Through the Decades: Iconic Sampling of Surf Movies on Nalu TV

The 60s, when the surfboards were heavy, and everyone was having a good time. Surfing Way of Life, by surfer-turned-filmmaker Phil Wilson, is streaming only on Nalu TV. They don’t make surf films as they used to, and this 1964 classic is a perfect example of that. Surfing Way of Life has cutting-edge hot-dogging by the top surfers of the era, big-wave bravado, and slapstick humor- all the essential elements of a good ’60s surf movie.

In the 70s, the boards were getting shorter, and the turns were getting radical. At Nalu TV, we love to showcase surf movies that you won’t find anywhere else. The late, great surf filmmaker Chris Bystrom’s first movie, Pacific Dreams, is one of those rare gems. It was screened in select theaters in 1979, and recently, Nalu TV restored the work print to make it available for all to watch. Pacific Dreams offers the latest 70s cutting-edge surfing in California and Hawaii, a must-watch for any fan of Chris Bystrom’s surf filmography. 

The 80s were chock full of great surf movies, and one that just came onto the Nalu TV platform is This Is Surfing by Brian Bleak. A real entertaining and eye-opening surf film, This Is Surfing, is a comprehensive story of the origins and progression of the modern surf era. Released in 1986, This Is Surfing features a who’s who of surfers that contributed to the evolution of surfing: Pat Curren, David Nuuhiwa, Nat Young, Michael Peterson, Gerry Lopez, Rabbit Bartholomew, Dane Kealoha, Tom Carroll, Tom Curren, and everyone in between. 

Nalu TV is loaded with great surf movies from the 90s, but our all-time favorite is still Sonny Miller’s award-winning film, Searching For Tom Curren. The 1997 movie scans the mind and talent of one of the greatest surfers of all time, Tom Curren. Searching For Tom Curren flows effortlessly through Tom’s early years surfing the perfect point break waves of Rincon, to grabbing the wave of the winter at maxing Backdoor, Pipeline. Streaming only on Nalu TV, Searching for Tom Curren is a must-watch for any surfer. 

The 2000s started off with a bang as Bill Ballard’s explosive surf film IRATIKA was released to great fanfare. This 2001 movie features an all-star lineup of the world’s best surfers at some of the planet’s most legendary waves. Nalu TV is honored to stream the surf movies of our old friend Bill Ballard, and IRATIKA is one of the 17 that are available. Here’s a list of the surfers in IRATIKA: Bruce Irons, Andy Irons, Gavin Beschen, Mick Fanning, Manoa Drollett, Corey Lopez, Chris Ward, Kelly Slater, Brad Gerlach, Benji Weatherly, Pat O’Connell, Koby Abberton, and Luke Munro. Mark Healey, Kalani Robb, David Rastavitch, Jay Larson, Jamie O’Brien, Dean Morrison, Myles Padaca, Luke Eagan, Taj Burrow, Occy, Alex cox, Jason Fredericko, Joel Parkinson, Jason Bogle, Joel Tudor, Nathan Hedge, Shane Dorian, William Sueaguan, Mai Tai, Mick Lowe, Seth Elmer, Shawn Sutton, Braden Diaz, Liam McNamara, Shawn Briley, Shea Lopez, Sunny Garcia, Taylor Knox, Tahitian Nicolas, Vetea David, Jake Patterson, Chris Davidson, Dustin Barca, Mark Matthews, Drew Courtney, Keiren Perrow, Hira and more. 

The 2010s, Nalu Films award-winning documentary Fiberglass and Megapixels by Derek Hoffmann and Craig Hoffmann, is more than a surf movie; it’s an in-depth look at how surfing and surf photography work together to create a meaningful profession. The best in the world, surfers and surf photographers, are in Fiberglass and Megapixels, and they offer insight into what it takes to get those amazing surf photos and how meaningful they are.