A-frame

Aaberg, Denny

Aaberg, Kemp

Abberton, Koby

Abbruzzi, Sid

Abellira, Reno

Abubo, Megan

academia and surfing

Adler, Tom

advertising and surfing

Aeder, Erik

aerial

Aguerre, Fernando

Aichner, Scott

Aikau, Clyde

Aikau, Eddie

Aipa, Ben

air-drop

airbrush

Airshow

Ala Moana

Alabama

alaia board

Alaska

alcohol and surfing

Alexander, Kala

Allen, Chuck

Alms, Paige

aloha shirt

Alter, Hobie

Alvarez, Pepe

Ancell, Kevin

Andaman Islands

Andersen, Lisa

Anderson, Craig

Anderson, Simon

Andino, Kolohe

Angel, Jose

angle

Angola

Angourie

Antarctica

Apocalypse Now

Arabian Sea

Aragon, Janice

Arakawa, Eric

Archbold, Matt

Arena, Eduardo

Ashton, Juan

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)

Atlantic Ocean

August, Robert

Aurness, Rolf

Auster, Ken

Australia

Avalon, Frankie

Azores

backdoor

backside

backside attack, Pipeline

backwash

bail out

Bain, Rob

Baja California

Baker, Bernie

Baker, Grant “Twiggy”

Baker, Tim

Bali

Ball, John “Doc”

Ballard, Bill

Ballard, Rochelle

balsa

Baltic Sea

Banks, Jim

Barbados

Barilotti, Steve

Barland, Michel

Barreda, Sergio “Gordo”

Barry, Michael

Bartholomew, Wayne

Baxter, Jackie

Bay of Bengal

Beach Boys, The

Beacham, Debbie

beachboys

beachbreak

Beachcomber Bills Grand Prix

Beachley, Layne

beavertail

Becker, Phil

Bedford-Brown, Stuart

Belgium

Bells Beach

Bendall, Ma and Pa

Bennett, Barry

Benson, Becky

Benson, Blanche

Benson, Linda

Bermuda

Bertlemann, Larry

Well-crafted and wildly popular 1972 surf film made by Californians Greg MacGillivray and Jim Freeman. Although the MacGillivray-Freeman team had been making surf films together for over five years and were regarded as tops in the field, their previous movie, 

 (1968), was a bit lost in the swirl of the early shortboard revolution and had been a box-office disappointment. It was agreed that 

 would be their last surfing film, as both MacGillivray and Freeman were being courted by Hollywood studios.

 cost $24,000 to make; which at the time was roughly double the going rate. It didn't break new ground conceptually, but its production values were outstanding across the board: the film was well-composed and color-saturated (including water photography by original surf moviemaker Bud Browne), the editing was smooth (with some perspective-lending clips from past decades), and the soundtrack was excellent (featuring the Beach Boys and Laguna Beach country rockers Honk, among other artists). Revered surf artist and cartoonist Rick Griffin was commissioned to do the film's poster; it was inspired, Griffin said, by a newspaper ad for the 1971 film 

. (Griffin wasn't happy with the original version of the poster; in later versions the wax-offering surfer is wearing sunglasses.)

 debuted to a full house at the 3,000-seat Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on March 24, 1972, and a 

 film critic wrote that the audience was "dazzled [and] stunned." Hawaiian surfer Gerry Lopez was the star of 

, supported by Jeff Hakman, David Nuuhiwa, Margo Oberg, Terry Fitzgerald, Bill Hamilton, Angie Reno, Corky Carroll, and dozens of others. Updated versions of the movie came out each year until 1978, and ticket volume remained high season after season.

, Freeman worked on a small number of Hollywood-made movies, including 

 (1974), then was killed in a 1976 helicopter accident. MacGillivray contributed to 

 (1980), then went on to great success working in the IMAX big-screen format.

 (1966) as the three best surf movies of all time. 

 at #9 on their 2009 list of the "25 Greatest Surf Movies of All Time."

Five Summer Stories

Subscribe or Login

Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Interviews

Features

The Sunday Joint

Videos