Bustin' Down the Door (2008)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Jeremy Gosch

Writers:

Jeremy Gosch (writer)
Monika Gosch (writer)

Genre:

Documentary | Sport

Tagline:

In 1975 a group of young surfers revolutionized their sport. This is their untold story.

Plot:

This documentary tells the story of a group of Australian and South African surfers who revolutionized their sport in Hawaii during the winter of 1975.

Plot Keywords:

Surfing

Cast

Wayne Bartholomew	...	Himself
Ian Cairns	...	Himself
Tom Curren	...	Himself
Edward Norton	...	Narrator
Mark Richards	...	Himself
Kelly Slater	...	Himself
Shaun Tomson	...	Himself
Peter Townend	...	Himself

Runtime:

96 min | USA:95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (HDCAM)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Singapore:PG

Company:

Fresh & Smoked

A decent film with a little more on offer

We've seen plenty of these types of films before and all seemingly aim to justify the very same subject of surfing as a profession. Some of these films include Step into the Liquid, the acclaimed documentary Riding Giants as well as the 1972 feature Five Summer Stories, but I'm sure what most people would be asking themselves is whether or not this subject has anything more on offer that we, as an audience, possibly don't already know.

The new documentary Bustin' Down the Door leanly chronicles the rise of surfing as a profession during the mid-1970s, a time when surfing was at its prime.

We follow a group of young Australian and South African surfers, including Shaun Tomson, Wayne "Rabbit" Bartholomew, Ian Cairns, Mark Richards, Michael Tomson and Peter Townend, as they relocate to the outskirts of Hawaii where they find themselves challenged to new heights when controversy stirs with the locals, whom find the newcomers' bravado to be insulting to that of Hawaiian culture, eventually culminate in death threats and assault regarding the very subject of the film.

Again, we've seen various films of this type before, all justifying the very same subject of surfing as a profession, but what director Jeremy Gosch (Last Ride), along with fellow writers Monika Gosch, Phil Jarratt and Robert Traill, captures particularly well in Bustin' Down the Door is that of offering an insight of the differences and controversies between cultures and anything of the such etcetera regarding this much admired sport. It delves deeper into the detail of these controversial issues of a time before surfing had officially became known as a profession more so than a hobby and it's all very well spoken by the very people involved in these such situations and whilst it may seem ridiculous and melodramatic in a way; it's all rather interesting.

Bustin' Down the Door, being a film which would most appeal to those who enjoy this such profession, whilst not entirely par with those previously mentioned, certainly offers an understanding of the difficulties and issues surfers faced during that particular point in time and might entice even those who don't share much interest.

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