| | | | North Shore
(1987) |
eleased by Universal in 1987 and directed by William Phelps, “North Shore” was as successful at bombing at the box office as it was in encapsulating an unforgettable era of neon-colored wave “shredding.”
By the end of the 1980’s, “North Shore” had not only become a culture-defining cult classic, but is the film that bridges the gap between the Spicoli-isms of “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” (1982) and the dude-laden banter of “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” (1989). However, unlike the Californian poolside and Circle K hangouts of the said films, “North Shore” is “J.O.J.” (“Just off the jet”) and on the North Shore of Oahu.
Rick Kane (Matt Adler; the fifth-wheel friend in “Teen Wolf” [1985] and the older brother in Disney’s “Flight of the Navigator” [1986]) is Arizona’s wave tank surfing champion and decides to fulfill his big wave dreams by heading to the world-famous North Shore of Oahu to spend his pre-art school summer seeing if he has what it takes to be one of the best. Upon arriving there, not everything is as it seems: the locals are rough around the edges and everyone’s looking out for their own waves.
Just when it looks as though he’ll be figuratively stuck in a reef cave under the waters of the dangerous beaches of the North Shore, he meets an unlikely friend in Turtle (John Philbin; world-famous real-life surfing instructor). Now caught in the comedic, pigeon-talking current of a well-connected local, Rick finds himself in the company of a beautiful, off-limits Hui girl, Kiani (Nia Peeples; “Fame – TV Series”), and world-class surfboard shaper, Chandler (Gregory Harrison; “Trapper John, M.D. – TV Series”). The film’s tagline, “The Peak…The Dream…The Ultimate Test,” doesn’t lie; Rick is in for the radical challenge of mastering the waves of the North Shore and gaining the respect of Hawaii’s royal wave patrollers, the Hui.
Surfing films appear to be cursed with drowning at the box office before they even start paddling out into the line up and “North Shore” is no exception to this. Sure, surfing films like the documentary classic “The Endless Summer” (1966) and 2002’s “Blue Crush” have shown signs of buoyancy, but even those films don’t fall under the heading of “blockbuster.” In the case of “North Shore,” this hasn’t really mattered too much; it is an absolute cult classic. Nearly every serious-minded surfer from California to Fuji has probably seen this film, and its dialog--mostly uttered by Philbin’s character, Turtle--has become part of the surfing dialect (“Kook,” “Barney,” “Haole,” etc. (A haole is a non-Hawaiian white person.
On the subject of Turtle, he is a hidden gem in the annals of comedic characters from the 80’s: sort of a cross between Jeff Spicoli and--well--the real-life Turtle (more on that in trivia)! Philbin nails it and completely sells this character that, unfortunately, is only really known by fans of the film. Nearly all of the principle cast members of the film have faded into obscurity (writing on this would constitute more than a sentence or two, so check out IMDb), but many of the surfers featured in the film--Shaun Thompson, Derek Ho, Gerry Lopez, and Mark Occhilupo--are still recognized as world-renowned surfers.
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The 1980's were definitely a unique time in filmmaking--before the "art" of indies and after the arrival of the "blockbuster." "North Shore" captures the culture of the Pacific 1980's landscape with few rivals.
It's pure 80’s “formula,” but that’s one of the things that makes this cult classic what it is. This is not art; it is a studio attempt that failed on a commercial level, but succeeded in the hands of it's fans. “North Shore” might also be the only good “surfing movie.”
Without a doubt, “The Endless Summer” is the best surfing film, but, since it’s a documentary, it doesn’t qualify as a film that is entirely scripted and, therefore, acted out by actors. The writing in this film is full of great comedic dialog and, despite the “formula,” the film has a great soul to it. On the subject of soul, that’s really what this film is all about: making decisions based upon what your gut and heart tells you...
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Many of the lead characters were played by Pro Surfers: Laird Hamilton ("Burkhart"), Gerry Lopez ("Vince"), Robbie Page ("Alex"), and Mark Occolupo ("Occie"), in addition to numerous pro surfers performing in supporting or bit parts (Shaun Thompson, Hans Eaderman, the Ho brothers, etc). 
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The real TURTLE cameos twice in the movie. John Philbin's TURTLE actually greets the real TURTLE as he and Rick Kane enter the competitor's pre-contest meeting and the real TURTLE is standing outside the fence as Rick exits the staging area (Lopez's back yard) before the contest. -Thanks to Dane Holland
Pidjin is a local dialect that has been around way longer than "North Shore." It is spoken by people on all of the Hawaiian islands, not just surfers. -Thanks to Eric
The painted blonde buff surfer at the outdoor party scene is the legendary big wave (and probably greatest surfer of all time) Laird Hamilton (married to Gabriel Reese). -Thanks to Michael Sandercock
Nia Peeples can also been seen in Seasons 4,5, and 6 of the hit tv show "Fame". She also is part of the "Walker Texas Ranger" cast. -Thanks to Teresa Parks
Now that the film has developed a cult following and is well-known on the North Shore itself, an activity in the film that involves wrapping a lava rock in a palm leaf, making a wish and then placing it in an area made popular by the film, has been prohibited.
John Philbin (Turtle) and Matt Adler (Rick Kane) became good friends while filming North Shore and still are to this day. Sometimes while mucking around they still refer to eachother as their character names. John also still calls Rick a kook and a barney. On occasions they still catch up with Occy while holidaying in Australia. -Thanks to THIEN VO 864
Pidjin comes from the fusing of languages and dialects of sugar plantation workers who came from Japan, China, Portugal and the Philipines. It was a way for them to converse together amongst the haole and hawaiian people who were already here in hawaii; a common 'language' if you will. If you grew up in hawaii, Pidjin comes naturally. That's how you weed out the non-locals -- they speak well. That's also how one determines what type of school you went to. If you went to a private school, your English sounded like, well, English. If you went to a public school, you spoke pidjin better than anyone. It's distiguishable and unique to the culture of hawaii. -Thanks to Just A Non-haole Lo
In the scene where Burkhart (Hamilton) is testing out the new surfboard and he says the nose is too thick. He asks Alex for a 'a board that works...my board.' Anyway, Burkhart's board that works is a Gerry Lopez board. You can tell by the design on the front. Only Lopez boards look like that. -Thanks to Just A Non-haole Lo
Surfing legend Mark Foo, who tragically drowned in the mid-90's at Maverick’s in California, makes an appearance in the film during the competition.
John Philbin who played "Turtle" in North Shore also had a small part in another surf caper by the name of "Point Break" (starring Kneau Reeves and Patrick Swayze). In "Point Break", Philbin plays one of the ex-presidents. -Thanks to Joe Fitos,Jerry Rapp And Peter
Anyone else notice that the plot for the recent Sony Animation film "Surf's Up" is a complete rip off of North Shore? It's penguins, but it's the same plot.
Laird Hamilton ("Lance Burkhart") and Gerry Lopez ("Vince") team up together in the "Endless Summer II". -Thanks to Janene_machine
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Screenwriters Randal Kleiser, Tim McCanlies, and William Phelps teamed up with actor, John Philbin (Turtle), to shape a character based on a popular North Shore local by the same name. The real-life Turtle developed the dialect and way of speaking on the North Shore that Philbin uses in the film and is a combination of his own word inventions and the local “pidgen-talk/speak.”
The film was shot using 16mm film and gives the water photography a complementary documentary-style feel.
There were pro surfer doubles used for some of the more difficult maneuvers, but all of the principle actors that surf in the film actually did a lot of their own surfing.
The waiting house during the competition at the end of the film was actually surfing legend Gerry Lopez’s (Vince) house.
Before Nia Peeples was cast as Kiani, significant portions of the film were shot using another actress. When the other actress wasn’t working out, Peeples was flown in from L.A. and had to jump right in without any prior rehearsals. The original ending that was shot with the first actress was shelved in place of an ending with Peeples, Adler, and Philbin that set up a still-to-be-made sequel. Unfortunately, the film grossed a meager $3.8 million, ensuring that a sequel isn’t likely to ever happen.
Small portions of the film with Adler and Peeples at the competition were actually shot in L.A. after the Hawaiian shoot wrapped. They were seamlessly edited in to give the impression that they were still on the beach at Pipeline between heats.
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|  |  |  | | North Shore
Locations |
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This movie was filmed entirely on the north shore of the island of Oahu, in Hawaii. [Thanks to Cory G. Smith]
The beginning of the movie where the Arizona Surfing Contest was held was at Big Surf Water Park in Tempe, Arizona [Thanks to Lisa Leon]
Can you help? Do you know any of the filming locations used for North Shore? [Please send them in]
|  | | | | ![[Letterbox -NOT 16:9 Enhanced]](lbx.gif) | ![[5.1 CH SURROUND]](dd5.gif) | Trailer, Commentary, Featurette, Notes, OutTakes |
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The film’s score was done by Richard Stone; he’s mostly done music for TV and worked as a music editor in film. "North Shore" has a couple of songs that are in the vein of the type of material that Kenny Loggins wrote for "Top Gun." Some of the titles are “Blue Hotel” by Chris Isaak, “Am I the One?” by Gary Wright, “Happy to Give” by Journey, and “Nature of the Beast” by Angel City.
It has proven difficult to find out if the “North Shore” soundtrack is still available, but it would appear as though it’s out of print. The film was so unsuccessful at the box office in ’87 that it is doubtful that most record stores received more than one copy during it's release.
The W's, a swing band, have a song on their album, "Fourth From the Last" titled "North Shore." The song basically tells the same story that the movie tells and has a couple of audio clips from the movie. -Thanks to John S Hall
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| | "The Peak... The Dream... The Ultimate Test."
| |  Year:
| 1987 | Studio:
| Universal | Director:
| William Phelps | Starring:
| Matt Adler,
Gregory Harrison, Nia Peeples, John Philbin, Gerry Lopez,
Mark Occhilupo, Laird Hamilton, Robbie Page | | - | - | Genre:
| Comedy | | | | + | The film is well-cast and boasts two very memorable and strong performances: John Philbin as Turtle and Gregory Harrison as Chandler. The pacing is fantastic and, unlike the overly lush production of surfing films like “In God’s Hands” (1998) and “Blue Crush,” the surfing footage is grounded in reality and manages to teach you a few things about the sport in the process. There’s also a degree of substance to “North Shore” that separates it from the pack such as it spending time with the locals and providing some good topical history on the Hui and their relationship to the North Shore. It also provides some real treats for surfing fans and surfers themselves by giving screen time to many of the legends of the sport that are in the film. | - | “North Shore’s” biggest weakness is that it takes a good ten to fifteen minutes to get its bearings and doesn’t really become a film of “value” until the forty-five minute mark (basically, the appearance of seasoned actor, Gregory Harrison). Other than it simply being cursed as a being a surfing film in the first place, it might’ve been these factors more than anything else that caused it to wipe out at the box office. |
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