If you are a 30-something surfer, that name sends you back to the Astrodeck era chock full o’ skull-tatted long hairs throwing big airs to the beat of speed metal licks. Later, younger wave riders saw the rejuvenated and hairless Archy pulling into fat OTW shacks in a flurry of magazine spreads and videos (and may now know his son, Ford, even better).
Either way you slice it, Archy has been a consistent source of stoke and press in the surf world for decades. Among the first to make aerial surfing a viable part of his repertoire, Archy surfed faster than anyone and lived harder than most. Both aspects blend to make for an explosive and personal film.
Archy: Built for Speed is another high quality documentary in the vein of some of the great flicks released this decade. The Peralta films and Bustin’ Down the Door have really opened up a new genre that transcends common surf porn that permeates the industry. Both genres have separate but equally important goals.
Standard surf vids set out to amp viewers to a fever pitch from the first frame, to cut from maneuver to maneuver with no room for contemplation; surfing documentaries, on the other hand, attempt to reminisce and educate while still supplying the stunning visuals that only surfing can deliver.
I think Archy: Built for Speed achieves its goal. In terms of cutting edge shreddage, the footage doesn’t quite compare with many of the top picks of the last few years, but the images and personalities it highlights will bring viewers back to time of tight-fitting neon trunks, bad hair, and thick boards; a time when a few fascinating characters burst out with futuristic surfing unimagined by anyone and filled every page and video available.
Archy: Built for Speed brims with raspy old friends, industry big dogs, young pros, and fallen heroes. There’s some new footage that shows that Archy is still ripping hard, but mostly, the film delves into the demons that plagued a surfer pegged as “the next Tom Curren”. We see that, no doubt, San Clemente’s surf culture gave Archy everything he ever wanted, but its temptations also tried to take it away.
