Bruce Brown

Bruce Brown

Born: December 1, 1937
Died: December 10, 2017
in 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.

Movies for Bruce Brown...

Birth of The Endless Summer: Discovery of St.Francis
Title: Birth of The Endless Summer: Discovery of St.Francis
Character: Self
Released: August 11, 2023
Type: Movie
The 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.
bee
A Life of Endless Summers: The Bruce Brown Story
Title: A Life of Endless Summers: The Bruce Brown Story
Character: Self
Released: August 19, 2020
Type: Movie
Follow 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.
bee
The Search for Freedom
Title: The Search for Freedom
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: August 6, 2015
Type: Movie
THE 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.
bee
SpongeBob vs. the Big One
Title: SpongeBob vs. the Big One
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: April 17, 2009
Type: Movie
When 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!
bee
Step Into Liquid
Title: Step Into Liquid
Character: Himself
Released: August 5, 2003
Type: Movie
No special effects. No stuntmen. No stereotypes. No other feeling comes close. Surfers and secret spots from around the world are profiled in this documentary.
bee
The Endless Summer Revisited
Title: The Endless Summer Revisited
Character: Self
Released: August 8, 2000
Type: Movie
A 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
bee
The Endless Summer 2
Title: The Endless Summer 2
Character: Narrator
Released: June 3, 1994
Type: Movie
Bruce 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).
bee
On Any Sunday
Title: On Any Sunday
Character: Narrator
Released: July 28, 1971
Type: Movie
Documentary on motorcycle racing featuring stars of the sport, including film star Steve McQueen, a racer in his own right.
bee
Title: The Dick Cavett Show
Character: Self - Guest
Released: June 6, 1968
Type: TV
The Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks.
bee
The Endless Summer
Title: The Endless Summer
Character: Narrator
Released: June 15, 1966
Type: Movie
Bruce 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.
bee
Search for Surf
Title: Search for Surf
Character: Self - Narrator
Released: January 1, 1961
Type: Movie
There 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.
bee
Barefoot Adventure
Title: Barefoot Adventure
Character: Himself / Narrator
Released: June 30, 1960
Type: Movie
Brown takes us to various surfing locales with his customary great photography, wry comments and solid musical score.
bee
Slippery When Wet
Title: Slippery When Wet
Character: Narrator
Released: January 1, 1958
Type: Movie
Surfers 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.