A Matter of Style
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Movie Details
| Synopsis | The revised release of A Matter of Style (1976) features California, Oahu, Baja, and Maui from 1972 thru 1980. If a surf film was successful in its first release and did really well on its second run, (as A Matter of Style), than it made sense to add new footage to the original film and re-release the film as a newer revised edition. One would keep the best of the original film and replace the lesser-appreciated sequences. The difficulty was in keeping the continuity and flow of the original film. A Matter of Style 1980 features a 19-year-old Shaun Tomson making his original statement on the north shore way before Free Ride (1978). Shaun was as loose as a goose in the juice. Smaller and quick, it was a star being born and you could see Shaun grinning with pride as he annihilated off the wall and backdoor as it had never been before. Pipeline too, a backside attack that was precise and daring as never before. Rubberman Larry Bertlemann on his red 7ft single fin stretches across V-land, Sunset and Off the Wall. Gerry Lopez and Rory Russell were defending their crowns. Classic surfers. Things were happening on the north shore. The winter of 74-75 was a transitional year in surfing. Surfing's quality was making quadrant leaps. Terry Fitzgerald had his own torqued graceful style especially backside (at V-land) which was a precursor to fellow Aussie Tommy Carroll's powerful backhand surfing years later. A Matter of Style displayed the different attitudes of surfers in the early 70's. Professionalism was dark. Homegrown laid-back Californians had their own brotherly attitude about surfing. Curiously this era was also the birth of serious localism. Skateboarding was in its grassroots heyday and the fancy footwork of Ty Page and fluid style of Greg Weaver were greatly revered. The newer segments feature a 19-year-old Cheyne Horan on his single fin lazer zap cutting his own lines on the north shore. The Australians are shown bustin down the door in 1976. Honalua Bay in 1974 shows a very young Chris Lassen, styling through the kind of waves we dream about. The summer of 75 had the cleanest large New Zealand swell at the Wedge with bodysurfers, kneeboarders, and even one of the first surfers to ever attempt to board surf the Wedge. A Matter of Style features entertaining segments with Warren Miller's excellent ski footage, Max the surfing hound at Abreojos, Mexico, Outrageous humor, La Jolla's Big Rock and Bolton Colburn at Blacks and at the Sunkist Pro: one of the first Pro contests at Malibu Point with Buttons winning $4000 on a small single fin for three 360"s on one wave. "Guaranteed an enjoyable evening"-Surfing Magazine "One of the best you'll see"-Surfer Magazine. |
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| Athletes | Jeff Crawford, Michael Ho, Ian Cairns, Larry Bertleman, Gerry Lopez, Phil Edwards, Tom Curren, Joey Buran, Davey Smith, Dale Dobson, Dan Flecky, Bolton Colburn, Dane Kealoha, Buttons Kaluhiokalani, Larry Blair, Ben Aipa, Mark Liddell, Donald Takayama, Charles Buzzy Trent, Peter Cole, Chris Lassen, Bill Hamilton, Shaun Tomson, Rory Russell, Jackie Dunn, Cheyne Horan, Terry Fitzgerald, Allen Byrne, Simon Anderson, Mark Richards, Wayne Rabbit Bartholomew |
| Genres | 1970s Surf Classics, Classic Surfing, Surf Movies with Skateboarding, 1970s Surf Classics, 1980s Surf Classics |
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| Director | Steve Soderberg |
| Studio | Steve Soderberg Films |
| Rating | not rated |
| Runtime | 1 hr 22 mins |
| Language | English | Stereo |
| Captions | English, English |
| Download | SD | 714x486 (3.23 GB) |
| Stream | SD | 720x540 |