True Films 3.0 - Kevin Kelly

On Any Sunday
By the same guy who did The Endless Summer (p.54). What that classic
documentary did for surfing, this one did for motorcycling when it was
released 35 years ago. It made a somewhat fringe activity appealing to
the mainstream. And like The Endless Summer, this film is almost as
enjoyable now as it was in 1971 despite the many decades of technical
improvement in equipment and the film’s jaunty oh-so-seventies
soundtrack. It’s hard to remember that motorcycles were once esoteric,
rare, and underground. This film recaptures the sudden exhilaration and
freedom that regular people discovered by zooming along on two powerful
wheels. On Any Sunday was the first of all motorcycle films, and may
still be the best. It features some obsessive and legendary motorcyclists,
as they became one with their bikes, practically living on them. They were
some new kind of creature, human above, wheels below. Their relentless
search for new ways to ride a cycle, and new races to join, keep this
vintage film fresh and fascinating. Obsessive passion never ages, and
never fails to fascinate me.
By Bruce Brown
1971, 96 min.
Available form Amazon
Rent from Netflix
Mud is not reason to stop. Slat flats is a reason
to go really fast (right). And metal plated and
toed shoes made rounding sharp curves possible
(below).
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