John Milius' deeply personal take on the surf generation of the '60s is everything you'd expect from Hollywood's last great iconoclast. It's a sumptuous visual feast, an epic journey charting the testosterone-packed lives of three surfing buddies (Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt and Gary Busey) and an unbelievably heavy-handed extended metaphor, as the ebb and flow of the tide is mirrored in our heroes' lives. It's also the best surf movie ever made and a career peak for Vincent, Katt and Busey (only Busey has sustained the level of performance he delivers here). Despite Milius' trademark bull-in-a-china-shop approach, this is a truly beautiful film, and Bruce Surtees' awesome surf photography looks great on this DVD transfer. Watch the film, be amazed, then watch it again with Milius' booming thunder-voiced commentary turned up LOUD. You can almost taste his Cuban cigar.
John Milius’ deeply personal take on the surf generation of the ’60s is everything you’d expect from Hollywood’s last great iconoclast. It’s a sumptuous visual feast, an epic journey charting the testosterone-packed lives of three surfing buddies (Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt and Gary Busey) and an unbelievably heavy-handed extended metaphor, as the ebb and flow of the tide is mirrored in our heroes’ lives. It’s also the best surf movie ever made and a career peak for Vincent, Katt and Busey (only Busey has sustained the level of performance he delivers here).
Despite Milius’ trademark bull-in-a-china-shop approach, this is a truly beautiful film, and Bruce Surtees’ awesome surf photography looks great on this DVD transfer. Watch the film, be amazed, then watch it again with Milius’ booming thunder-voiced commentary turned up LOUD. You can almost taste his Cuban cigar.
