Surfing Hollow Days
Directed by Bruce Brown
Written by Bruce Brown
1961/USA
Bruce Brown Films
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] “Surfing is attitude dancing.” –Gerry Lopez[/box]
Aimed at surfing enthusiasts, Brown’s documentary also brought back strong memories of a time and place to this Southern California non-surfer.
We follow a group of professional surfers from California to Hawaii to Australia and even Florida in search of “hollow waves”. Glimpses of surf culture are interspersed between shots of some truly astounding feats, including the first time a surfer rode the Pipeline, a huge and dangerous wave in Hawaii.
This documentary is the kind of thing that would have been shown in small surfing clubs and not in the theater. The tone is light with a lot of joshing between the guys. The slightness of the subject matter does not weaken the impact of the grandeur of the battle between man and wave.
Clip
