Movies like Surfwise (2007)
The best movies like Surfwise (2007) are The Endless Summer II (1994), Riding Giants (2004) and The Endless Summer (1966). If Surfwise hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Cove (2009)8.0/10 from 705 votes
- NewestCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)Released 2025
The Endless Summer II (1994)
Bruce Brown, king of surfing documentaries, returns after nearly thirty years to trace the steps of two young surfers to top surfing spots around the world. Along the way we see many of the people and locales Bruce visited during the filming of Endless Summer (1966).
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Riding Giants (2004)
Riding Giants is story about big wave surfers who have become heroes and legends in their sport. Directed by the skateboard guru Stacy Peralta.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Endless Summer (1966)
Documentary filmmaker Bruce Brown, himself a competition-level surfer, follows surfers Michael Hynson and Robert August on an around-the-world surfing adventure. With Brown's wry, sardonic narration and a twangy, guitar-driven instrumental soundtrack by The Sandals playing over the silent footage, Mike and Rob leave their California home to visit Hawaii, Australia, South Africa and other secluded surfing spots in a search for the surfer's holy grail that Brown dubs "The Perfect Wave.”
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisView from a Blue Moon (2015)
From the dreamy blue perfection of the South Pacific to the darkest uncharted waters of Africa (and everywhere in between), John Florence faces a broad spectrum of emotions as he continues to seal his legacy as one of the most gifted surfers ever. And while the young Hawaiian is pulled in increasingly different directions, there is no form of pressure that will keep him from his ultimate goal — to redefine what is possible in the ocean.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Back on Board: Greg Louganis (2014)
Feature-length documentary about the greatest diver of all time. Four-time Olympic champion Greg Louganis has faced more than his share of challenges. In 2011, he is far from the public eye and struggling to pay his mortgage. Now, the openly gay, HIV+ world-class athlete returns to diving to mentor the USA Olympic hopefuls. This may be his best chance to regain the notoriety -- and financial stability -- he enjoyed at the height of his career.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Bustin' Down the Door (2008)
During the winter of 1975 in Hawaii, surfing was shaken to its core. A group of young surfers from Australia and South Africa sacrificed everything and put it all on the line to create a sport, a culture, and an industry that is today worth billions of dollars and has captured the imagination of the world. With a radical new approach and a brash colonial attitude, these surfers crashed headlong into a culture that was not ready for revolution. Surfing was never to be the same again.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
180° South (2010)
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDogtown and Z-Boys (2002)
This award-winning, thrilling story is about a group of discarded kids who revolutionized skateboarding and shaped the attitude and culture of modern day extreme sports. Featuring old skool skating footage, exclusive interviews and a blistering rock soundtrack, DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS captures the rise of the Zephyr skateboarding team from Venice's Dogtown, a tough "locals only" beach with a legacy of outlaw surfing.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Cruise (1998)
Affectionate portrait of Timothy "Speed" Levitch, a tour guide for Manhattan's Gray Line double-decker buses.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Crash Reel (2013)
An escalating rivalry between snowboarder Kevin Pearce and his nemesis Shaun White in the run-up to the 2010 Olympics leaves Shaun on top of the Olympic podium and Kevin in a coma following a training accident in Park City, Utah. Kevin's tight-knit Vermont family flies to his side and helps him rebuild his life as a brain injury survivor. But when he insists he wants to return to the sport he still loves, his family intervenes. Will Kevin defy them and insist on pursuing his passion? How much risk is too much?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMan on Wire (2008)
On August 7th 1974, French tightrope walker Philippe Petit stepped out on a high wire, illegally rigged between New York's World Trade Center twin towers, then the world's tallest buildings. After nearly an hour of performing on the wire, 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan, he was arrested. This fun and spellbinding documentary chronicles Philippe Petit's "highest" achievement.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTake Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton (2017)
This is the remarkable story of an American icon who changed the sport of big wave surfing forever. Transcending the surf genre, this in-depth portrait of a hard-charging athlete explores the fear, courage and ambition that push a man to greatness—and the cost that comes with it.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Step Into Liquid (2003)
No special effects. No stuntmen. No stereotypes. No other feeling comes close. Surfers and secret spots from around the world are profiled in this documentary.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBones Brigade: An Autobiography (2012)
When six teenage boys came together as a skateboarding team in the 1980s, they reinvented not only their chosen sport but themselves too – as they evolved from insecure outsiders to the most influential athletes in the field.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHold Your Breath: The Ice Dive (2022)
Follow free diver Johanna Nordblad in this documentary as she attempts to break the world record for distance traveled under ice with one breath.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Waterman (2022)
Five-time Olympic medalist and Native Hawaiian Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku shattered records and brought surfing to the world while overcoming a lifetime of personal challenges. Waterman explores his journey and legacy as a legendary swimmer, trailblazer, and the undisputed father of modern-day surfing, following the sport’s first-time inclusion in this year’s Summer Olympics – a fitting tribute to his work promoting the sport around the globe.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Sunshine Superman (2015)
Documentary portrait of Carl Boenish, the father of the BASE jumping movement, whose early passion for skydiving led him to ever more spectacular -and dangerous- feats of foot-launched human flight.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Momentum Generation (2018)
In the 1990s, a motley band of teen surfers from the north shore of Oahu brought professional surfing to new heights. But as their stars rose, the competition threatened to tear their group apart.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Cove (2009)
The Cove tells the amazing true story of how an elite team of individuals, films makers and free divers embarked on a covert mission to penetrate the hidden cove in Japan, shining light on a dark and deadly secret. The shocking discoveries were only the tip of the iceberg.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisGirls Can't Surf (2021)
It’s the 1980s and the world of professional surfing is a circus of fluorescent colors, peroxide hair and radical male egos. "Girls Can't Surf" follows the journey of a band of renegade surfers who took on the male-dominated professional surfing world to achieve equality and change the sport forever. Featuring surfing greats Jodie Cooper, Frieda Zamba, Pauline Menczer, Lisa Andersen, Pam Burridge, Wendy Botha, Layne Beachley and more, "Girls Can't Surf" is a wild ride of clashing personalities, sexism, adventure and heartbreak, with each woman fighting against the odds to make their dreams of competing a reality.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Murderball (2005)
Quadriplegics, who play full-contact rugby in wheelchairs, overcome unimaginable obstacles to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpellbound (2002)
This documentary follows 8 teens and pre-teens as they work their way toward the finals of the Scripps Howard national spelling bee championship in Washington D.C.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau (2013)
Director Sam George chronicles the remarkable life and times of the late Eddie Aikau, the legendary Hawaiian big wave surfer, pioneering lifeguard and ultimately doomed crew member of the Polynesian voyaging canoe Hokulea.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
X Games 3D: The Movie (2009)
Follows six extreme sports stars as they prepare for and then compete in the 2008 Summer X-Games in Los Angeles. Kyle Loza practices a new motocross trick, landing in a pit of foam. Can he do it in front of thousands and land safely on dirt? Travis Pastrana shifts from a bike to a rally car - in part because he's broken so many bones. Shaun White finishes his snowboard season and jumps immediately onto his skateboard. Retired motocross champion Ricky Cunningham takes up a new event. In the finale, after practicing together as friends and competitors, Bob Burnquist and Danny Way face off on the mega ramp
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Spaceship Earth (2020)
In 1991 a group of countercultural visionaries built an enormous replica of earth’s ecosystem called Biosphere 2. When eight “biospherians” lived sealed inside, they faced ecological calamities and cult accusations. Their epic adventure is a cautionary tale but also a testament to the power of small groups reimagining the world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAndy Irons: Kissed by God (2018)
A film about bipolar disorder and opioid addiction as seen through the life of three-time world champion surfer Andy Irons. He was the pride of Hawaii and revered around the world for his blue collar rise to fame and success. However, many were unaware of his internal battles that led to his demise. As the opioid crisis rises to a national emergency in the United States, the untold story of Andy’s life serves to tear down the myths associated with these two ferocious diseases.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Last Call at the Oasis (2011)
Participant Media’s Last Call at the Oasis is a new documentary from Jessica Yu & Elise Pearlstein. Think water is an infinite resource? Think again.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Storm Surfers (2012)
This pulse-racing real-life adventure follows two of Australia's greatest surf legends on their quest to hunt down and ride the Pacific's biggest and most dangerous waves. With 3D cameras installed on their boards, Ross Clarke-Jones and Tom Carroll defy middle age by pushing the limits of what they — and cinema technology — can do.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Maidentrip (2014)
14-year-old Laura Dekker sets out on a two-year voyage in pursuit of her dream to become the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Surfwise?
The closest matches to Surfwise are The Endless Summer II (1994), Riding Giants (2004) and The Endless Summer (1966). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Surfwise?
People who watched Surfwise most often go on to The Endless Summer II (1994), Riding Giants (2004) and The Endless Summer (1966).
What is the highest-rated movie like Surfwise?
The Cove (2009), rated 8.0/10 by 705 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Surfwise?
Come See Me in the Good Light (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Surfwise?
Yes: The Endless Summer II (1994), Riding Giants (2004) and The Endless Summer (1966).
How are movies similar to Surfwise chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Surfwise, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.