Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau (2013)

Great Film overall

A Masterpiece!

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

This documentary about legendary Hawaiian surfer and lifeguard Eddie Aikau not only does a lovely and poignant job of capturing the humble and selfless humanity of Aikau, but also presents a really fascinating and illuminating exploration of the culture and history of Hawaii and how Aikau proudly represented said culture and history as a true native son of Hawaii. Renowned for his bravery as a pioneering big wave surfer as well as for his extraordinary stint as a fearless lifeguard at Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Hawaii (Aikau was responsible for saving the lives of over five hundred people!), Aikau was also well known for hosting these incredible luaus and his overall easygoing personality. Among the topics covered are the death of Aikau's younger brother Gerald, the mid-1970's Aussie surfer invasion of Hawaii (Aikau had to hold an emergency meeting to stop the angry locals from hurting or killing these cocky Australian surfers who had basically invaded their home turf), Aikau winning the prestigious Duke surfing contest at age thirty in 1977, and his heroic death at sea as he attempted to paddle back to shore on his surfboard in order to get help for the crew of a canoe voyage which went disastrously awry. Interviews with Eddie's wife Linda Ipsen, siblings Clyde, Myra, and Sol, and such fellow champion surfers as Greg Noll, Mark Richards, Wayne Bartholomew, Jeff Hakman, and Shaun Thomson provide touching insights into the heart and soul of Eddie. A fine portrait of a remarkable Hawaiian.

Humanity and poignancy of this documentary touched me very much. Exceptional direction (Sam George) and production. Bravo!! I am happy to recently have an opportunity to meet Ben Aipa last October 2013, who is also in the documentary. Appreciated talking with you in your shop, Ben! There had not been much if any bio of Eddie Aikau up to the time of this documentary. The documentary seems to be in thirds....the first part is of his family background, the second part is of his life as big wave surfer and lifeguard at Waimea Bay, North Shore, and the third part is of the Haluke'a and interviews. So beautifully done, this is indeed the gem of the ESPN '30 for 30' bios. It did win the Surfer Mag-2013 'Surfer's Poll' award for BEST DOCUMENTARY. This is a must have DVD for your personal library, if you can find it.

Thanks for taking a key role in bringing Eddie's life to the screen and to ESPN for airing it. Before watching I was only aware that Eddie was a famous Hawaiian. I thoroughly enjoyed it! It was a snowy winter day and I was channel surfing and happened upon this ESPN Channel and ESPN Film on Classics. And was able to catch your documentary from start to finish. What a great gift and loss to the surfing community Eddie was. You also brought a history of Hawaii that I was not aware of. Since my family is planning on visiting the island in the next few years I am definitely going to plan on visiting the North Shore. Thanks again from a non-surfer!