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'Shock Waves'

Date1980s

Object number00029294

NamePoster

MediumPrinted ink on paper

DimensionsOverall: 890 x 585 mm, 1 mm, 0.1 kg
Display Dimensions: 890 x 585 mm

ClassificationsPosters and postcards

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Dick Hoole

Terms

DescriptionThis movie poster for the surf film 'Shock Waves' was produced during the 1980s. The film received negative reviews and went straight to a video release. 'Shock Waves' was produced by the Condon brothers and was cinematographically innovative in that much of the footage was shot from the back of a Jetski, giving the surfing footage a greater sense of pace and movement. The film starred the surfers Martin Potter, Mark Occhilupo, Brad Gerlach, Derek Ho, Cheyn Horan, and Tom Curren.HistoryIn the 1960s surf art moved off the cover of surfing magazines and onto film posters promoting movies featuring young male surfers riding large waves in exotic locations. By the 1970s surfing films had shifted from 1960s Hollywood beach party musicals produced for the broader community, to the 'soul-surfing' exploration of counterculture lifestyles. During this era films were either created in a documentary style, which targeted the surfing enthusiast, or as a fictional feature film with the focus on the reality of surfing. 'Shock Waves' typifies this new style with hard core music, aggressive sound and fast-paced action. Videos emerged in the mid 1980s as promotional tools for surf companies, heralding a decline in surf film production. 'Shock Waves' was one of the very last surf movies of the 1980s to attempt surf movie theater openings before the introduction of strictly video only releases.SignificanceThis poster is an example of the advertising produced for theatres. The new wave graphics and use of flat colour are representative of 1980s designs for promotional material.