On Any Sunday | |
---|---|
Directed by | Bruce Brown |
Written by | Bruce Brown |
Produced by | Bruce Brown Steve McQueen Robert Bagley |
Starring | Steve McQueen Mert Lawwill Malcolm Smith Paul Carruthers |
Narrated by | Bruce Brown |
Cinematography | Robert E. Collins Bruce Brown |
Edited by | Bruce Brown Brian King |
Music by | Dominic Frontiere |
Distributed by | Cinema 5 |
Release date |
|
Running time | 96 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $313,000 |
Box office | $1.2 million [1] |
On Any Sunday is a 1971 American documentary film about motorcycle sport, directed by Bruce Brown. It was nominated for a 1972 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. [2] [3] Brown tried to show the unique talents needed for the different forms of racing. For instance, the motocross riders were typically free-spirited types, while desert racers were often loners. In Grand National racing, Brown showed widely differing personalities, such as the business-like approach to racing displayed by Mert Lawwill versus the carefree approach that David Aldana became known for. [4]
In addition to Lawwill, Steve McQueen is featured in the film, along with Malcolm Smith and many other motorcycle racers from the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The film was financially backed, in part, by McQueen [5] through his "Solar Productions company," which received credit in the final seconds of the film. Some of the more dramatic shots were extreme closeup slow-motion segments of the Grand National races. From his surfing movie days, Brown was used to working with super telephoto lenses. The budget didn't allow the expense of high-speed cameras, so Brown improvised by using 24-volt batteries in the 12-volt film cameras. The result was a makeshift high-speed camera. Brown also used a helmet camera on some of the riders, which had not been widely attempted previously due to the bulk of film cameras of the day.
Regarding his filming method, Brown said:
At times I'd have a particular shot in mind. For example, I wanted to shoot a muddy motocross race and show the riders with mud all over them. First you have to be at a motocross race when it rains, then you have to find a good location to shoot. We tried and tried to get a shot with a rider caked with mud. We finally did get the shot, but for a while it seemed like we never would.
At one point, Brown found a perfect location for a sunset beach riding shot—Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
I figured there would be no way to get approval to film on the Marine base," Brown recalls. "Steve McQueen said he'd see what he could find out. The next day he called and was told to contact some General and the next thing you know we are shooting the beach sequences. It was pretty amazing the doors he was able to open. [4]
On Any Sunday is often credited as the best and/or most important motorcycle documentary ever made.[ citation needed ] Roger Ebert says it "does for motorcycle racing what The Endless Summer did for surfing". Ebert praises the film's high level of artistry in accomplishing the impressive footage of motorcycle races (which he says are difficult to film), and he also credits the film for not bothering viewers with the technical details of how the filming was done. [5]
During the opening sequence, children are seen riding their bicycles on a dirt track, in imitation of motorcyclists. Thanks to this scene, On Any Sunday is thought to have popularized BMX biking across America; previously it had only been observed in Southern California. [6] Brown himself also believed the film changed public perception of motorcycle racers from "bad guys" (as depicted in popular films like The Wild One ) to popular heroes. [4]
Malcolm Smith credits his appearance in On Any Sunday with giving him the worldwide recognition that enabled him to become a leading entrepreneur in the off-road motorcycling business. [4]
Several follow-ups to the film were produced:
BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation.
Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom.
The Honda CR series was a line of two-stroke off-road motorcycles made by Honda from 1973 to 2007. They are racing motorcycles with countless trophies in the 125, 250 and 500 motocross classes. Marty Smith, Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael and many other motocross legends dominated racing circuits on Honda CR's. CR's continue competing today and are prized by racing enthusiasts and collectors alike.
James Stewart Jr. is an American former professional motocross and supercross racer, widely regarded as one of the most talented and dynamic riders in the history of the sport. Known for his raw speed and innovative riding techniques, Stewart earned two AMA Supercross 450cc championships, three AMA Motocross 450cc championships, and two 125cc AMA Supercross titles. He also claimed victory in 50 premier class Supercross races, 6th in all-time 250cc supercross west class wins, 3rd in all-time supercross 450cc class wins, and 1st in all-time 125cc wins, placing him among the most successful riders of all time.
Bruce Alan Brown was an American documentary film director, known as an early pioneer of the surf film. He was the father of filmmaker Dana Brown.
Dana Brown is an American surfer and filmmaker, and is the oldest son of filmmaker Bruce Brown. His films include The Endless Summer Revisited (2000) which is made up of unused footage from The Endless Summer (1964) and The Endless Summer II (1994), as well as some original interviews with the stars of those films. His first all-original film was Step Into Liquid (2003) followed by a documentary on the Baja 1000 titled Dust to Glory (2005). In 2009, he debuted a new film called Highwater during the 100th anniversary of the Santa Monica Pier; the film follows life on the North Shore and the surfers who compete in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. In 2014, the movie On Any Sunday, The Next Chapter continues the saga of motocross documentaries which began with the 1972 Academy Award for Documentary Feature nominated film On Any Sunday (1971). Dust 2 Glory 2018.
Malcolm Smith was a Canadian-American off-road racer. He was born on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada, and died in Riverside, California.
Jeffrey Ward is a British-American former professional motocross racer, auto racing driver and off-road racer. He won the AMA Motocross Championship five times and the AMA Supercross Championship twice and the Motocross des Nations seven times. After retiring from motorcycle competition, Ward turned to auto racing, finishing in second place at the Indianapolis 500 and winning a race at the Texas Motor Speedway. He then competed in off-road truck racing and rallycross. Ward was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999 and, was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on 12 August 2006.
Mert Lawwill is an American professional motorcycle racer, race team owner and mountain bike designer. He competed in the AMA Grand National Championship from 1962 to 1977. Lawwill is notable for winning the 1969 AMA Grand National Championship as a member of the Harley-Davidson factory racing team. After his motorcycle racing career, Lawwill became one of the top motorcycle racing frame designers and builders. Lawwill then used his experience as a motorcycle frame builder to become an innovative mountain bike designer, developing one of the first bicycle suspensions. He also developed prosthetic limbs for amputees. Lawwill was inducted in the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.
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James Sherwin "Bud" Ekins was an American professional stuntman in the U.S. film industry. He is considered to be one of the film industry's most accomplished stuntmen with a body of work that includes classic films such as The Great Escape and Bullitt. Ekins, acting as stunt double for Steve McQueen while filming The Great Escape, was the rider who performed what is considered to be one of the most famous motorcycle stunts ever performed in a movie. He was recognized for his stunt work by being inducted into the Stuntmen's Hall of Fame.
Marty Tripes is an American former professional motocross racer. He competed in the AMA Motocross Championships from 1972 to 1980. He was one of the leading American motocross and supercross racers during the 1970s. Tripes rose to national prominence in 1972 as a teenage prodigy when, he defeated some of the best riders in the world to win the first-ever stadium supercross race in the United States.
Carl Lee Cranke was an American professional motorcycle enduro competitor. He represented the United States in 10 International Six Days Trial (ISDT) in the 1960s and 1970s. He earned seven gold medals and two silver medals in ISDT competitions to become one of the most accomplished American enduro riders of his era. Cranke was also notable for his two stroke engine tuning abilities, and was also credited with helping develop Penton motorcycles. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2000.
Gene Romero was an American professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the A.M.A. Grand National Championship from 1966 to 1981 sponsored first by the Triumph factory racing team and then by the Yamaha factory racing team. Proficient on oval dirt tracks as well as paved road racing circuits, Romero won the 1970 A.M.A. Grand National Championship and was the winner of the 1975 Daytona 200. After retiring from competition, he became a successful racing team manager with Honda and, helped the sport of dirt track racing by becoming a race promoter. Romero was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.
Chuck Sun is an American former professional motocross racer. He competed in the AMA Motocross Championships from 1976 to 1983. In 1980, Sun won the AMA 500cc motocross national championship. He is the only Asian American to have won a national championship in American professional motorcycle racing. In 2003, Sun was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
The Harley-Davidson XR-750 is a racing motorcycle made by Harley-Davidson since 1970, primarily for dirt track racing, but also for road racing in the XRTT variant. The XR-750 was designed in response to a 1969 change in AMA Grand National Championship rules that leveled the playing field for makes other than Harley-Davidson, allowing Japanese and British motorcycles to outperform the previously dominant Harley-Davidson KR race bike. The XR-750 went on to win the most races in the history of American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) racing.
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Tarah Gieger is a Puerto Rican female professional motocross racer.
The following outline is provided as an overview of motorcycles and motorcycling:
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