The Endless Summer: Director's Special Edition

Bruce Brown's 1966 ode to surfing assembles a larkish assortment of 16mm-shot scenes (accompanied by then-28-year-old filmmaker Brown's droll commentary) framed around a world tour taken by California teen surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August when winter hits Malibu. Mike and Bob chase the summer season around the globe—clear to the antipodes—in search of “the perfect wave.” The duo hit the beaches in Africa, where native fisher-folk immediately go board-wild, and in Australia, where enthusiasts keep telling the Americans that they should have been there the day before for better conditions, and then on to New Zealand, Tahiti, and Hawaii. Some elements are poignantly dated (“unbelievable” African expenses include hotel rates of $30 per day, and gas priced at a criminal $1 a gallon), but the attitude, clowning, lingo, and youthful joie de vivre are as much an apt reflection of mid-'60s Americana as Woodstock. DVD extras for this remastered reissue include the 2000 documentary Endless Summer Revisited, helmed by Brown's son and heir apparent Dana (Step Into Liquid), and stills galleries. An essential documentary, this is highly recommended. [Note: The Endless Summer is also debuting in January on Blu-ray with a bonus digital copy of the film.] (C. Cassady)