includingG. Love,Alexi Murdoch,Mojave 3,White Buffalo, andDonavon Frankenreiter, creating what the surf media has called "modern classics."[citation needed] Some venues still show surfing films on the big screen.[citation needed]
Examples of surfing documentaries include:
An alternative type of surf movie is the "beach party film" or "surf-ploitation flick" by true surfers. These films had little to do with the authentic sport and culture ofsurfing, and instead represented movies that attempted to cash in on the growing popularity of surfing among youth in the early 1960s. Examples of Beach Party films include:
In narrative surf films, surfing is occasionally portrayed more realistically within fictional storylines, or used as a backdrop or side theme.
Hawaiian Islands (Thomas A. Edison, 1906): Chapters & Starting Times
via youtube; duration: 43:04
