A Deeper Shade of Blue (Jack McCoy, 2010): USA

Reviewed by Rhys Davis. Viewed at the Lobero Theater, SBIFF 2011.

At this years Santa Barbara Film Festival I have been trying to catch all the surf films that have been showing the past 10 days. I have to say that A Deeper Shade of Blue was the most entertaining and informative out of all of them. Legendary Surfing filmmaker Jack McCoy presents a visually stunning depiction of the history of surfing, and where it stands today. Not only does McCoy cover the history, but he also captures what the ocean does for certain people, and how thankful they are to experience what they have, and be apart of the ocean they know and love so well.

What stood out most to me when I was watching were the underwater shots. McCoy was on hand at the screening telling stories before the film started. He explained that he got this motorized underwater craft that allows him to catch a lot more footage underwater in ways not seen before. The craft i mentioned is in the picture I  inserted into this review.

McCoy starts out by detailing the evolution of the surfboard in n entertaining way. He also lays out the pioneers that started surfing in Hawaii, and how the culture spread around the world. McCoy insists that it is not a surf movie, but a film about surfing. The film goes to many different spots around the world, and captures an array of surfers exploring the many ways in which to harness the oceans power, and become one with the wave. A great soundtrack paired with these amazing shots really makes for a great film. When hearing McCoy talk before the film about several of the shots he took you could just see the passion that he has, and I knew I was in store for a good screening.

Along with all the original pioneers like Rabbit Kekai, Joe Quigg, and later revolutionaries like Wayne Lynch and Gerry Lopez, some of today’s most prominent surfers are also featured including Jordy Smith, Joel Parkinson, Stephanie Gilmore, and Kelly Slater. Out of all the surfers though my favorite was Derek Hynd and his revisit to fin-less boards. His section in the film at J-Bay was awesome. The whole audience loved it watching Hynd spinning down the line on his reinvented hot curl.

As I said before this was one of my favorite films at this years festival, just simply amazing cinematography and a great soundtrack kept me entertained throughout. I recommend this film to everyone. It is very informative and just  simply great to watch over and over again.