Archy Dvd » Laurie Saunders' Review

Narration by punk rock legend, Henry Rollins, lends this film a kind of instant underground credibility and heft. It's the warts-and-all story of Matt Archibold or 'Archy' and especially his rise to infamy in the 1980s a time you could almost call surfing's 'lost years' - an embarrassment of dayglo logos and 80s excess. An era when Gotcha and Body Glove ruled the earth. It's almost as if today's mega-companies have tried to erase this period from the collective consciousness.

At an unbelievably young age Archy was stretching the limits of performance surfing. He was the one pushing aerials into the competition arena and forcing the old-hands and the up-and-comers to keep up. Then, after coming to the attention of the surfing world he goes way off the rails...

Imagine you are a fifteen year old kid turned loose on the world tour: no management, no chaperone, your only mentors are your hard living, hard partying fellow pro surfers.

Archbold himself seems to be a character similar to Dogtown's Jay Adams. A too-much-too-young hurricane of raw innovative talent. A star burning twice as bright... and almost half as long. Perhaps he was let down by an industry not set up to judge his far out moves or contain, nurture and channel his 'youthful exuberance' or whatever you want to call it.

Sure you could say that it was his own fault and, sure, not all pro surfers end up in jail or rehab but one look at the parade of gnarly talking heads and interviewees from the period makes you think that if you manage to escape from the world of pro surfing with body, soul and mind intact then you are amongst the lucky few.

The film does end on a high note but you still feel it's a tragic tale of lost chances, and maybe squandered opportunity. Archy seems a slightly sad figure, sat on his own at "Off The Wall" away from the crowd reliving his high points and maybe thinking about what might have been.

Yet another tale of a world-class failure, maybe, but as a period piece it's perfect. Shedding light on a somewhat overlooked time in pro surfing's recent history, combining an excellent atmospheric sound-track with a good combination of archive footage and current interviews.

This film is a must for any aficionados of surfing's history or anyone who wants a glimpse at the dark side. In summary, a dynamic, well-put-together documentary. Just about essential viewing for anyone who calls themselves a surfer.