Last Paradise
Who knew, eh?
Who knew that a Kiwi sheep farmer invented the jet boat? Or that the science of surf forecasting was developed in New Zealand? Or that a plucky group of Auckland kids, including Allan Byrne, invented skurfing, which would later become wakeboarding?
They're just a few of the bugger me moments to be found in Clive Neeson's new film, Last Paradise. Haven't heard of Clive? Well, neither had I but the old fella has lived a Forrest Gump life which found him at ground zero for many of surfing's, and other extreme sport's, important moments. He's had that many incredible experiences he could write a book, but fortunately ol' Clive had the prescience to film them all so rather than a book we have this film.
For Last Paradise Clive blew the dust off his old cannisters, some of them near half a century old. Being a New Zealander he simply rang up the production team from Lord Of The Rings and got them to help restore the footage to digital quality.
It's a long and winding story but the embarkation point is when a Californian surfer named Mike Dora – some of you may have heard of him? - rolled into Raglan, the town where Clive and his brother John grew up. Dora had been travelling the world looking for another pre-Gidget Malibu. Somewhere isolated and unspoilt by the hands of man. He told the Neeson's of perfect waves and encroaching development on far flung coasts. Dora's advice? Go and see it now before it's gone.
And so they did: Petacalco before the dam went in; uncrowded Mundaka; Noosa with Greenough; Bali with Lopez and McCabe; Gnarloo with no-one. Clive filmed it all, and his footage in this section of the film is worth the price of admission alone. Anyone who cares about the history of our sport will be enthralled as it's the first time this footage has been seen.
The narrative of unspoilt wilderness and treading softly continues as the film wends its way back to New Zealand. The brothers and their friends seek sustainable living arrangements and short of modern luxuries invent their own technologies. Always the inventing. It fans out into other extreme sports, that if not invented in New Zealand certainly reached full bloom there: bungy jumping; snowboarding; hang gliding; hang gliding in the snow; hand gliding in the snow above a glacier; hang gliding in the snow above a glacier with an avalanche erupting. It's adventure first and some of the imagery Clive captured makes today's digital GoPro footage seem positively limp.
Clive packs 102 minutes worth of it into the film, while also threading a theme for environmental awareness through the story. There's a lot to see and absorb. But for mine the film's lasting effect was this: Surfing's history is far richer than I ever thought.
Who knew, eh?
Last Paradise is showing now. Click here for dates and times.
Watch the trailer to Last Paradise.
Comments
Hang gliding above the grassy knoll, dropping in with grass skis on, only to ride straight into the back of the Morris Minor Wagon and head for a wave out in front of Mt Taranaki.
Looks great, can't wait to check it out. Real fuddy-duddy stuff.
Beware Welly, probably make you feel homesick.
Didn't the kiwis invent jogging too? I'm sure I read that on here once.
We have lots of tricks up our swandri sleeves, don't we Wellymon! I got homesick just watching the trailer....
'Didn't the kiwis invent jogging too?'
That explains a lot of things.
http://www.t-nation.com/training/jogging-delusion
I did an assignment on AJ Hacketts business model in my first year of uni. It was quite handy as his first bungee operation was about a k up the road from my place on the Goldy. Just had to ride my pushy up the street to get my research material, too easy. He's a cool dude and very smart.
I'd love to see this movie but alas, I don't think it will make it here.
(Stormsurfers too, still keen to see that as well.)
Does that make the Kiwis inventors of the channel bottom as well?
Great people.
Yes, Kiwis are great people and have a great country. If I had to live anywhere on earth (other than where I am or Oz), I'd choose NZ. Good waves, good snow, good people and clean air.
As a footnote, I saw the movie 'Drift' sitting on the new release shelf at the video store here.
Who woulda thunk it? I'll have to rent it. Unfortunately no Stormsurfers but we are in the country.
Is Storm Surfers available on iTunes over there Zen? It is here.. you can rent it for about $5-6 I think.
I'd imagine so Ben, but I don't have iTunes.
I'll have to look into it as I've been keen to see it for ages. Thanks for letting me know.
Back to thread at hand, I'd love to see Last Paradise, especially the old snowboarding stuff. Hope it makes it's way over here.
Absolutely.. how's this framie!
This movie came out about 5 years ago to coincide with a bunch of old fucktards who snuck the ASP into town without telling any one. Just slightly confusing to promote a movie about "the last paradise" while the ASP have got into town on the shady . yeah the movie has some cool footage from back in the day. But apart from that It is a load of spank. All the "pioneers" of the "last paradise"were blowins and did fuck all of the pioneering of the "last paradise". One of the early surf pioneers was actually an ozzie who never left and still makes surfboards, and hes now in his seventies, It would have been nice for the maker of this film to actually stop spanking himself and his blowin mates and get some of the real pioneers in on it.
If my back yard is the last paradise why would you want to sell it out and tell everyone about it . For fucks sake , the irony. Last time I saw Clive Neeson in the water I had to drop in on the snaking prick and give him a burst of hate. All him and his brother bought to our "last paradise" was a shit Raglan surf attitude of greed in the water.
Just for the record, it aint no paradise, it can blow onshore for months on end, we have the ASP and all the circus arriving for our good wave window. The snow is ususally bullet proof and no vis.
The movie drags on so buy heaps of popcorn.
So how many stars would you give it Inzider?
Well I reckon 5 stars for the old footage, some of it is gold for sure.
That is all I liked about the flick to tell the truth.
Worth a watch just for that reason. I would encourage groms to watch it though as it might inspire them in some way. Most would be asleep by the end of it,
Wow, never seen a flim written off like that and given 5 stars, epic!
the five stars was for the old footage , not for the whole film.
That was a 'two thumbs up write off' inzider.
Curious to know how could these blokes be blowins? NZ is not exactly the biggest or most densely populated country. Where'd they blow in from? Gisborne?
Pig Islanders are blowins to the Mainlanders
Mainlanders are blowins into Pig Island....?
Make sense Zenagain, I myself have never made sense of it.!!!!!
I think Inziders rating was 5 stars out of the milky way...?
Ha! As you'd say, gold Welly.
Hey Towman, is Kevin Jarratt your cousin!? Check swellnet's facebook vid post at 3.24
Don't understand Mitch Very Good,
I'm not on face book, how do I check that...
Maybe he is...! I've never looked deep into my family tree:)
I see what you mean Mitch Very Good.
What great footage, I'm pretty sure Kevin is not my cuzzie bro, would of been good if he was though..! haha
See how Al Bryne talks about his secret training..? IMO that comes down to riding time...? Just like heaps of riding time on the snowboard.
i surfed Punis farm a few times in the 80's on holidays, not as heavy as TOS but very similar great wave.
Cheers MVG.
How was the footage of the Tassie point from the chopper vid.. Wow
Haha yeah this was one of the reasons I thought of ya! Some of those waves on the vid look like twin towers or lagoons or whatever it is over there. The paddle and the walk too, not too dis-similar. No worries, I'm guessing you must be/have been due for a chopper ride soon yourself.
Classic got home Monday after the chopper ride....
Last night fell down the bank and fractured my left scapular.
Fuuuuuucccccckkkkkkkkkk..
:(
No go for awhile now, will be some comments on here now :)
Got to catch up to you and sheepio and the rest .....!
That sucks bro, I have a mate who just moved to NNSW and can't surf, everyone seems to have their time aye. Well haven't heard from the dawg recently, hopefully it heals up soon