Arenaplex
NEW YORK -- Armchair athletes (you know who you are) and surfing enthusiasts will no doubt be the most receptive audiences for this documentary about the world of extreme surfing, which has the unfortunate timing to arrive on theater screens not too long after this summer's well-received "Step Into Liquid". While "Billabong Odyssey" ultimately resembles an infomercial more than a coherent cinematic exercise, its spectacular images of well-toned athletes battling with the world's largest waves should find a receptive audience of those so inclined. Tellingly, the film opened Friday in 17 theaters in Southern California and on a single screen in Manhattan.
Shot in both 35mm film and high-definition video, Phillip Boston's docu opens in spectacular fashion, with a stunning shot of Surfer Mike Parsons dwarfed by a 70-foot-high wave. A succession of similarly breathtaking images follow, though they are interrupted too frequently by dry, public television-style explications of wave formations, high-tech weather forecasting, etc.
Filmed in various far-flung locations including California, Washington, Mexico, Hawaii, Spain, France, Australia, Tahiti and the legendary open-ocean waves of the Cortes Bank 100 Miles West of San Diego, the film documents the Billabong Odyssey project, created to expand the boundaries of surfing by conquering waves 70 feet and beyond.
Profiled are a colorful array of extreme surfing stars as well as such renowned figures as tow-surfing pioneer Ken Bradshaw, female surfer Layne Beachley and hydrofoil surfboard expert Rush Randle.
"Billabong", like most films of its ilk, eventually suffers from its accumulation of admittedly spectacular but repetitive images and would probably benefit from both extensive trimming and projection on a large-format screen. And the weak attempts at both narrative cohesion and character development are largely ineffective.
But none of this will matter to those who get stoked at the prospect of finding the perfect wave.
NEW YORK -- Armchair athletes (you know who you are) and surfing enthusiasts will no doubt be the most receptive audiences for this documentary about the world of extreme surfing, which has the unfortunate timing to arrive on theater screens not too long after this summer's well-received "Step Into Liquid". While "Billabong Odyssey" ultimately resembles an infomercial more than a coherent cinematic exercise, its spectacular images of well-toned athletes battling with the world's largest waves should find a receptive audience of those so inclined. Tellingly, the film opened Friday in 17 theaters in Southern California and on a single screen in Manhattan.
Shot in both 35mm film and high-definition video, Phillip Boston's docu opens in spectacular fashion, with a stunning shot of Surfer Mike Parsons dwarfed by a 70-foot-high wave. A succession of similarly breathtaking images follow, though they are interrupted too frequently by dry, public television-style explications of wave formations, high-tech weather forecasting, etc.
Filmed in various far-flung locations including California, Washington, Mexico, Hawaii, Spain, France, Australia, Tahiti and the legendary open-ocean waves of the Cortes Bank 100 Miles West of San Diego, the film documents the Billabong Odyssey project, created to expand the boundaries of surfing by conquering waves 70 feet and beyond.
Profiled are a colorful array of extreme surfing stars as well as such renowned figures as tow-surfing pioneer Ken Bradshaw, female surfer Layne Beachley and hydrofoil surfboard expert Rush Randle.
"Billabong", like most films of its ilk, eventually suffers from its accumulation of admittedly spectacular but repetitive images and would probably benefit from both extensive trimming and projection on a large-format screen. And the weak attempts at both narrative cohesion and character development are largely ineffective.
But none of this will matter to those who get stoked at the prospect of finding the perfect wave.
Arenaplex
NEW YORK -- Armchair athletes (you know who you are) and surfing enthusiasts will no doubt be the most receptive audiences for this documentary about the world of extreme surfing, which has the unfortunate timing to arrive on theater screens not too long after this summer's well-received "Step Into Liquid". While "Billabong Odyssey" ultimately resembles an infomercial more than a coherent cinematic exercise, its spectacular images of well-toned athletes battling with the world's largest waves should find a receptive audience of those so inclined. Tellingly, the film opened Friday in 17 theaters in Southern California and on a single screen in Manhattan.
Shot in both 35mm film and high-definition video, Phillip Boston's docu opens in spectacular fashion, with a stunning shot of Surfer Mike Parsons dwarfed by a 70-foot-high wave. A succession of similarly breathtaking images follow, though they are interrupted too frequently by dry, public television-style explications of wave formations, high-tech weather forecasting, etc.
Filmed in various far-flung locations including California, Washington, Mexico, Hawaii, Spain, France, Australia, Tahiti and the legendary open-ocean waves of the Cortes Bank 100 Miles West of San Diego, the film documents the Billabong Odyssey project, created to expand the boundaries of surfing by conquering waves 70 feet and beyond.
Profiled are a colorful array of extreme surfing stars as well as such renowned figures as tow-surfing pioneer Ken Bradshaw, female surfer Layne Beachley and hydrofoil surfboard expert Rush Randle.
"Billabong", like most films of its ilk, eventually suffers from its accumulation of admittedly spectacular but repetitive images and would probably benefit from both extensive trimming and projection on a large-format screen. And the weak attempts at both narrative cohesion and character development are largely ineffective.
But none of this will matter to those who get stoked at the prospect of finding the perfect wave.
NEW YORK -- Armchair athletes (you know who you are) and surfing enthusiasts will no doubt be the most receptive audiences for this documentary about the world of extreme surfing, which has the unfortunate timing to arrive on theater screens not too long after this summer's well-received "Step Into Liquid". While "Billabong Odyssey" ultimately resembles an infomercial more than a coherent cinematic exercise, its spectacular images of well-toned athletes battling with the world's largest waves should find a receptive audience of those so inclined. Tellingly, the film opened Friday in 17 theaters in Southern California and on a single screen in Manhattan.
Shot in both 35mm film and high-definition video, Phillip Boston's docu opens in spectacular fashion, with a stunning shot of Surfer Mike Parsons dwarfed by a 70-foot-high wave. A succession of similarly breathtaking images follow, though they are interrupted too frequently by dry, public television-style explications of wave formations, high-tech weather forecasting, etc.
Filmed in various far-flung locations including California, Washington, Mexico, Hawaii, Spain, France, Australia, Tahiti and the legendary open-ocean waves of the Cortes Bank 100 Miles West of San Diego, the film documents the Billabong Odyssey project, created to expand the boundaries of surfing by conquering waves 70 feet and beyond.
Profiled are a colorful array of extreme surfing stars as well as such renowned figures as tow-surfing pioneer Ken Bradshaw, female surfer Layne Beachley and hydrofoil surfboard expert Rush Randle.
"Billabong", like most films of its ilk, eventually suffers from its accumulation of admittedly spectacular but repetitive images and would probably benefit from both extensive trimming and projection on a large-format screen. And the weak attempts at both narrative cohesion and character development are largely ineffective.
But none of this will matter to those who get stoked at the prospect of finding the perfect wave.
- 11/10/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 44-minute film consists of six short sections devoted to skiing, snowboarding, surfing, windsurfing, rock climbing and ice climbing, with each activity carried, of course, to its most extreme level. Basically, it's "Wide World of Sports" carried to the nth degree, with a natural emphasis on the visual aspect. Insights to the mindsets of those participating in such hazardous activities are in short supply, with most commentary being of the "addicted to the thrill" variety.
There's no denying the visual grandeur of Jon Long's film, which is filled with soaring mountain peaks, sheer walls of ice, 40-foot waves and athletes, many world champions among them, whose bodies are toned to perfection. Among those participating are Lynn Hill and Nancy Feagin, seen climbing a series of steep mountains in Utah; Catherine Mulvihill and Barry Blanchard, climbing a frozen waterfall in British Columbia; Ross Clarke-Jones and Ken Bradshaw, riding impossible waves in Hawaii; Gordy Peifer, skiing down a 50-degree mountain face in Alaska; and quartets of snowboarders and windsurfers who, it's safe to say, do things you've never seen before.
There are some stylistic excesses, including an overuse of speeded-up photography a la "Koyaanisqatsi" and an irritating, repetitive series of shots of a sea turtle. The atmospheric music, largely composed by DJ Free and Soulfood, is an evocative blending of electronica, world music and chants.
EXTREME
Presented by SAAB
A Beyak, Long, de Jong Franken Production
Director:Jon Long
Producer:Neils de Jong Franken
Executive Producer:Peter Beyak
Color/Stereo
Running time -- 44 minutes
No MPAA rating...
There's no denying the visual grandeur of Jon Long's film, which is filled with soaring mountain peaks, sheer walls of ice, 40-foot waves and athletes, many world champions among them, whose bodies are toned to perfection. Among those participating are Lynn Hill and Nancy Feagin, seen climbing a series of steep mountains in Utah; Catherine Mulvihill and Barry Blanchard, climbing a frozen waterfall in British Columbia; Ross Clarke-Jones and Ken Bradshaw, riding impossible waves in Hawaii; Gordy Peifer, skiing down a 50-degree mountain face in Alaska; and quartets of snowboarders and windsurfers who, it's safe to say, do things you've never seen before.
There are some stylistic excesses, including an overuse of speeded-up photography a la "Koyaanisqatsi" and an irritating, repetitive series of shots of a sea turtle. The atmospheric music, largely composed by DJ Free and Soulfood, is an evocative blending of electronica, world music and chants.
EXTREME
Presented by SAAB
A Beyak, Long, de Jong Franken Production
Director:Jon Long
Producer:Neils de Jong Franken
Executive Producer:Peter Beyak
Color/Stereo
Running time -- 44 minutes
No MPAA rating...
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