Jacques Cousteau, the legendary documentarian, lives on through his cinematic legacy. Since the release of The Silent World in 1956 (which won the Palme d’Or prize at Cannes), Cousteau has been synonymous with oceanic exploration and pioneering films on marine life. The filmmaker released 120 documentaries, most of which feature his trademark style. Cousteau’s aesthetic is said to have inspired the look of Jaws and many other films.
One of these is a 20-minute surf film called De Passage. Russell Brownley’s film captures surfers in Tahiti, South Africa, Australia, and Indonesia. Brownley was forthright about Cousteau’s influence during a recent interview with Korduroy:
“I had been watching a ton of old Jaques Cousteau films and was enamored by the color and style that he used. We pretty much just used that inspiration as our platform and went from there. I have always been interested in 60s travel culture and wanted the film to have that look and feel…as if you were watching a commercial to come and vista the ‘far off distant land of…’ in 1963. That’s really where the color and creative direction came from.”
Read the full interview here, and watch the vintage-style surf movie below.
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