THE FANTASTIC PLASTIC MACHINE (1969)

Australian Nat Young's victory at the 1966 World Surfing Championships in San Diego, and the ensuing debate between California and Aussie surfers as to which group dominates the sport internationally, was the impetus for this smartly structured documentary originally helmed by screenwriter Brian St. Pierre and director Richard Kuhn, neither of whom received any credit for the finished product. From what I can gather without having read St. Pierre's making-of book, The Fantastic Plastic Voyage (Coward-McCann, 1969), location filming in New Zealand, Australia and Fiji was anything but smooth and producers Lowell and Eric Blum took over the whole show in the editing room. At the outset the film is about nine California surfers from the Wind and Sea Surf Club heading to Oz to settle the score, even though – as uncredited narrator Jay North complains - “cocky Australian” Young had already “stopped competing, and he and his big ego dropped out of sight completely.” The Americans land in Fiji and New Zealand first for practice, fail to find any surfable conditions, and arrive in Sydney by the 40-minute mark. After palling around with Aussie wave rider and board designer Bob McTavish, the Yanks get their asses handed to them in the competition and exit the picture, taking North's narration with them.

For the last 25 minutes the focus shifts to the Australian surf scene and becomes more philosophical and interesting, beginning with some introspection from Nat Young. “Surfing is the finding of yourself through the medium of a surfboard. It is the perfect form of self-expression. I glide and rip with no inhibitions, totally free to express the mood I'm in. I see how small I am in relation to the ocean. I'm sure it holds the answers I seek. If I can get closer to it, I can get closer to myself.” Young segues into a segment on McTavish and George Greenough, an American living Down Under, and their revolutionary advancements in shortboard design. There’s a plug for the new McTavish Plastic Machine, a board that “brings the surfer closer than ever before to the full expression of his personality,” followed by Greenough strapping a camera to his back and hitting the waves for some truly beautiful images. This was the first surfing movie shot in 35mm Techniscope, utilizing techniques such as split screen, high contrast color and reverse and stop action photography. It was mostly lensed by John M. Stephens, who went from this to BILLY JACK and those great split screen segments in RUN, ANGEL, RUN! Crown International Pictures released the film, and Epic issued the Harry Betts score on LP.