Fueled: A Big Wave Surf Documentary (DVD)

Surf filmmakers come and go, but the Powerlines videographers are a constant. Eric Nelson and Curt Myers have been filming Maverick's since the early 1990s, and their latest film, "Fueled," expands their big-wave universe to cover the most spectacular spots in the world.

From Maverick's to "Jaws" to Teahupoo, unquestionably the heaviest tube-riding spot in captivity, "Fueled" is a definitive look at tow-in surfing and offers the hint of resolution in the controversy surrounding the sport. In their previous film, "100-Foot Wednesday," Myers and Nelson detailed the debate between conventional, paddle-in surfers and those using jet-skis, footstraps and a tow rope to ride the biggest waves ever challenged. Through extensive interviews, "Fueled" lays out the new rules and regulations being used in Hawaii - a way to save tow-in surfing rather than have it buried by environmental and safety concerns.

The success of any surf film is in its originality. So many are slapped together with familiar-looking footage, a hard-rock soundtrack and no story line whatsoever. "Fueled" takes a fresh approach in its music (often calm and soothing), angles (from a helicopter at Maverick's and interesting "Jaws" vantage points) and locations (two Northern California secret spots to die for). At times, unlike so many other films, "Fueled" simply lets the original sound take over - the crashing of waves and the hoots from those in observance.

To capture the feelings of surfing's inner-circle, "Fueled" interviews cover the spectrum: Darrick Doerner, Brian Keaulana, Mike Parsons, Strider Waselewski, Ross Clarke-Jones, Garrett McNamara (claiming he can hold his breath underwater for 3 minutes and 20 seconds), Brad Gerlach, Noah Johnson and Ikaika Kalama, to name a few. Through their words, the passion and emotion of big-wave surfing come to life.

The footage at "Jaws," known to Hawaiians by its given name of Peahi, is some of the best ever shown - a 30-foot, glassy day with a lineup of superstars in the water. Clarke-Jones stays longer in the tube than anyone in memory, only to meet a horrible fate at the end. McNamara gets what is widely believed to be the biggest barrel ever successfully ridden, and reveals that he got there only through the formidable, aggressive driving of longtime Hawaiian legend Dane Kealoha. Doerner, a member of tow-surfing's elite since he helped found the sport with Laird Hamilton and Buzzy Kerbox in 1991, gets long-awaited treatment as a featured surfer at the spot he calls "the biggest, baddest wave in the world." Gerlach explains the horror of a Jaws wipeout, which is somehow refreshing, since so many tow-in videos show nothing but successful, relatively easy-looking rides. On an expedition to Mexico, Peter Mel, Kenny (Skindog) Collins and Adam Replogle show the possibilities of tow-in surfing in relatively smaller waves, flying around and through sections previously un-negotiable. And for the full-on fear factor, nothing can touch Teapuhoo, filmed on one of the biggest, cleanest swells in the spot's history. This is a wave that simply cannot be real, a sight that continues to astonish. Yet even as 20 or 30 waves go by, each seems more mind-blowing than the last, and as Joel Fitzgerald reminds us, that Tahitian wave is "suicidal - a little too dangerous for what people are doing out there."

Add all this to the Nelson-Myers trademark - Maverick's footage, including classic tube rides by Mel, Flea Virostko and Jeff Clark - and "Fueled" is a one-stop shopping list for big-wave entertainment. No need to go anywhere else. -- Bruce Jenkins


"GUTS FOR GLORY"

"BEST TUBE RIDE"