The Endless Summer (1966)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Pretty Good

A Major Disappointment

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

The crown jewel to ten years of Bruce Brown surfing documentaries. Brown follows two young surfers around the world in search of the perfect wave, and ends up finding quite a few in addition to some colorful local characters.Now, how seriously this film was meant to be taken, I don't know. It is an incredibly honest look at surfing around the world, and has plenty of good scenes. But it also has subtle humor due to Brown ribbing his friends. Who was his intended audience? The film now (2016) operates as both great documentary on surfing, but also as a bit of a time capsule. This was 1966, and it was an "endless summer"... just before the "summer of love". There is no way that Brown could have seen this film as indicative of the era, but in many ways it is.

The name Bruce Brown was a name I hadn't heard until I saw The Endless Summer. Apparently, he is the king of surfing documentaries, a thing I didn't know there was a king of. The Endless Summer is allegedly his quintessential surfamentary and it's really the only one people talk about. It chronicles the journey of two ace surfers as they follow the Summer season around the globe to ride the waves in all sorts of exotic locations like Africa, Australia, and Tahiti. The film has no dialogue from the people in it, only Bruce Brown's narration which fills us in with all the information we need to know to follow this story of an endless summer.This is a particularly light hearted documentary that is solely for entertainment value to those who find its subject matter interesting. If you're interested in surfing I suppose you would love this movie because about 90% of the footage of the film is actual surfing. If you don't really care about surfing, like myself, The Endless Summer doesn't do much for you. I personally found it a little bit boring and somewhat pointless. However, I can't say that it's a bad film because it's easy to tell what a great surfing documentary it is, even if you couldn't care less about the sport.Even if you don't care about surfing there are still all sorts of beautiful locations that the two surfers and Bruce Brown visit in this film that are marvelous to look out. In this film you see some of the most beautiful ocean water you will ever see, and some truly perfect waves that you won't see on any beach in America. I can appreciate this and it makes The Endless Summer a slightly more interesting film to someone who has no interest in surfing. Of course, this film is all about the surf, and no time is really devoted to the beauty of the locations or the variety of cultures traveled to here. All the focus is on surfing, and we have to take it upon ourselves to notice the kind of beauty this subject matter is immersed in.You have to constantly remind yourself that this is nothing more than a documentary about surfing, so you have to cut it slack for not devoting time to things a non-surfer would find more interesting. However, one of the truly strange things about the film is it's sense of humor at times. It's a very easy going documentary with a light hearted and sarcastic sense of humor, but this humor is also a bit awkward at times. Some of the remarks about the African natives sometimes come off as insensitive, though not blatantly so. It's nothing that makes you do a double take, and I'm sure Brown means well in his narration, but there are a few remarks that just seem off. Who knows. Maybe it just comes with the times. It didn't bother me much, but I couldn't help but notice it, and it stayed on my mind throughout the film.The Endless Summer is perfect for a surfer who wants to watch a surfing documentary. If you're not a surfer and you want to watch a surfing documentary you might feel just a little indifferent about this film. It's not bad, in fact it's well made overall, but it won't really stick with me by any means.

Just get the DVD and settle into your favorite chair, add some pals, a few kids, some snacks and a drink and you have the complete setting and the perfect film for 90 minutes to make you delighted with life for the next 90 days. I first saw the ES in 1964 when Bruce Brown came to Australia and would hire old cinemas on a night they were usually closed. He ran the film silent and spoke the narration over the microphone live in the theater! The word of mouth of this film was 100% as the entertainment value... and in a city thronging with teen surfers desperate to see their sport on a real movie screen, this film projected in 16mm in a crumbling 2500 seat suburban theater (struggling to stay open) was a joyous hilarious revelation that has us kids and older pals living the dream ourselves at our local beaches. This is a perfect piece of family entertainment and you are encouraged to get it see it show it and keep it to remind yourself at what fun life can be. It is a life reaffirming experience and we are all the richer as humans for having it in our lives. The only other two films I feel this strongly about, and they are so different as films... are the 30s musical ROBERTA and the new documentary THE BALLET RUSSE. A short film called THE RED JACKET is equally strong and humanist... each of these films will do for your senses and heart to elate you beyond your wildest wishes. The music score for THE ENDLESS SUMMER by the pop group the Sandals (!) is equally unforgettable. It is worth buying as a CD when you get the DVDs of The Endless Summer, Endless Summer 2 and other Bruce Brown comedy surfing documentary valentines.

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...