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This documentary profiles surfers and surfing locations all over the world, including the monstrous waves of Oahu's North Shore, the Gulf shores of Texas (where waves are created by oil supertankers), the ice-cold waters of Ireland, Santa Cruz, Costa Rica, the Cortez Banks, Da Nang in Vietnam, the tiny waves of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin and the tropics of Rapa Nui. More important than the diverse and often spectacular locations and waves, however, are the wide range of surfers that are profiled, challenging the stereotypes about the surfing counterculture. Running Time: 90 minutes. Release Date: 04/20/2004.
Thanks to Dana Brown's delightful Step Into Liquid, the surfing scene in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, should get a healthy boost. That's because Brown, in the tradition of his father, filmmaker Bruce Brown (The Endless Summer), has captured dazzling images of surfers riding curls in some of the world's most exotic--and sometimes unlikely--places. Besides the action on Lake Michigan, Brown leads us to Costa Rica, where the sport's senior elite (including Summer star Robert August) prove they still have the moves, and Oahu's North Shore, where the legendary Pipeline inspires this quote: "It's so scary, maybe you die a little." Most entertaining is a segment in County Donegal, where the American Malloy brothers startle the locals and meet their Irish counterparts on the grayest ocean imaginable. Great personal stories here, including the tale of Northern California's Dale Webster, who has never missed a day on the waves in 30 years. --Tom Keogh
