Highest-Rated Movies about 'Surfing'

Apocalypse Now (1979), The Biggest Little Farm (2018), The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007), The Beaches of Agnès (2008), Riding Giants (2004), Shelter (2007), Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001), Despicable Me (2010) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Surfing movies.

#1. Apocalypse Now (1979)

Storyline: It is the height of the war in Vietnam, and U.S. Army Captain Willard is sent by Colonel Lucas and a General to carry out a mission that, officially, 'does not exist - nor will it ever exist'. The mission: To seek out a mysterious Green Beret Colonel, Walter Kurtz, whose army has crossed the border into Cambodia and is conducting hit-and-run missions against the Viet Cong and NVA. The army believes Kurtz has gone completely insane and Willard's job is to eliminate him. Willard, sent up the Nung River on a U.S. Navy patrol boat, discovers that his target is one of the most decorated officers in the U.S. Army. His crew meets up with surfer-type Lt-Colonel Kilgore, head of a U.S Army helicopter cavalry group which eliminates a Viet Cong outpost to provide an entry point into the Nung River. After some hair-raising encounters, in which some of his crew are killed, Willard, Lance and Chef reach Colonel Kurtz's outpost, beyond the Do Lung Bridge. Now, after becoming prisoners of Kurtz, will...

Plot Keywords: vietnam, jungle, secret mission, anti war, breasts, vietnam war, severed head ...

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#2. The Biggest Little Farm (2018)

Storyline: A testament to the immense complexity of nature, The Biggest Little Farm follows two dreamers and a dog on an odyssey to bring harmony to both their lives and the land. When the barking of their beloved dog Todd leads to an eviction notice from their tiny LA apartment, John and Molly Chester make a choice that takes them out of the city and onto 200 acres in the foothills of Ventura County, naively endeavoring to build one of the most diverse farms of its kind in complete coexistence with nature. The land they've chosen, however, is utterly depleted of nutrients and suffering from a brutal drought. The film chronicles eight years of daunting work and outsize idealism as they attempt to create the utopia they seek, planting 10,000 orchard trees and over 200 different crops, and bringing in animals of every kind- including an unforgettable pig named Emma and her best friend, Greasy the rooster. When the farm's ecosystem finally begins to reawaken, so does the Chesters' hope - but as their plan to create perfect harmony takes a series of wild turns, they realize that to survive they will have to reach a far greater understanding of the intricacies and wisdom of nature, and of life itself.—NEON

Plot Keywords: climate change, spanish, heartbreak, farm worker, death of a friend, flashlight, cell phone ...

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#3. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

Storyline: Forty-three year old Elle magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby - Jean-Do to his friends - awakens not knowing where he is. He is in a Berck-sur-Mer hospital, where he has been for the past several weeks in a coma after suffering a massive stroke. Although his cognitive facilities are in tact, he quickly learns that he has what is called locked-in syndrome which has resulted in him being almost completely paralyzed, including not being able to speak. One of his few functioning muscles is his left eye. His physical situation and hospitalization uncomfortably bring together the many people in his life, including: Céline Desmoulins, his ex-lover and mother of his children; Inès, his current lover; and his aged father who he calls Papinou. Among his compassionate recuperative team are his physical therapist Marie, and his speech therapist Henriette. Henriette eventually teaches him to communicate using a system where he spells out words: she reads out the letters of the alphabet in ...

Plot Keywords: coma, based on autobiography, male frontal nudity, tongue, surfing, soccer, nurse ...

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#4. The Beaches of Agnès (2008)

Storyline: At nearly 80, Agnès Varda explores her memory - growing up in Belgium, living in Sète, Paris, and Noirmoutier, discovering photography, making a film, being part of the New Wave, raising children with Jacques Demy, losing him, and growing old. She explores her memory using photographs, film clips, home movies, contemporary interviews, and set pieces she designs to capture a feeling, a time, or a frame. Shining through each scene are her impish charm, inventiveness, and natural empathy. How do people grow old, how does loss stay with them, can they remain creative, and what do they remember? Memory, she says, is like a swarm of confused flies. She envisions hers for us.—<jhailey@hotmail.com>

Plot Keywords: hollywood, theatre, protest, photographer, paris france, painting, venice beach california ...

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#5. Riding Giants (2004)

Storyline: A semiserious, often rollicking, multigenerational insider's look at the origins of surfing, the colorful and subversive birth of surf culture, and the mythology and lure of the big wave. This passionate and fluid film is without question the first authentic history of surfing from its humble Hawaiian beginnings to the big business it became to the still-rebellious universe it inhabits today. Riding Giants is a study in individuality and freedom, the pursuit and techniques of pure kinetic pleasure, and the risk taking and attitudes that characterize its leading figures. For some viewers, this is perhaps more than they ever wanted to know. But Peralta's detailed knowledge of the surfing lifestyle, its icons and locations, its boom and exploitation by the media, and the fascination it has held for young men for more than five decades is unparalleled and fuels this expedition for the expert and initiate alike. Closely chronicling the sometimes-life-and-death drama that big-wave riding entails, Riding Giants is an often-mesmerizing visual thrill ride. But the most appealing aspect of this often revelatory documentary is the realization that the man versus nature dialectic never ends; the search for the ultimate wave and the spiritual pinnacle can only be pursued but never reached.—Sujit R. Varma

Plot Keywords: surfing, interview, hawaii, friendship, death, danger, california ...

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#6. Shelter (2007)

Storyline: Forced to give up his dreams of art school, Zach spends his days working a dead-end job and helping his needy sister care for her son. In his free time he surfs, draws and hangs out with his best friend, Gabe, who lives on the wealthy side of town. When Gabe's older brother, Shaun, returns home, he is drawn to Zach's selflessness and talent. Zach falls in love with Shaun while struggling to reconcile his own desires with the needs of his family.

Plot Keywords: boyfriend boyfriend relationship, surfing, gay, coming out, gay kiss, gay sex, homosexuality ...

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#7. Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001)

Storyline: Sub-titled "The Birth of Extreme", this documetary takes a look at the transformation of skateboarding from its former image as a land-bound pastime for surfers to its status today as an extreme and acrobatic sport in its own right. Starting from the California surf community of Dogtown, the film follows the evolution of modern skateboarding through it's 70's heyday, its decline during the 80's, and its eventual (and highly lucrative) return in the 90's.—Jean-Marc Rocher <rocher@fiberbit.net>

Plot Keywords: marijuana, injury, falling, gymnast, rock 'n' roll, santa monica california, magazine ...

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#8. Despicable Me (2010)

Storyline: In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbors, hidden beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by a small army of minions, we discover Gru, planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon. (Yes, the moon!) Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad. The world's greatest villain has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes.

Plot Keywords: girl, father daughter relationship, orphan, little girl, criminal mastermind, orphanage, neighbor ...

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#9. Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (2011)

Storyline: For decades, Diana Vreeland was one of the leading authorities in fashion through eccentric self-taught skill and a bold stylistic audacity. This film guides you through this fashion pioneer's long career from her youth in Paris until she became a leading magazine fashion columnist and editor. In this medium, Vreeland challenged its preconceptions to present a new definition of beauty and vivaciousness where nice clothes were just the beginning for something deeper. Even when that vocation ended, Vreeland managed to gain a new museum profession to present clothing's history in her own inimitable way.—Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)

Plot Keywords: archive footage, money, wealth, harlem manhattan new york city, celebrity, model, nudity ...

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#10. Calvary (2014)

Storyline: Father James is a small-town priest in Ireland whose Sunday confessionals suddenly include a threat to kill him in a week's time as a matter of principle. Deeply troubled and conflicted about how to respond, Father James tries to go on with his calling through that week. However, that proves impossible as he is confronted with a troubling variety of spiritual challenges from both his estranged daughter and his own parishioners. In those dispiriting struggles, Father James' life begins to fall apart as time runs out towards a confrontation that seems to crystallize his values and what he wants his life to be.

Plot Keywords: priest, death threat, confessional, catholic church, murder, arson, death of pet ...

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#11. Love & Mercy (2014)

Storyline: Brian Wilson is the creative soul of the Beach Boys, but he paid a heavy price for his talent. That especially shows during his peak artistic years in the 1960s, as his inner demons and obsessions trying to please his abusive father drive him to a mental breakdown that would plague him for years. In the 1980s, with Brian barely functional under the domination of the unscrupulous Dr. Landy, Brian meets and falls in love with Melinda Ledbetter. As their relationship grows, she observes Brian's crippling subservience to the abusive psychotherapist with growing alarm. Ultimately, she must take action with a love willing to stand up to oppression she cannot ignore.

Plot Keywords: 1960s, 1980s, mental illness, songwriting, hearing voices, psychotherapist, based on true story ...

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#12. Point Break (1991)

Storyline: In Los Angeles, California, a gang of bank robbers call themselves The Ex-Presidents. commit their crimes while wearing masks of ex-Presidents Reagan, Carter, Nixon, and Johnson. The F.B.I. believes that the members of the gang could be surfers, and send young Agent Johnny Utah undercover at the beach to mix with the surfers and gather information. Utah meets surfer Bodhi, and gets drawn into the lifestyle of his new friend.

Plot Keywords: surfer, bank robbery, title directed by female, male bonding, male nudity, bare chested male, neo noir ...

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#13. Beautiful Boy (2018)

Storyline: Based on the best-selling pair of memoirs from father and son David and Nic Sheff, Beautiful Boy chronicles the heartbreaking and inspiring experience of survival, relapse, and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years.

Plot Keywords: drug addict, father son relationship, college student, cocaine, family relationships, sex scene, based on book ...

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#14. The Doors (1991)

Storyline: Oliver Stone's homage to 1960s rock group The Doors also doubles as a biography of the group's late singer, the "Electric Poet" Jim Morrison. The movie follows Morrison from his days as a film student in Los Angeles to his death in Paris, France at age 27 in 1971. The movie features a tour-de-force performance by Val Kilmer, who not only looks like Jim Morrison's long-lost twin brother, but also sounds so much like him that he did much of his own singing. It has been written that even the surviving Doors had trouble distinguishing Kilmer's vocals from Morrison's originals.

Plot Keywords: counter culture, rock star, recording studio, dying young, san francisco california, rock concert, musician ...

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#15. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

Storyline: Follows a group of high school students growing up in southern California, based on the real-life adventures chronicled by Cameron Crowe. Stacy Hamilton and Mark Ratner are looking for a love interest, and are helped along by their older classmates, Linda Barrett and Mike Damone, respectively. The center of the film is held by Jeff Spicoli, a perpetually stoned surfer dude who faces off with the resolute Mr. Hand, who is convinced that everyone is on dope.

Plot Keywords: high school, caught masturbating, female nudity, fired from the job, unwanted pregnancy, loss of virginity, premarital sex ...

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