
Directing
Bruce Brown
Born 1937-12-01 · San Francisco, California, U.S.
Bruce Brown (born December 1, 1937 - December 10, 2017) was an American documentary film director, known as an early pioneer of the surf film. He is the father of filmmaker Dana Brown. His surfing films are Slippery When Wet (1958), Surf Crazy (1959), Barefoot Adventure (1960), Surfing Hollow Days (1961), Waterlogged (1962), and his most well known film, The Endless Summer (1964) which received a nationwide theatrical release in 1966. Considered among the most influential in the genre, The Endless Summer follows surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August around the world. Thirty years later Brown would film The Endless Summer II with his son in 1994. He also made a number of short films including The Wet Set, featuring the Hobie-MacGregor Sportswear Surf Team and one of the earliest skateboarding films, America's Newest Sport, presenting the Hobie Super Surfer Skateboard Team. These short films along with some unused footage from The Endless Summer were included in the DVD Surfin' Shorts, as part of the Golden Years of Surf collection. Brown has gone beyond surfing a few times with the ski film, The Incredible Pair of Skis (1967), a film about motorcycle sport, On Any Sunday (1971) which is held in high regard as one of the best motorcycle documentaries of all time, and a documentary about extreme sports, The Edge (1975), On Any Sunday II (1981) Baja 1000 Classic (1991), and On Any Sunday, revisited (2000) He made a guest appearance in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode SpongeBob vs. The Big One. Brown was a 2009 inductee into the Surfers' Hall of Fame in Huntington Beach, California.
Acting credits
7.2Bruce Brown's The Endless Summer is one of the first and most influential surf movies of all time. The film documents American surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August as they travel the world during California’s winter (which, back in 1965 was off-season for surfing) in search of the perfect wave and ultimately, an endless summer.
The Endless Summer
1966
6.1A walk through the incredible personal and artistic history of legendary actor, race car driver and cultural icon Steve McQueen (1930-80).
I Am Steve McQueen
2014
7.0When SpongeBob and pals are swept out to sea, they must learn to surf or be stranded on a remote island forever! Then, SpongeBob and Patrick start 'Livin' like Larry,' Patrick gets a nose, Plankton gets a customer and lots more!
SpongeBob vs. the Big One
2009
NRThe documentary "Birth of The Endless Summer: Discovery of Cape St. Francis" reveals the untold story behind Bruce Brown's iconic film "The Endless Summer." It follows the journey of Dick Metz, a California surf pioneer, as he travels the world from 1958 to 1961. Metz's adventures lead him to discover the "perfect wave" at Cape St. Francis in South Africa, which inspires Bruce Brown to create "The Endless Summer" and revolutionize the sport of surfing. The film also documents Metz's return to South Africa at the age of 90 to retrace his original journey. It features interviews with influential figures in the surfing world, including Metz, Bruce Brown, and other surfers. The premiere of the film at the Newport Beach Film Festival is particularly special for director Richard Yelland, as it tells a personal story rooted in his hometown.
Birth of The Endless Summer: Discovery of Cape St. Francis
2023
7.2THE SEARCH FOR FREEDOM is the story of a cultural revolution fueled by the human desire to live in the moment and do what makes you feel the most alive. We discover how an electrifying new world came about through pure energy and imagination and the infinite possibilities of self-expression available to anyone willing to drop in. This documentary, written and directed by Jon Long (IMAX® Extreme), is a visceral, visual experience told through the eyes some of the brightest pioneers, legends, visionaries and champions of surfing, snowboarding, skiing, skateboarding, mountain biking and more.
The Search for Freedom
2015
7.2No special effects. No stuntmen. No stereotypes. No other feeling comes close. Surfers and secret spots from around the world are profiled in this documentary.
Step Into Liquid
2003
6.9Documentary on motorcycle racing featuring stars of the sport, including film star Steve McQueen, a racer in his own right.
On Any Sunday
1971
7.5Bruce Brown, king of surfing documentaries, returns after nearly thirty years to trace the steps of two young surfers to top surfing spots around the world. Along the way we see many of the people and locales Bruce visited during the filming of Endless Summer (1966).
The Endless Summer II
1994
NRFollow the summer season around the world with two surfers on a quest for the perfect wave. As it turned out, Bruce was on to something. Not only did the film become a hit, it earned a cult following, became the most successful surf film of all time and arguably made him the founding father of action sports films. Directed by second generation, award winning and documentarian filmmaker Dana Brown his projects have included such titles as Endless Summer 2, Step Into Liquid, Dust to Glory, Highwater, On Any Sunday: The Next Chapter and Dust 2 Glory. A Life of Endless Summers is the story of a man, a father, a husband, a filmmaker, a pioneer, a legend.
A Life of Endless Summers: The Bruce Brown Story
2020
7.3A documentary mostly edited together from unused footage from The Endless Summer and The Endless Summer II, this documentary gives further insight into the making and success of the original classic surf documentary. It is written, produced and directed by Dana Brown, son of the director of the first two films, Bruce Brown (who executive produced this film). This film likely will appeal only to hardcore fans of the Endless Summer films, but it does feature more of the gorgeous cinematography for which the earlier films are famous. Written by Annie Bulloch
The Endless Summer Revisited
2000
4.0Surfers Henry Ford, Freddy Pfhaler, Kemp Aaberg, Del Cannon, and Dick Thomas decide to leave California so they can embark on a dream trip to Hawaii. While in Hawaii the carefree quintet ride all kinds of waves at various top Hawaiian surfing spots and live together in a rundown shack on the North Shore of Oahu on only a hundred dollars a day.
Slippery When Wet
1958
8.0Brown takes us to various surfing locales with his customary great photography, wry comments and solid musical score.
Barefoot Adventure
1960
NRThere were 4 or 5 different films under the same title that were produced between 1957 and 1961. These films were used to promote Greg Noll surfboards. Featured classic Malibu, Manhattan Pier, Hawaii and Mexico. It was shown at local high schools, projecting without sound and personally narrated by Greg Noll.
Search for Surf
1961
Behind the camera
7.2Bruce Brown's The Endless Summer is one of the first and most influential surf movies of all time. The film documents American surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August as they travel the world during California’s winter (which, back in 1965 was off-season for surfing) in search of the perfect wave and ultimately, an endless summer.
The Endless Summer
1966
7.2Bruce Brown's The Endless Summer is one of the first and most influential surf movies of all time. The film documents American surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August as they travel the world during California’s winter (which, back in 1965 was off-season for surfing) in search of the perfect wave and ultimately, an endless summer.
The Endless Summer
1966
6.9Documentary on motorcycle racing featuring stars of the sport, including film star Steve McQueen, a racer in his own right.
On Any Sunday
1971
6.9Documentary on motorcycle racing featuring stars of the sport, including film star Steve McQueen, a racer in his own right.
On Any Sunday
1971
7.5Bruce Brown, king of surfing documentaries, returns after nearly thirty years to trace the steps of two young surfers to top surfing spots around the world. Along the way we see many of the people and locales Bruce visited during the filming of Endless Summer (1966).
The Endless Summer II
1994
7.5Bruce Brown, king of surfing documentaries, returns after nearly thirty years to trace the steps of two young surfers to top surfing spots around the world. Along the way we see many of the people and locales Bruce visited during the filming of Endless Summer (1966).
The Endless Summer II
1994
2.0If you were a brilliant geneticist, working on a secret government genetic engineering project, and your fiancee dumped you because your sperm were not viable, what would you do to resolve your mid-life crisis? Dr. Gino Conti creates his own son by combining reptilian and human DNA, but discovers fatherhood an extraordinary challenge when his son's anger management issues include eating people.
Lizard Boy
2011
7.0Filmed before his wildly popular Endless Summer, this Bruce Brown documentary follows famed surfers Robert August, Peter Johnson, Mike Haley, Kemp Aaberg and others as they ride waves in Australia, Mexico, California and Florida. It also goes behind the scenes, offering glimpses of the surfers' personal lives and the culture they inhabit. Watch for the 15-foot shark checking out the line-up at Rincon (in Santa Barbara, Calif.)!
Surfing Hollow Days
1961
4.0Surfers Henry Ford, Freddy Pfhaler, Kemp Aaberg, Del Cannon, and Dick Thomas decide to leave California so they can embark on a dream trip to Hawaii. While in Hawaii the carefree quintet ride all kinds of waves at various top Hawaiian surfing spots and live together in a rundown shack on the North Shore of Oahu on only a hundred dollars a day.
Slippery When Wet
1958
4.0Surfers Henry Ford, Freddy Pfhaler, Kemp Aaberg, Del Cannon, and Dick Thomas decide to leave California so they can embark on a dream trip to Hawaii. While in Hawaii the carefree quintet ride all kinds of waves at various top Hawaiian surfing spots and live together in a rundown shack on the North Shore of Oahu on only a hundred dollars a day.
Slippery When Wet
1958
8.0Brown takes us to various surfing locales with his customary great photography, wry comments and solid musical score.
Barefoot Adventure
1960
8.0Brown takes us to various surfing locales with his customary great photography, wry comments and solid musical score.
Barefoot Adventure
1960
9.0The Fellini of Foam's fifth and last film before The Endless Summer, Waterlogged is made up of highlights from Bruce Brown's four previous films. This film features the best of four years of surf photography.
Water-Logged
1962
7.5This program includes three of Bruce Brown's short films: "The Wet Set," featuring the Hobie-MacGregor Surf Team; "America's Newest Sport," presenting the Hobie Super Surfer Skateboard Team; and an early television special which includes the first surfing trip to Japan with 12-year-old Peter Johnson and Del Cannon in a segment filmed, but not used for, "The Endless Summer."
Surfin' Shorts
1964
7.7Surf Crazy is the second movie from veteran surf film producer Bruce Brown. During this movie a group of surfers head down to numerous unsurfed spots in Mexico, some huge waves in Hawaii and some classic surf in California.
Surf Crazy
1959
NRThere were 4 or 5 different films under the same title that were produced between 1957 and 1961. These films were used to promote Greg Noll surfboards. Featured classic Malibu, Manhattan Pier, Hawaii and Mexico. It was shown at local high schools, projecting without sound and personally narrated by Greg Noll.
Search for Surf
1961
7.0America's Newest Sport is a short film made for Hobie. It was about his new skateboard and skateboard team. Hobie, as he always did, figured he could design something better. He came up with flexible trucks and clay wheels which sure beat the old steel ones. His skateboard "team" was a classic bunch of kids who performed state of the art maneuvers like riding a skateboard while covered by a trash can.
America's Newest Sport
1966