Documentary filmmaker Bruce Brown, himself a competition-level surfer, follows surfers Michael Hynson and Robert August on an around-the-world surfing adventure.
With Brown’s wry, sardonic narration and a twangy, guitar-driven instrumental soundtrack by The Sandals playing over the silent footage, Mike and Rob leave their California home to visit Hawaii, Australia, South Africa and other secluded surfing spots in a search for the surfer’s holy grail that Brown dubs “The Perfect Wave.”
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The Endless Summer is a 1966 documentary film about two young surfers, Mike Hynson and Robert August, who travel around the world in search of the perfect wave. The film was directed by Bruce Brown and features a surf rock soundtrack that was provided by The Sandals.
Brown remembered, “I felt if I could take two years to make a film, maybe I could make something special”. To pull off this, he’ll need a larger budget than his previous projects. To raise the $50,000 budget for The Endless Summer, Brown took the best footage from the four previous films he had made and made Waterlogged.
The money they raised from Waterlogged helped to pay for the filming of The Endless Summer.
Both Mike Hynson and Robert August had to pay $1,400 for their own around-the-world tickets, and Brown required a 3-month commitment… production lasted 4 months.
The Endless Summer’s Impact On Surfing Culture
The Endless Summer has been credited with popularizing surfing around the world and helping to make it the mainstream sport it is today. The film’s release coincided with the birth of the modern surf culture in California, and its success helped to spread surfing’s popularity to other parts of the world. In particular, the film is credited with sparking a wave of interest in surfing in Australia and South Africa.
The film’s lasting legacy is its depiction of the surfing lifestyle as a carefree, fun-loving way of life. This image of surfing has helped to make it one of the most popular sports in the world today.
What Locations Did They Film?
The film was shot in a number of locations around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and Hawaii.
Who Are The Surfers in The Endless Summer?
Mike Hynson and Robert August are the two young surfers who are featured in the film. Hynson was a well-known surfer from California who had already been featured in a number of surf films.