Squid Force

Chances are, there’s a decent possibility you older squids might be hip to the trippiest, most cerebral surf cinematography ever produced by a human being: George Greenough’s Crystal Voyager. For those of you who aren’t quite that, um, experienced (or don’t have older relatives with the original filck), here’s a bit from the New York Times about this epic piece of work:

Shot on location in California and Australia, Crystal Voyager follows American surfer, filmmaker, and inventor George Greenough on his search for the perfect wave. This documentary focuses specifically on Greenough’s attempts to build a camera that would capture the majesty of surfing. The film follows Greenough’s several abortive attempts to build a camera light enough to sit on a surfboard. The film also discusses Greenough’s other innovations, such as the flexible fin which made surfing “in the tube” possible. The film builds to the final, famous 23-minute “Echoes” sequence comprised of footage shot by Greenough from his board. Stunningly majestic, the footage allows the viewer to experience the ocean as never before and occupies the middle ground between early Lumiere films and today’s IMAX, all to the music of Pink Floyd. A major critical, popular, and experimental success, Crystal Voyager was lauded at Cannes and by American critics.

For some reason, true art/surf films have been few and far between in the 35 years since Crystal Voyager was thrust upon our consciousness. Luckily, with FIRE we may not have to wait much longer…

Channeling Greenough’s vision, Mike Stewart (perhaps the greatest rider of waves in the world) and Scotty Carter (the pioneer of bodyboarding cinematography) have taken a decade of exclusive footage and created something that is much more than just a surf/art film.

With little commentary, the film relies almost exclusively on incredible, mind-bending imagery to tell the story of a true life aquatic. US release dates to come. Check out mikestewart.com for more…

Bookmark It

1. Greenough on Gs and Velo
2. groovy grooves
3. Poss on FIRE
4. Islamic Art meets Surfboard design.
5. outside pipe pits

Tags: Fire Bodyboarding Movie, George Greenough, Mike Stewart Fire

This entry was posted on Friday, October 17th, 2008 at 3:05 pm and is filed under All, Wave Riding. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.