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Billabong Odyssey
Average Customer Review : 4.0/5 based on 31 reviews
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List Price : $14.98
Price : $9.99
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Editorial Reviews
In addition to boasting one of the most astonishing opening sequences in the history of extreme-sports filmmaking, Billabong Odyssey offers a breathtaking survey of big-wave surfing at a pivotal stage in its evolution. With the advent of Jet-Ski Waverunners used for "tow-in" access to gigantic waves that paddle-surfers could never reach, this three-year, globe-trotting quest for the world's biggest waves is nothing less than spectacular. As documentaries go it's a bit cruder than 2003's other surfing movie, Step Into Liquid, and many of the same world-class surfers appear in both films (including 49-year-old Ken Bradshaw, still going strong). But Billabong is unrivaled in its abundance of jaw-dropping footage--most of it shot from helicopters hovering in close proximity--showing the sheer, terrifying scale of breaking "tubes"--some reaching 100 feet--at the most challenging big-wave locations on the planet, including Maverick's at Santa Cruz, California; Cortes Bank off the Pacific Coast; "Cyclops" in Australia; Mundaka, Spain; and the treacherous "Jaws" reef on the coast of Maui, Hawaii. While touching on various hot topics such as safety training, serious wipe-outs, swell-tracking technology, female surfers (like the great Layne Beachley), and hydrofoil surfboards (billed as "the future of the sport"), director Philip Boston applies a casual, competitive structure that's too diffuse and lightweight to have much impact. But when the film focuses on the climactic "Jaws" showdown between Carlos Burle and Mike Parsons, Billabong Odyssey achieves a state of raw power and spiritual intensity, culminating in Parsons' best-ever 10-point ride on a massive tube that constantly threatens to consume him. As dozens of adrenaline-junkie surfers strive for new horizons of unprecedented skill, Billabong Odyssey chronicles their efforts with amazing bird's-eye cinematography. For surfers and non-surfers alike, this movie must be seen to be believed. --Jeff Shannon
Spotlight Reviews
A Mix of Incredible Surfing Imagery and Intro to Surfing Basics (2008-09-12)
Customer Review : 4
The opening sequence of surfer Mike Parsons dropping down the face of a gigantic wave is mesmerizing. That sequence alone is almost worth the price of purchase, but there is plenty of other amazing, jaw-dropping video to admire that makes this video attractive to anyone with affinity for wave and board sports. You do get a chance to let your attention drift from time to time as the story drags on the less interesting filler. The pontification about wave formation and rescue training for the Billabong team is a bit overdone, but these section allow the adrenaline to subside a bit before launching into more spectacular footage. The short pieces on kite boarding, wind-surfing aerobatics, and hydroplane boards are interesting filler, too. This is a good video both for those already deep into the sport and for those who only want to frolic in the water for a while.
Interesting. Great footage. (2008-04-21)
Customer Review : 3
Great footage. Not really a very in depth movie. I think I was hoping for surfing/tropical beaches - a "take me on vacation from the comfort of my couch" movie. It is not. But it is a really interesting documentary on big wave and tow-in surfing.
i'm no expert (2008-03-12)
Customer Review : 5
i don't surf, but i enjoy this movie. there aren't a lot of girls in bikinis in billabong odyssey, which will bother some people, but i appreciate it (if you want to see girls in bikinis, watch blue crush).
One Viewing Was Enough (2008-01-03)
Customer Review : 3
I've been surfing for 48 years. I started out at Malibu in 1960 at the ripe old age of thirteen years. So, I feel I have enough experience to make an objective opinion.
I found Billabong Odysesey to be a pretty good movie, but not great. Having seen Stepping into Liquid and Riding Giants. These are two of the greatest surfing movies to come out since Endless Summer in 1964. The movie was somewhat muddled and there was no real "hook" that messmerized me, to the point where I became stoked. It just sort of moved along showing the same kind of waves over and over.
Since the movie risked the reputation of Billabong, by using it's name in the title, I expected much more. Instead, it was an average movie at best and I've only watched it once. I've watched Stepping into Liquid, Riding Giants and Endless Summer countless times. In fact, on Christmas Day, I had my family over for dinner and I played Riding Giants after dinner. My grandmother, father, mother, younger siblings, nieces and nephews were all glued to the tube. It was unreal. Everyone of them loved it and the movie created a wonderful atmosphere, in which we all bonded and made Christmas a truly festive occasion.
I wish I could say the same for Billabong Odyssey. I think the average surfer would like the movie, but a non-surfer would have a hard time following it.
Wow (2007-05-13)
Customer Review : 5
I definitely enjoyed this movie for the shear terror you feel every time you see these madmen screaming across the waves with thousands of pounds of liquid ready to crush them at a moments notice. I also loved it for the fact that it showed all of these big named surfers getting together and going to most of the big name waves and just doing some awesome surfing.
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