Customer Rating: 
Summary: The best surfing movie of all time!
Comment: I was lucky enough to catch this movie in Laguna when it was new. Corky Carroll, David Nuuiwha, Mike Hopps, Rocky (thanks for the ride home, bro), and a crowd of hooting locals watched it. Honk produced a thumping soundtrack in sync with the action, the beat punctuated with saxophone; the intervals pulsing with piano. Gerry Lopez captured the imagination of the surfing world in this movie. A dozen copy-cat movies would follow. Everybody started riding seven-six pintails at California beach breaks hoping to emulate Gerry. Mac/Freeman got rich off this movie as they re-released it or toured the surf movie circuit with it again and again, with updated versions. It was really popular.
I especially enjoyed the insightful commentary by the likes of Dru Harrison (a really hot South Bay surfer that passed a few years ago, RIP), Drew Kampion (one of the few surfing writers with any literary talent), and Chuck Dent (an anti-hero of the highest order). Some of the sixties (which lasted until 1973) philosophy seems dated today, but most of resonates truth. The surfing seems stiff and simple, compared to the manuevers done today, but it was state of the art at the time. My old surfing buddy, Mike Hopps, for example, shown on 3 waves (blond guy on a white board at Rocky Point and Pipeline), really labors just to complete a bottom turn and off-the-top. The portraits of David Nuuiwha and my high school classmate, Brad McCaul (one hardly ever saw him in Algebra II, because he was always in Hawaii) focus on the best California surfers at the time. McCaul's surfing at the Santa Ana River Jetty used to blow my mind. Nuuiwha's surfing was poetry in motion, smooth, like a yoga or zen master would surf. Mike Purpus, hated at the time, surfs really well in this movie. But most of the surfing features Hawaii, glorifies "da country" (it's not the same anymore on land) living, and especially Gerry Lopez. Chuck Dent's (RIP) diatribe at the commercialism creeping into the sport was prophetic. Rick Griffin (RIP), a famous surfing and psychedelic artist, did a neat poster for the movie.
The movie documents the end of the golden era of surfing, when it was done for the love of the sport, not money, fame, or competition. It was a great time to live, and I'd love to do it again on today's boards, to tell you the truth.
If you were a surfer in the 70's, you've probably seen this movie already. It will bring back memories. If you haven't seen it, it's a good look back into the history of the sport.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Surf Film
Comment: I was in Junior High at the time when I saw this film at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. It was always a treat to see surfing films there because as the movie went on it became increasingly difficult to see the movie half way thru due of all the Reefer smoke clouding the screen. Good Times!
Da Kine Bra!!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: No Beach Boys
Comment: A wonderful film, however without the original Beach Boys sound track, the film lacks at least half of its beauty and value. Disappointing.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Disappointed in Dana Point
Comment: I first saw 5 summer stories in an auditorium in Hermosa Beach. I was 14 and had just been bitten by the surfing bug. In those days, baby oil and "Sun In" was the norm for us up and coming surfer girls, and not unlike the following of other classics like the Endless Summer, we had our own cult like following of this movie and it's music.
Now some 35 years later I have re-connected with the music and bought the DVD hoping to recapture my youth. However, the DVD was not anything like I remember and was a huge disappointment. The original music has been cut and although watching surf greats like Jerry Lopez and others do some incredible surfing - without the accurate soundtrack it was very disappointing and lack luster.
Ahhh, I guess you can't go home again.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Comment: Just bought 5 Summer Stories and while we enjoyed the film clips, much of the orginal music was gone. What a dissapointment as this is 1/2 of the 5 summer stories. My husband is a surfer (40 yrs now) and has a lot of memorilbilla, and looked forward to getting this DVD, but was really let down by the music used (modernized). Bummer! Definately not one of his favorties in his DVD surf library.
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