'Fantasea'
Datec 1980
Object number00017318
NamePoster
MediumPrinted ink on paper
DimensionsOverall: 729 x 455 mm, 0.037 kg
ClassificationsPosters and postcards
Credit LineANMM Collection
Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionThis poster was produced to promote Greg Huglin's 1980s surf movie, 'Fantasea'. The design features an illustration of a man standing in front of breaking waves carrying a surfboard under his arm. Information about the film's Hawaiian screenings are included at the bottom of the poster.HistoryIn the 1960s surf art moved off the coves 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.
Produced in 1980, 'Fantasea' features surfing performances by Australia’s Simon Anderson, Chris Byrne, Terry Fitzgerald, Wayne Lynch, Mark Warren, Col Smith and Mark Richards. Also included is footage of Hawaiian surfers Dan Kealoha, Bobby Owens, Larry Bertlemann, Mark Liddell, Mark Foo, Buzzy Kerbox, Rory Russell, Reno Abellira and South Africa’s Shaun Tomson. The surfing epic covering Australia, South Africa and Hawaii opens with an animated sequence that dissolves into one of George Greenough’s legendary tube shots filmed from a camera mounted on his back.SignificanceThis movie poster illustrates the role of surfing in popular culture, and is an important example of the promotional material associated with surf movies of this period.
1930s