Fuelled by nostalgic anecdotes rather than insightful comment, the film really comes alive in the superb archive footage.
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09/04/09
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Bustin' Down the Door (2008)
76
%
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Reviews Counted:34
Fresh:26
Rotten:8
Average Rating:6.2/10
Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins
Genre: Sports/Recreation
Theatrical Release:Jun 27, 2008 Limited
Synopsis: BUSTIN’ DOWN THE DOOR chronicles a tumultuous two-year period of competitive and cultural clashes in the mid-Seventies in surfing's Mecca - Hawaii's North Shore of Oahu - as a small crew of... [More]
Starring: Wayne "Rabbit" Bartholomew, Ian Cairns, Mark Richards, Shaun Tomson
Director: Jeremy Gosch
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Reviews for Bustin' Down the Door
A subject worth exploring but, whilst old footage illustrates the storyline, this doesn't manage to strecth up until the present day.
09/04/09
Despite the group’s many successes, self-pitying tears are rarely far from their eyes. It’s fascinating stuff and unfathomably bleak.
09/04/09
Hawaii's role in the transformation of surfing from what many considered to be a pastime for drug-crazed counter-culture rebels to a multi-billion dollar sport is examined in debut director Jeremy Gosch's documentary about the group of Australian and Sout
07/27/08
Packed with awesome footage and revealing interviews, it's one to bust down the cinema doors to catch.
09/04/09
The movie lacks the jaw-dropping spectacle of 2004 surfing doc Riding Giants, and conveniently sidesteps the issue of what happened to the sport's spiritual side when it became an industry.
09/04/09
Although you’d expect moist eyes from bitter, fading stars desperately trying to scrawl their names in the history books, the film avoids this indignity with engaging characters, an informative narrative and tons of awe-inspiring archive footage.
09/04/09
Watching top surfers in action is never a chore, but the film’s archive footage would have been even more enjoyable to lay viewers if the commentary had better explained why the men’s innovations were so daring and controversial.
09/07/09
Perfectly captures the bittersweet moment when the once-free sport of surfing became the big money phenomenon that it is today.
01/14/09
[An] insightful account of the rise of a, pardon the pun, new wave of surfers that transformed the sport in the mid-1970s.
07/30/08
Forget the questions, bro', and just watch vintage footage of these Aussies and South Africans riding giants off Hawaii's North Shore and showing those big kahunas what's what.
07/25/08
The vintage surf footage packs some thumping wipeouts and there’s fresh relish in the sidestory of local Hawaiian surfers handing out beatings to their gnarly foreign invaders.
09/04/09
Jeremy Gosch's documentary about the origins of professional surfing shines a light on four wave riders -- three Australians and a South African -- who helped transform a counter-culture life style into a billion-dollar industry.
07/25/08
Happily, the filmmaker, Jeremy Gosch, puts his wide-eyed narrative together with an easy touch. With its amazing wall-to-wall footage of oceanic derring-do Bustin' Down the Door plays like visual air-conditioning.
07/25/08
Once or twice – making it all worthwhile – an interviewee touchingly chokes up at his own memories, and brims with sudden tears.
09/04/09
What makes Bustin' Down the Door so appealing is that it's not about sports but rather about the passion and dedication of some bronzed, mop-haired kids on a mission to become legitimate against all odds
02/12/09
The documentary celebrates the athleticism and creativity of the sport's unsung Nureyevs and Nijinskys.
09/04/09
An instructive story.
09/07/09
Clearly designed to give credit where it's due, this film spotlights the guys who broke new ground to create modern surfing. But while it's an important, interesting document, it's rather too detailed for non-surfers.
09/04/09
If it can't compete with the best surf documentaries, Bustin' Down The Door is never less than diverting - the thrill of conquered waves eclipsed only by the picture's educational value.
09/04/09
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