Jack Johnson And The Malloys Just Breathed New Life Into Their Beloved Films

Click here to purchase Thicker Than Water and here for September Sessions.

A few months ago, Jack Johnson sold out a handful of theaters with 25-year old surf films.

Thicker Than Water and September Sessions… ever heard of ‘em?

It’s been a quarter century since their release and, on the brink of Jack Johnson’s impending biopic documentary SURFILMUSIC, Jack, Emmet and Chris Malloy took it upon themselves to restore and remaster the films.

“September Sessions was a movie I watched over and over when I was young,” said John Florence, when he found out about the remastered versions. “The dream of Indo and getting to see those guys all go there, that was everything.”

Throughout the end of last year, Jack Johnson, Hermanos Gutierrez, the Malloys, Rob Machado, Kelly Slater, and friends premiered the remastered films around California. On the heels of that tour, they’re now making them available for purchase on YouTube.

“These films were shot on 16mm,” explains Rob Machado. “So when you see them on a screen, they look so crisp and so colorful. And there’s something about film that’s so special. The younger generation who didn’t grow up with these films are watching them like ‘Whoa, what app is that?’” Rob laughs.

“Jack shot September Sessions on a little Bolex camera and had to change each roll while 20 waves were being ridden. It’s so rad. Not to mention, the surfing, what’s being done in the films is still totally relevant, and it’s something that we’ve seen people still connect with,” finishes Rob.

Chris Malloy offers his own perspective.

“I had a kid in Santa Barbara say to me, ‘It’s cool how you put those orange flares at the end,’” says Chris, grinning.

“I was stoked, but mad at the same time. We had no money, so we had a very limited amount of film canisters in a little cooler. When you see those flares, it’s because the fucking film ran out,” he laughs. “That’s a film flare. That’s not a post effect. And we tried to hide those as much as we could. I remember getting chastised by Jack McCoy for it, because it was unprofessional. Now it’s an aesthetic the younger generation actually tries to emulate.”

For many people, their only encounter with either of these films has come through blurry bootleg versions, ripped and dropped onto burner YouTube or Vimeo accounts. Chris laughs when I ask him about these.

“I mean, it’s rad that they’re ripped on YouTube. I didn’t even know that,” he says. “Honestly, the films are about the editing and about the music and how they work together and the textures and the color that comes through. So many surf movies are about the tricks you’re doing. This film was a reaction to that. We really put a lot of time into the textures and the feel and the experience of it. So if kids are interested in that full experience, if people want to sit down and really enjoy the textures, I think the remastered films will be appealing. Otherwise, I mean, I don’t care how you watch it, the bootleg option might be sick,” he chuckles.

Click here to purchase Thicker Than Water and here for September Sessions.