Bruce Brown, 80, Dies; His ‘Endless Summer’ Documented Surfing

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/12/obituaries/bruce-brown-documentarian-of-surfing-is-dead-at-80.html

by jseliger • 9 years ago

103 20 9 years ago

"Endless Summer" is a classic. It's up there with "A Sunday in Hell" (paris-roubaix cycling race) and "On Any Sunday" (motorcycling) for quality mid-century documentary sport films.

stock_toaster• 9 years ago

Brown also apparently made "On Any Sunday". TIL.

RhysU• 9 years ago

Wonderful film, but for the non aficionado you have to get past the first 20 minutes.

ansgri• 9 years ago

Also, Lords of Dogtown (early skateboarding).

donretag2• 9 years ago

Lords of Dogtown was the Hollywood fictionalized version. You probably are thinking of the documentary "Dogtown and Z-Boys".

diegoserranoa• 9 years ago

Total classic. I would recommend even for non-surfers. "Dogtown and Z-Boys" too..

mtberatwork• 9 years ago

Also, "Step Into Liquid", "Riding Giants" and just about any Jack McCoy film.

fergie• 9 years ago

"With enough money from his filmmaking and investments, Mr. Brown did not work after making “The Endless Summer 2.” He pursued hobbies like target shooting, collecting old cars and racing rally cars."

ralfd• 9 years ago

And:

In addition to his son, who wrote and directed a sequel to “On Any Sunday” in 2014, Mr. Brown is survived by his daughter, Nancie Brown; another son, Wade; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren

Surfing and a nice family. He won at life.

himom• 9 years ago

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0113164

donretag2• 9 years ago

More than document surfing, he documented a spirit and passion.

Do not watch the movie if you are feeling restless and have wanderlust. You will end up quiting your job and traveling the world.

wepple• 9 years ago

Just hearing the name of the film, that I last watched 10+ years ago in a completely different point of my life and mindstate makes me start to wonder how I got to this. Today is going to be a slow day.

oaxacaoaxaca• 9 years ago

My thoughts exactly. Well put.

SirFatty• 9 years ago

and if you have a time machine... I'd love to go back to mid-60's southern California.

nobleach• 9 years ago

I grew up near a beach town. I remember seeing Endless Summer when I was about 13/14. From that point forward, I loved the idea of finding a "new break" somewhere around my small stretch of A1A. This guy really poured some passion into it. Thanks Bruce.

emmelaich• 9 years ago

Similar. In my mind, I always pair this with "Morning of the Earth" another classic surfing movie.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_of_the_Earth

evo_9• 9 years ago

Experimental guitarist Fennesz classic track Endless Summer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGcPwGqPHO0

replicatorblog• 9 years ago

Every time I watch that movie I want to retire and chase waves. It's an extraordinarily quaint piece of mid-century nostalgia.

kbutler• 9 years ago

Just watched this with my wife a couple of weeks ago. Made me nostalgic for the state of the world 50 years ago (before I was born...)

Cbasedlifeform• 9 years ago

The article mentioned how Brown rented out the Kip's Bay cinema in NY to try to get distribution. That is where I in fact saw it as a small boy with my sister and parents. I never surfed myself but relatives in California did and I always remembered the line about "the dirty Wedge" somewhere near LA. Fond memories... I'll have to see it again.

Bruce Brown, 80, Dies; His ‘Endless Summer’ Documented Surfing

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