This movie was a pleasant surprise. Neither my girlfriend nor I are surfing fans, participants, or even knowledgeable, but I saw enough good reviews on Netflix to make me want to give the film a try. I'm glad I did.
Written, directed, and most importantly, edited by the team that made the highly rated Dogtown and Z-Boys (a 2001 documentary about skateboarding), Riding Giants weaves together archive footage, new interviews, and explanatory narrative to tell the story of surfing and its evolution, concentrating naturally on riding the biggest waves.
Starting with an animated segment modestly labeled "1000 Years Of Surfing In Two Minutes Or Less," we quickly springboard from Polynesian natives riding boards before the arrival of Captain Cook to the late 1940s in Southern California. At this point we start to get involved, not with the technical aspects of the sport, but rather with the groundbreaking individuals who defined milestones in its development. The concentration on the human story grounds the film and makes it interesting even to non-devotees.
The movie is structured in three distinct sections. The first is light-hearted, fun, and breezy as we meet the few guys who popularized surfing in its early days and discovered the majestic locations that would define Hawaii as a surfing mecca for decades to come.
The most charismatic and outspoken of the group is Greg Noll, one of the first riders of a giant wave. His modern interview commentaries are so good, they extend all through the film to the point where he acts as something of a Greek Chorus, counterpointing the actions of those who came after him in the sport. The archival footage in this segment is a joy to watch, including many aspects of the goofy hijinks the boys would get into during the few hours they were out of the water.
The second segment is darker in color and tone as the scene shifts to Half Moon Bay (south of San Francisco) and some of the most dangerous big wave surfing available. This section covers the period from the 1970s to the 1990s.
Article comments