1 review
After Bruce Brown's seminal big screen surf movie barnstormed it's way across Australia in the mid '60s and caused an eruption of social awareness of the beauty of surfing and surf movies, Australia film maker Bob Evans added his take on this fabulous life by producing RIDE A WHITE HORSE. Evans had made surfing films before and was a pioneer both in Australian 50s 60s cinema and also a major force in surf culture. No more showing rattly home movies in local halls after ENDLESS SUMMER, now in 1968 major cinema chains were demanding another surf adventure and Evans supplied this spectacular all Australian addition. Apart from the sublime and exciting 16/35mm footage of famous local surfers and identifiable Australian beaches and Aussie cossie culture, RIDE A WHITE HORSE has possibly one of the best jazz soundtracks imaginable. Norwegian émigré and now Sydneysider composer Sven Libaek composed and played with his combo an exciting humorous and thrilling jazz ensemble composition which still is unique and beautiful today. I have an original LP and I love it. RIDE A WHITE HORSE had a major cinema release in Australia and played across the world in the wake of THE ENDLESS SUMMER and justifiably became a success. Today is it a lost surfing film still applauded in the halls of surf film greatness as is Bob Evans. RIDE A WHITE HORSE is far more influential and enjoyable that CRYSTAL VOYAGER and many other 70s sea and surf docos and deserves a DVD reissue along with the rest of Evans' work. It was originally titled TO RIDE A WHITE HORSE and released in cinemas with some idiotic Brit spy movie as a double feature of the day. Some cinemas chose a western to go with the title. eg: MASSACRE CANYON + RIDE A WHITE HORSE such were the efforts by programmers of the era....