Movie: Step Into Liquid
Written and Directed by Dana Brown; Starring World Class Surfers Music By Richard Gibbs (Artisan Entertainment)
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes

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Dana Brown's Step Into Liquid might just be the most beautiful surfing movie ever made.

The Endless Summer created the genre decades ago and Step Into Liquid follows in its wet footsteps. This time location shots stretch from Easter Island in the Pacific to the Atlantic coast of Ireland (Yes, Irish surfing!), and several different groups of surfers are lovingly shot in their element. There's Great Lakes surfers, supertanker surfers, the guy who's been surfing every day for 28 years, Dan Webster, and then there are the pros like king of the big waves, Laird Hamilton, Master Carver Taj Burrows, even fearless females Keala Kenelly and Layne Beachley doing it in a big way off Tahiti.

Comparisons end there because Step Into Liquid reaches spiritual heights that no one ever dreamed of back in the Endless Summer. The music isn't just refried Dick Dale, it runs the gamut from Gamelan to guitar-god crunch, all in service of simply stupendous cinematography. There's aerial footage, in the water footage, even fabulous footage from underneath the waves. Two more things also set it off from earlier surfing movies, the first being footage of some radical new foil boards. These boards are mounted with a hydrofoil underneath and the surfers actually ride them a couple feet above the waves. That's amazing enough but the other thing is the big wave footage in Step Into Liquid. It is unparalleled. The hard core surfers ride waves so big that they're towed by jet skis to get up enough speed to catch these monsters. You will remember the name Cortez Banks, where the final scene was shot. It's Guinness Book Of Records stuff.

Actually I don't think I have any doubt about it. Step Into Liquid IS the most beautiful surf film ever made.

The Skinny:

Did I enjoy the film? Dude, it's completely beyond stereotype surfer accents.

Would I go to see it again? It's a big screen movie with a great soundtrack, if you have the slightest aloha for surfing you'll want to watch it as big and as loud and as often as you can.

© 2003 - Rusty Pipes