Crystal Voyager (1973) User Reviews

Sit back and let the love of the wave wash over you

[earcanal · 8/10 · 12 March 2006]

The "dull, dull, dull" review was clearly written by a non-surfer.

George Greenough is one of the pioneers of surf cinematography. This is the movie that got my buddy into making surf movies and the one that I always come back to.

Crystal Voyager is a mix of beautiful filming, great documentary footage of California (and Australia?) in the 60s/70s, equipment and techniques that go into making surf movies.

Great soundtrack, perfectly matched to the underlying narrative of what it means to live for the surf.

Oh, and some tasty waves bro'.

Some great visuals

[hershiser2 · 7/10 · 6 July 2003]

Though not really an entertaining film, Crystal Voyager is definitely one for true fans of film to see. The documentary/story is not completely boring, but it really doesn't go much further than "I base my life upon surfing." What the film has are a bunch of very intriguing shots of waves: from afar, close-up, inside, and underneath. The added bonus of Pink Floyd's "Echoes" over the end of the film is just that: an added bonus to a neat film.

Extraordinary!

[adw_uk · 7/10 · 17 April 2006]

Whilst I understand exactly what 'Boo the Moo' is getting at when he reviewed this documentary and found it dull I would like to add a few comments.

This low-budget movie was made in the mid-seventies and yes it does it's age badly during the early 'documentary' parts.

The camera system developed by George Greenough to capture what it's really like to be 'in the tube' was pure genius then and I have yet to see anything else to better it in the intervening 21 years.

There really is no better way to become a Pink Floyd Fan! As a 14 or 15 year old (I'm 38 now) flicking through the TV channels one Summer's day during the school holidays I was transfixed as beautiful and 'otherworldly' images of crystal clear blue sea, surf, dolphins and crashing waves were wed to a perfect soundscape of Pink Floyd's 'Echoes'.

If you are already a fan of Gilmour & Co then you must see the 'Echoes' section of this piece in a darkened room with your home-cinema system cranked up to really appreciate the perfect fusion of Pink Floyd's unique sound and Greenough's visuals.

If you are not a fan, try the above and you will be.

an original and lasting masterpiece

[grumpy-3 · 25 November 2002]

Firstly for those who think this is a documetary it is not. It is a very subjective film on surfing and the ocean. The first fifty minutes is george and his pals building a boat and surfing, with spectacular images. Then we go to first person camera, and become a dolphin/man experiencing with the help of pink floyd's echoes, what it must be like swimming unhindered and free.

If you do not like surfing or being in the water or just letting a film with great images and music wash over then stay clear of this, but if you like films as koyaaniqasti/baraka etc then crystal voyager is a must for you.

For thopse guys who thought it was dull, stick to your boring diet of hollywood crap

A photographic and aural wonder.

[Jox · 10/10 · 7 December 1998]

'Crystal Voyager' is the most remarkable film I have ever seen. It integrates the music of Pink Floyd (Echoes) with the most stunning photography. The film is a montage of surfing scenes, overlaid with beautifully chosen and timed music. Some of the camera shots seem impossible; at one point the camera is actually in the sheet of water at the front of a breaking wave, for some time, and then emerges with the subject still framed. If the viewer is looking for a plot, or adventure, it will not be found here. If retinal stimulation is the name of the game, then this is the pinnacle. A good film for comparison is 'Koyaanisqatsi', by Godfrey Reggio, with the music of Philip Glass. If you enjoyed that, 'Crystal Voyager' will send you to new, and much greater, heights.

Awesome!

[dan-bull · 10/10 · 28 December 2009]

This is a great film.... Despite the negative feedback and low star rating it has received on IMDb. Crystal Voyager is a mystical surfing journey into the mind of knee board legend G. Greenough and his radical mission to be alone in the surf. He unpretentiously informs of the viewer of the harsh reality of crowded surf and the changes within the Californian subculture he grow up in as the 70s passed him by.

The qualities of this film are numerous. For one it is directed by David Elfick who went on to write Newsfont (1978) and produce Rabbit Proof Fence in 02. George Greenough is a surf legend who pretty much invented the modern surfboard fin. His innovative genius is captured in Crystal Voyager as seen by the boat/s he makes. When released this film was used in Pink Floyd concerts in exchange for song rights for the film...

The movie definitely has its flaws... but they are very minimal. This film is a lot better then many other surf documentaries and was a very important movie for the early Australian film industry! Its worth is confirmed by its high popularity at Cannes in 73

Crystal Voyager

[s-hughes · 6/10 · 22 April 2006]

I found this documentary on surfing a interesting approach within comparison to Pointbreak which highlights surfing with drugs and guns, PointBreak although full of action it has not made a great positive impression on the surfing movement like Big Wednesday and Endless Summer obviously have.

Crystal Voyager seems to be on a calm relaxing approach with the back ground sounds of Pink Floyd as stated in previous comments although a few more tracks would have been a bonus.

Die-hard Surfers out there would find that this as an interesting reference documentary along side Riding-Giants and documentaries like Strapped showing that there are many different ways of riding a board, shaping a board and getting influences from different directions other that the obvious of fashion.

Crystal Voyager is not a fast moving documentary sometimes like the oceans fluidity. And yes I would like to meet George Greenough for compliments on his surfing ability!

Interesting curio

[bynnda · 5/10 · 24 December 2006]

Worth seeing as a bit of a curio, although hardly riveting viewing.

Judging by the other comments there's a definite split between surfers and non-surfers in reactions to the film. If you like sitting and watching your friends' home movies about them surfing then you'll probably get more from it than anyone else.

The surfers seem to live for surfing, but are unable to share their enthusiasm for it. And the narration from Greenough is just extraordinarily dry.

Still, some of the photography is splendid, and the soundtrack gives it a certain period charm. The Pink Floyd section, while overlong, is fascinating, and might have worked better as a trippy short film in its own right.

A breathtaking insight to surfing

[tubeeye-2 · 10/10 · 14 December 1999]

Original comment for the video version (written 14 December 1999): This is one of my absolute favorites (together with Koyaanisqatsi).

The first part is a documentary about the surfing experiences of George Greenough and his friends which lets us dive deeply into this amphibian life and philosophy.

George shows us how he concentrates all his efforts on to his main aim: to reach shores where the wave conditions are optimal for surfing and to improve his technique of filming from his board (a short one on which he is kneeing to get stable pictures). Beautiful images of his leisure time activities (surfing, boating, sailing, fishing...) with well fitting music interrupt these work descriptions.

The second part is the result of all his efforts: simply breathtaking pictures of ocean waves forming walls and tubes and his movement through this tube which is lightened by the sun and the sky in the most beautiful and strangest colors you can imagine. Together with the music of Pink Floyd (Echoes from album Meddle) this has a quite big addiction potential.

Added comment for DVD version (14 September 2005): In comparison to the video (I got a copy somewhat out of focus), the DVD is perfectly sharp. Finally the interesting story behind the deal between George Greenough, David Elfick and Pink Floyd is told in the bonus material. The only disadvantage to the video is a too abrupt cut between part 1 and part 2 ("echoes") of the movie (even the fade out of the last music title of part 1 is damaged by that cut).

the surfing smurf.....

[ptb-8 · 3/10 · 8 February 2006]

CRYSTAL VOYAGER is a strange documentary about an eccentric surfer living in Australia. An American by birth George Greenough has surfed and photographed himself, friends and recently, dolphins, in Australia for 35 years, all using various re invented cameras which he either straps on his back, board or boat. In the mid 70s he teamed up with Surf Mag editor and budding film maker David Elfick to create this visually interesting tale about this life and photography. The 75 minute feature CRYSTAL VOYAGER is the result. Even in the 70s audiences were a bit puzzled by this film, neither surf-ing movie nor surf movie, because George swims about on a children's zippy board, not a real surfboard.... it offset the tedious droning of George (occasionally so dry or droll that it was actually funny.. like almost setting himself on fire or falling over something) with a spectacular 'you are there' power glide through a wave that ran for 23 minutes all set to Pink Floyd music. In 1974 when the Sydney Opera house opened, it also contained a cinema. Crystal Voyager was booked in there as an arty-sporty OZ pic and by default became a hit: as the 'opera house tickets' cost far more than a movie ticket, audiences flocked to see this film as an excuse to 'have been to the Sydney Opera House'...so the film did record business as a low budget attraction to locals and tourists who wanted to tell neighbors that they had seen a show 'there'. This created this myth that the film was a huge crowd puller and the reputation spread. As a result it was teamed with the fantasy cartoon FANTASTIC PLANET and had a trippy run through the UK and Europe as a double feature. I ran it at a coastal cinema in the 70s and the crowd was rather nonplussed about it all. Recently George has re emerged Lord Of The Flies style with another well photographed sea adventure called DOLPHIN GLIDE that offers viewers a dive and swim with the wild dolphins of Byron Bay. It is an eccentric 20 min short with an even more eccentric 20 min 'how George did it' short. Each were met with a collective yawn by both the media and the pubic in January 2005.... all of which makes CRYSTAL VOYAGER a 'you had to have been there' fluke all those years ago. However at a special Oz Surf night at an outdoor cinema last year 2000 people turned up....but then 2000 turn up every night to see anything there during this summer season of films.....so the damned thing fluked another box office binge. How many actually enjoyed it is very much open to debate. Again they were more than likely just plain puzzled by this mad film with an astonishing reputation. Elfick however, since 1975, has gone onto a stellar career as a major producer and director of many lauded Australian and international films. Look up NO WORRIES or STARSTRUCK or UNDERCOVER or RABBIT PROOF FENCE or LOVE IN LIMBO for clear and present applause at his achievements. George, however, is still floating around out there somewhere droning away and looking for something else to film, or drop a camera on.

THIS MADE ME ANGRY!

[riclew · 1/10 · 13 March 2001]

Well to start off I was like, wow this is new, so when is the film starting, and out of this in between stuff. But it never ended. The film is just one big in between! And after 10 minutes of waiting for something to actually happen, apart from water splashing around, I just started getting angry! There is nothing in this documentry and nothing will be learned. Completely BORING and RUBBISH!

Never to be Forgotten

[chris_boys · 30 October 2005]

This is for sure an uneven effort. Some of the previous reviewers point out legitimate shortcomings of the movie. George Greenough's narration is a chore, not necessarily for what he actually says, but for the quality of his voice. The soundtrack in the first two thirds of the movie is weak at times. G. Wayne Thomas is the artist, and had previously worked on MORNING OF THE EARTH, which was the first Australian movie of any kind with a sound track to sell gold. However, in that movie he was not the sole artist, and his efforts worked very well with the other artists who complemented him. In CRYSTAL VOYAGER, as the sole artist, he begins to grate after a while. His voice often has a thin, reedy quality.

The plot of the movie is exceedingly simple. This is no THE BIG SLEEP. The pace is leisurely to the point of being slow. However, I myself, just accepted that this is a simple documentary of an unusual persona of the surfing world, and enjoyed it for what it is. I have the movie on DVD and have watched it many times. I find the life and times of George Greenough (so to speak) an easy watch. The guy is a remarkable pioneer in the surf scene, while really never having been part of that scene. Evidently, now, 30 years after CRYSTAL VOYAGER, a new film has come out about him, which better documents just how much this man revolutionized surfing during his time, and how even today at the age of 64 he is doing things on waves that others find mind-boggling.

My real complaint about the first two-thirds of the movie is that we are shortchanged on the surfing shots. I would have liked to have seen another 15 minutes or so of surfing. Especially more of George riding his knee board. The other two surfers, Nat Young and Ritchie West, could also have done with more. The quality of the waves ridden was not good enough to really showcase the talent of these men.

Okay, but for all that being said (plus and minus), the final third of the movie must surely stand as a cinematic classic. In fact, I will go out on a limb and venture to say that it is the single finest piece of visual experience ever rendered on film. I can think of nothing else that really comes close. And too, the mix of the visuals with the sound is perfection. In an interview with the producer David Eflick on the DVD, he describes the interesting story of how he managed to secure the song Echoes for this part of the movie. Lucky indeed that he did. I suggest you watch this on as big a screen as you can, with a pumping sound system, and just be plain ole mind blown.

And I am not saying that this is only a visual acid-trip. Far more; this is real genius-level stuff. I have watched this part of the movie at least fifty times, and I can see no end to the depth of it. Every frame is stunning. Then each wave experienced is stunning. The evolution of this part of the movie is akin to an unending holograph. It builds sequentially in force and power, while at the same time revealing – in a seamless way – new, unexpected depth to its subject, every wave. Just when you are thinking – "Yes this is beautiful and sublime", suddenly the same wave reveals an even greater beauty and light. Finally, the entire sequence leaves one transfixed. That I can watch it even now after so many times, and still be moved deeply, just amazes me.

Nuff said……….

Film About Filming

[tedg · 4 March 2005]

This is a curious project that has had a hard time finding an audience because some parts are exactly what repel lovers of the other parts.

It is part home movie about an amazingly dull fellow, made duller by his voice-over narration. Hey, he's a surfer who makes his own surfboards and boats according to the most improbable criteria. We see him smelt lead in a way that would kill any brain.

It is part documentary of surf photography. There's a sequence where our hero is hired as a surf photographer for some movie or TeeVee show. A huge opportunity is missed when we don't get to learn what it is or see any of it. This would have been fantastic.

The final part — after we see the guys sailing off on an adventure in an amateurish home movie section — is a collage of POV wave shots without the surfers we've been burdened with up this point. It has apt music, unlicensed I'm sure, and is utterly hypnotic. Some other commenter has compared this sequence to "Koyaanisqatsi." That film to my mind is unctuous pandering, elevator cinema worthy of burning. This sequence is far better for a few reasons. It is pure water, more genuinely cinematic than what Reggio displays. And though the setting of the context tries our patience, we do have a context. Since the photographer seems so dumb, we feel that an hour is all it takes to know absolutely everything about him. I know him better than my own wife. We know about the camera. We know how he made even the surfboard the camera is mounted on (which we don't see). That context makes this visual poetry real.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

Dull, dull, dull

[bob the moo · 19 March 2002]

This documentary follows a surfer as he searches for a place where he can surf in peace. We follow him as he builds boats to sail to remote spots and lives off the ocean under a soundtrack of 70's music.

Big Wednesday, Point Break….both enjoyable movies with surfing in them. This is not included with those – this is as dull as ditch water and not as tasty! The story doesn't exist – I know this is a documentary, but it still needs to be interesting. The film follows the narrator as he lives off the ocean, makes a boat and eats fish. He offers no insight into the passion behind surfing but offers only some half-assed philosophy that sounds like he's been drinking the salt-water.

The deepest insight we get is a line where he says the shape of his boat was told to him by aliens in a dream he had…it doesn't get better than that. In fact it doesn't even know how to fill the time – all scenes are played under a constant soundtrack, but most scenes are dull. The worst being a 5 minute scene of the crew messing with cameras!

The only interesting bit is the last 15 minutes where all shots are from a camera on a surf board while Pink Floyd plays underneath, some of the shots are simply beautiful and technically pretty hot. However even this gets dull and repetitive after a bit.

Overall this is a waste of 80 minutes – dull, dull, dull. I don't know where he is – but Greenough should be found, brought to my house and made to apologise!

surf and turf

[leeprew1 · 28 December 2003]

Do not expect to much from this film. It's pretty much a no brain surf movie (lots of big splashy waves and dudes with blond hair and orange skin talking about how at one they feel with the ocean). But if you enjoy that kind of film then this one is not bad. There are a lot better but I like this one because it has a Pink Floyd track at the end of the film (well actually it takes up 23mins 31sec of the film) it is a track off the album Meddle called Echoes, very tripped out music which mixes beautifully with the visuals of the ocean.

An inspired witness to 'grace under pressure'and an enduring delight

[elfiemartin · 28 February 2001]

This is the most striking and memorable movie I have seen. The balance between heart-stopping visual imagery and music is as finely-poised as the surfer himself. Where many attempts to document powerful physical achievements cast the protagonist as hero and the viewer as passive onlooker, here the intimacy of approach invites us to share the exploration and ecstasy of moving through the waves. Seductive and inspiring: a reminder that our birthright is a delight