The Surfing Bibliography - Surfing Films

This page last Modified: Tuesday, 29-Jan-2008 17:56:51 GMT

Omissions, corrections and/or additions to items published/released before 01/01/2008? Please email me - it would help if you made SURFING the first word on your subject line.

Please note that these lists will not include any items published/released after 01/01/2008 until further notice.

The reason is that I simply don't have the time to keep maintaining these web pages for the foreseeable future.

Surf movies

What we're talking about here is movies, not videos/DVDs. To be on the list the movie has to have been projected against a screen/wall/whatever at some time, even if it is only seen on video/DVD now.

Why not videos/DVDs then? When I started doing this in 1995 I didn't think I'd have time to list all the videos/DVDs, and I have even less time to keep these pages up to date now. Apart from that, the whole movie experience is so different to watching a video/DVD - see Matt Warshaw's article "Rough cut : surfing on film" in The Surfer's Journal volume 7 number 4 or The Australian Surfer's Journal volume 2 number 2 for an excellent review of the whole story!

Albie Thoms has written a definitive history of Australian surf films, see the listing on the surfbook pages. The filmography in his book is more comprehensive than this one, as he includes any newsreels, television programs etc etc that contain film of surf in Australia. Further, he divides the filmography into films, shorts etc etc. For me a film is on this list if it was made to stoke surfers (rather than just happens to contain some surfing) and I haven't attempted to distinguish between feature length and shorts etc.

One last thing before we get to the lists - the Gallery of Surf Classics website includes lots of film posters etc for many of the below films - check it out!

This list is sorted alphabetically by name(s) of the films or main person involved in producing the film(s). In the case of surf films the camera-man is often also the film's director, producer, and distributor.

Anderson, Ken.
Over under sideways down - Austalia, 1970

Arnold, J.
The fibre glass jungle - 1965

As we like it.
- 196?

Beck, Nick
World of waves - , 196?

Bennet, Barry
Inspiration - , 1973

Bennet, John
Blue cool - Australia, 1972

Blum, Eric and Blum, Lowell.
The fantastic plastic machine - U.S., 1969

Brown, Bruce.
Barefoot adventure - U.S., 1960

The endless summer - U.S., 1964

The endless summer II - U.S., 1994

Slippery when wet - U.S., 1958

Surf crazy - U.S., 1959

Surfin' shorts - U.S., 1960-64

Surfing hollow days - U.S., 1961

Waterlogged - U.S., 1962

Brown, Dana
Step into liquid - U.S., 200?

Brown, David L. and Earnest, Roy
Surfing for life - U.S., 199?

Brown, Don
Surf's up - U.S., 1961

Have board will travel - U.S., 1963

Surfari - U.S., 1968

Brown, Neville.
Circumfusion - Australia, 1975 - see The Australian Surfer's Journal Volume 3 Number 1 Page 123

Browne, Bud.
Hawaiin surfing movie - U.S., 1953

Hawaiin holiday - U.S., 1954

Hawaiin surfing movie - U.S., 1955

Trek to Makaha - U.S., 1956

The big surf - U.S., 1957

Surf down under - U.S., 1958

Cat on a hot foam board - U.S., 1959

Surf happy - U.S., 1960

Spinning boards - U.S., 1961

Cavalcade of surf - U.S., 1962

Gun ho! - U.S., 1963

Locked in - U.S., 1964

Going surfin' - U.S., 1973

The new going surfin' - U.S., 1977

Bystrom, Chris.
Room to move - U.S., 1978

Pacific dreams - U.S., 1981

Thunder down under - U.S., 1981

Blazing boards - U.S., 1983

Wave of the future - U.S., 1985

The last surf movie - U.S., 1986

Son of the last surf movie - U.S., 1986

Capo, Gary.
Many classic moments - , 1976

Cassidy, Ray.
The solid glass tube - Australia, 1970 - see The Australian Surfer's Journal Volume 3 Number 1 Page 123

Clifton, Peter.
Fluid journey - Australia, 1969

Clifton, and Ryan,.
The summer search - Australia, 1966

Cording, Bob and Humphries, Jerry
Tales from the tube - , 1974

Core, Steve.
Ocean rhythms - Australia, 1975

Ocean rhythms (new version) - Australia, 1976

In natural flow - Australia, 1971

Davis, Dale. ( - 13/09/2001)
The golden breed - , 1968

Inside out - , 1966

Strictly hot - , 19??

Walk on the wet side - , 1966

Liquid space - , 1975

Wave at Mailbu - , 1967

Delaney, Bill.
Free ride - U.S., 1977 - One of the best, the slow motion film at Off the Wall etc was ground breaking. The stars are sometimes referred to as "the Free Ride generation".

Free ride : take 2 - U.S., 1978

Free ride : final edition - U.S., 1983

Surfers : the movie - U.S., 199?

Dittrich, Scott.
Adventures in paradise - U.S., 1982

Amazing surf stories - U.S., 19??

Follow the sun - U.S., 1983

Rolling thunder - U.S., 1991

Fluid drive - U.S., 1976

Tales of the seven seas - U.S., 1981

Dogs run free
U.S., 197?

Dowse, Bruce.
Freedom riders - Australia, 1972

Dr Strangesurf
, 19??

Elton, Dennis
Follow the surf - Australia, 1963

Evans, Bob.
The young wave hunters - Australia, 1964

The long way around - Australia, 1965

The perfect board - Australia, 1965

Drouyn and friends - Australia, 1974

High on a cool wave - Australia, 1967

Splash down - Australia, 1970

Tracks - Australia, 1970

Family free - Australia, 1971

Midget goes Hawaiin - Australia, 1962

Surfing the Southern Cross - Australia, 1963

Surf trek to Hawaii - Australia, 1961

Ride a white horse - Australia, 1968

The way we like it - Australia, 1968

Invisible tracks - Australia, 1972

Hawaiin thrills - Australia, 1964

World champion wavemen - Australia, 1967

Moving out - Australia, 1972

Falzon, Alby
Morning of the Earth - Australia, 1972

Surfabout - , 1974

Farrant, Yuri.
Zephyr - , 1972

Crystal eyes - ,1982

Hot lips and inner tubes - , 1976

Fisher, John.
Hawaiin magic - Australia, 1980

Fowler, and Gorringe,.
Indo express - Australia, 1990

Freeman, Jim.
The glass wall - U.S., 1965

Outside the third dimension - U.S., 19??

Gordie, ?.
Sacrifice for surf - U.S., 19??

Greenough, George.
The innermost limits of pure fun - U.S., 1970

Echoes - U.S., 1973 - inside-the-tube film taken by Greenough

Crystal Voyager (new version) - Australia, 1974

Crystal Voyager - Australia, 1973

Gross, Paul.
Waves seen - , 1973

Hitchcock, John.
Island magic - , 1972

Hodge, Harry.
Band on the run - Australia, 1981

Liquid gold - Australia, 1975

Hoole, Dick and McCoy, Jack.
A day in the life - Australia, 1978

In search of tubular swells - Australia, 1976

Kong's island - 1983

Stormriders - Australia, 1981 - with Lourie

Huglin, Greg.
Fantasea - U.S., 1980

Ishii, Hideaki.
Asian paradise - Japan, 1984

Jepsen, Hal ( - 2006).
The cosmic children - U.S., 1970

A sea for yourself - U.S., 1972

Super session - U.S., 1975

We got surf - U.S., 1981

Expression session - U.S., 1972

Klopf, Chris.
Cycles of the northern sun - U.S., 1976

Time tunnels - U.S., 197?

Lourie, David.
Surf dreams - Austalia, 1971

McAlpine, Andy.
Children of the sun - New Zealand, 1968

McDonald, Dennis.
The last ride - Australia, 1976

MacGillivray, Greg.
The performers - U.S., 1965

A cool wave of color - U.S., 1966

MacGillivray, Greg and Freeman, Jim.
The moods of surfing - U.S., 1968

Five summer stories - U.S., 1972

Five summer stories plus four- U.S., 1976

Free and easy - U.S., 1968

The sunshine sea - U.S., 1970

Waves of change - U.S., 1971

The surf movie - U.S., 1972

The third reel - U.S., 1973

Who's best - U.S., 1968

McKnight, Bob.
Rock me on the water - U.S., 19??

Regression session - U.S., 19??

Main, and Thomas,.
Standing room only - U.S., 1978

Maine, Allen.
Summer breeze - , 1973

Mastalka, Curt.
Full blast - U.S., 1983

Red hot blue - U.S., 1973

Sundance - U.S., 1976

Sea dreams - U.S., 1971

Milne, Dennis.
Surf stomp - Australia, 1963

Moir, Mike.
Oceans in motion - , 1979

Murdoch, Tim.
Out of the blue - New Zealand, 1968

Noll, Greg.
Search for surf - U.S., 1957

Otton, Steve.
Highway One - Australia, 1977

New wave - Australia, 1980

Peterson, Robert.
Follow me - , 1968

Philips, Walt.
Psyche out - U.S., 1962

Sunset surf craze - U.S., 1959

Surf mania - U.S., 1961

Rich, Alan
Wizards of the water - Australia, 1981

Wizards of the water (new version) - Australia, 1983

Salt water wine - U.S., 1973

Playgrounds in paradise - Australia, 1978

Aussies in the islands - U.S., 1974

The ride
- U.S., 200?

Riding giants
- U.S., 2004

Rohloff, Grant.
Out of control - U.S., 19??

Sea flight
- 1983

Seversen, John.
Pacific vibrations - U.S., 1969

Surf fever - U.S., 1960 - Matt Warshaw says in "Photo Stoner" page 15 "Surf Fever no longer exists"

Going my wave - U.S., 1962

Sheppard, Phil.
Our day in the sun - Australia, 1971

Sheppard, Phil and Usher,.
A winter's tale - Australia, 1974

A winter's tale (new version) - Australia, 1976

Spaulding, Stephen.
Bali High - 1981

Sonderberg, Steve.
Ocean fever - 1983

Room to move - 1974

A matter of style - 1975

Sumpter, David.
On any morning - Australia, 1974

Sumpter, Rod.
Hawaiian surfari - U.K., 1979

Oceans - U.K., 1971

Reflections - U.K., 1973

White waves - U.K., 1979

Come surf with me - U.K., 1967

With surfing in mind - U.K., 1968

Freeform - U.K., 1970

Thomas Edison Company.
Surf board riders Waikiki Honolulu Hawaiin Islands - U.S., 1906 - The first known film of people riding surfboards. Film actually shot by R. K. Bonine

Turner, Colin.
Ecstasy - Australia, 1971

Valentine, Val.
Surfing Aussie - U.S., 1964

Waddell, Alastair.
Just cruisin' - Australia, 1978

Wayne Rabbit Bartholemew : the movie
- France?, 198?

Windisch, Fred.
Natural Art - U.S., 1969

City slickers, U.S., 197?

Witzig, Paul.
All down the line - Australia, 1989

Evolution - Australia, 1969 - one of the most influential surfing films ever made. Features Wayne Lynch and Nat Young. Lynch's backhand surfing blew minds at the time. Also unusually for the time, there is no narration - just a sountrack supplied by Australian band Taman Shud (if my memory is correct!!).

The hot generation - Australia, 1966

A life in the sun - Australia, 1966 - The Surfer's Journal volume 16, number 3, says on page 88 "The film was called A Life In The Sun. It's been lost forever now, destroyed by a fire."

Sea of joy - Australia, 1971

Rolling home - Australia, 1974

Hawaii68 - Australia, 1968

Animals - Australia, 1970

Witzig, Paul and Taylor, Tommy.
Islands - Australia, 1972

Wozniak, Dan.
Siestas and olas - U.S., 1997

Ten toes over - U.S., 1994

Yates, Larry.
Forgotten island of Santosha - , 1972

Young, Chris.
Eclipse - Australia, 1969 - see The Australian Surfer's Journal Volume 3 Number 1 Page 123

Young, Grant.
Passing images - , 1979

Wave masters - Australia, 1979

Scream in blue - Australia, 1987

Young, Robert (Nat).
The fall line - Australia, 1980

The history of Australian surfing - Australia, 1984

Let's go surfing - Australia, 1966 - This was actually a Television series of 13 half hour episodes

Notable feature films with surfing as a theme, subplot, or memorable scene

Apocalypse now
- Zoetrope, U.S., 1979

Big Wednesday
- Warner Brothers, U.S., 1978

Blue juice
- U.K., 1995

California dreaming
- U.S., 1979

Dark Star
- U.S., 1973 - wait for the ending ...

Escape from L.A.
U.S., 1996

Fast times at Ridgemont High
U.S., 1982

In God's hands
U.S., 1997

Gidget
- Columbia Pictures, U.S., 1959 - hey, I didn't put the "beach blanket" movies in, so count your blessings :-) In any event this could be one of the most influential films in the history of surfing, as it encouraged so many to start surfing ...

The north shore
- Universal Pictures, U.S., 1987

Point break
- Largo Entertainment, U.S., 1991

Puberty blues
- Limelight Productions, Australia, 1981

Ride the wild surf
- U.S., 1964

Surf nazis must die
- Troma Films, U.S., 1987 - follow the links from their home page to plot summary, movie poster etc. Be warned - could be considered offensive

Surf's up
- U.S. : , 2007 - surfin' penguins, cool!

Omissions, corrections and/or additions to items published/released before 01/01/2008? Please email me - it would help if you made SURFING the first word on your subject line.

Please note that these lists will not include any items published/released after 01/01/2008 until further notice.

The reason is that I simply don't have the time to keep maintaining these web pages for the foreseeable future.