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DVD Billabong Odyssey
In addition to boasting one of the most astonishing opening sequences in the history of extreme-sports filmmaking, Billabong Odyssey offers a breathtaking survey of big-wave surfing at a pivotal stage in its evolution. With the advent of Jet-Ski Waverunners used for "tow-in" access to gigantic waves that paddle-surfers could never reach, this three-year, globe-trotting quest for the world's biggest waves is nothing less than spectacular. As documentaries go it's a bit cruder than 2003's other surfing movie, Step Into Liquid, and many of the same world-class surfers appear in both films (including 49-year-old Ken Bradshaw, still going strong). But Billabong is unrivaled in its abundance of jaw-dropping footage--most of it shot from helicopters hovering in close proximity--showing the sheer, terrifying scale of breaking "tubes"--some reaching 100 feet--at the most challenging big-wave locations on the planet, including Maverick's at Santa Cruz, California; Cortes Bank off the Pacific Coast; "Cyclops" in Australia; Mundaka, Spain; and the treacherous "Jaws" reef on the coast of Maui, Hawaii.
While touching on various hot topics such as safety training, serious wipe-outs, swell-tracking technology, female surfers (like the great Layne Beachley), and hydrofoil surfboards (billed as "the future of the sport"), director Philip Boston applies a casual, competitive structure that's too diffuse and lightweight to have much impact. But when the film focuses on the climactic "Jaws" showdown between Carlos Burle and Mike Parsons, Billabong Odyssey achieves a state of raw power and spiritual intensity, culminating in Parsons' best-ever 10-point ride on a massive tube that constantly threatens to consume him. As dozens of adrenaline-junkie surfers strive for new horizons of unprecedented skill, Billabong Odyssey chronicles their efforts with amazing bird's-eye cinematography. For surfers and non-surfers alike, this movie must be seen to be believed. --Jeff Shannon
Big build-up,but doesn't deliver the goods.Even though there
is some big surf,the quality of the surf and surfing is very
mediocre.
Lotsa talk, little surf
I got this flick hoping to extend the high i got off Step Into Liquid and Thicker Than Water. Instead I got a snoozefest of personal interviews and pro surfer bios.
Don't get me wrong, the big wave footage featured on the dvd is breathtaking, to say the least - there just isn't enough of it on this disc to get me anywhere near stoked.
I watched this once and dumped it in the pile for my next garage sale.
Sucks you in fast
As it says in the editorial review, this movie has one of the best opening sequences ever in any film. What I love about it is that in about 5 minutes you fully understand what the implications of big wave riding are. At that point, you are totally sucked in. When I have showed it to friends who have no interest in surfing, they can't help but want to watch the rest once they see the opening. Also, the quality of the shots throughout the film is top-notch. I have enjoyed the Endless Summer films and Step into Liquid, but they don't have me wanting to watch a second time. Odyssey does.
Thanks to Dana Brown's delightful Step Into Liquid, the surfing scene in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, should get a healthy boost. That's because Brown, in the tradition of his father, filmmaker Bruce Brown (The Endless Summer), has captured dazzling images of surfers riding curls in some of the world's most exotic--and sometimes unlikely--places. Besides the action on Lake Michigan, Brown leads us to Costa Rica, where the sport's senior elite (including Summer star Robert August) prove they still have the moves, and Oahu's North Shore, where the legendary Pipeline inspires this quote: "It's so scary, maybe you die a little." Most entertaining is a segment in County Donegal, where the American Malloy brothers startle the locals and meet their Irish counterparts on the grayest... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Dana Brown (II) DVD Release Date: Released the 20 April 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Riding Giants is more than another blissful surfing movie. It's an outstanding documentary about one era in American alternative lifestyles, when surfing was well-suited to a radical culture of social dropouts. Using an amazing array of amateur film clips, shot for the most part in Hawaii and California from the late 1950s and early '60s, director Stacy Peralta traces the rise of surfing's appeal to young men looking to test themselves in an unorthodox (and sexy) milieu--of "living life to the fullest," as former surfer-turned-screenwriter John Milius (Big Wednesday) puts it at one point. Lengthy chapters on the glories of Oahu's Makaha and the "superstition and dread" that accompanied the big-wave challenge of Waimea Bay are riveting and sometimes heroic, particularly told... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Stacy Peralta DVD Release Date: Released the 04 January 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I just bought this DVD and am very disappointed. Yes, the soundtrack is good, however the footage is very boring. Some sections of the movie (like the surf session with the old "singlefin green") are nice for the soul content, but the rest is very, very substandard surfing (nothing really amazing on the wave size or on the "gnarliness" of the moves). I haven't watched the bonus video yet, but I don't think it'll be that good to change my rating. If you're looking for soul content, you're much better off buying "Singlefin Yellow". If you want to buy this for the soundtrack, then buy the CD. More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Jack Johnson DVD Release Date: Released the 25 November 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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He stands 6-foot-5, with long golden hair--and he still looks minuscule when photographed against the backdrop of the mammoth waves in this outstanding surfing documentary. Laird Hamilton travels to Hawaii and Tahiti in search of the biggest waves anyone has ever tried to ride. Skimming across the side of a wall of water, he's harnessing both gravity and the power of the wave in a death-defying balancing act. There is something almost therapeutic about watching the endless slow-motion images of Hamilton riding one wave after another, meticulously photographed to capture both the pounding force of the water and Hamilton's daring ability to tame it. The footage is set to a contemporary score, featuring musical acts as diverse as Moby, Ben Harper, and Bender as the backdrop for Hamilton's... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 04 June 2002 This item is currently not available.
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Sweet shots sweet music by Jack J and his crew. Faces tell stories. I'm not a real surfer but it doesn't matter cause the 16mm film used and the pictures it produced tells a story about something even greater than Surfboarding. If your into things that are great i guess. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Jack Johnson (IX) DVD Release Date: Released the 17 December 2002 Usually ships in 6 to 8 days
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