Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Windrider Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 25, 2018

Though it’s been years and years (and years) since I’ve seen it, I seem to recall that Far and Away, Ron Howard’s 1992 kinda sorta epic which introduced us all to Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as a couple, had a scene where Nicole’s character took a little peek under a blanket at Tom’s character, who was residing au naturel beneath the covers. Those of you who don’t want to go to even that much trouble to see at least one member of Hollywood’s erstwhile “it” couple in flagrante delicto, or at least nude, Windrider offers a few passing glances of the then quite young Kidman in her birthday suit. In a way, Windrider reminded me quite a bit of Drift, a 2013 Australian film about surfing whose review I subtitled as "Endless Summer - Aussie Style". In fact one of Drift's most captivating elements was a song called "Endless Summer" sung over the final credits by the Australian band The Jezabels (I highly recommend the tune, even if the "official" music video uploaded to YouTube is beyond bizarre.) Windrider could have arguably used a bit of the Jezabels' energy, both melodic and lyric, since it offers Kidman as a would be rock star named Jade. She's firmly in the 80s female pop rock tradition of someone like Pat Benatar, though the film only occasionally offers glimpses of Jade either at work in the recording studio or at local clubs.

Much as with Drift or indeed virtually any sports related film you can probably think of, Windrider deals with a terrifically talented aficionado of a certain activity (in this case windsurfing, of course) who confronts both family disapproval of his avocation as well as other obstacles, including romantic, to finally overcome all odds and triumph spectacularly. That’s really the gist of Windrider, give or take a few passing subplots, and the film trots out the tale of Stewart Simpson (Tom Burlinson), who goes by the nickname PC (Jade pointedly asks at one point if it stands of “piece of crap”, which may suggest he’s missing an “o”). PC works for his mega wealthy father, also named Stewart Simpson (Bud Tingwell), at some kind of engineering firm. (One of the film’s funnier moments has the prehaps presciently nicknamed PC excited about a new “laser printer” he’s developing.) But as the film quickly documents, PC is less interested in developing anything other than his windsurfing chops.

PC is out enjoying some hang time on the gorgeous Australian coast when Jade leaves a recording session and is walking along the beach and catches sight of him performing some pretty amazing looking stunts (it sure looks like Burlinson is doing at least some of his own windsurfing, though perhaps not some of the more outrageous stuff, which is often shot at quite a distance). PC runs out of the water after doing a kind of loop-the-loop in midair, and wants a little confirmation from Jade, but she mysteriously disappears. That then sets a probably needless course of events into motion as he searches for her, finally catching a music video of hers on a bar television. Meanwhile, his “adventures” at his father’s company take center stage, as his desire for something more than an office job creates at least a bit of friction.

There's absolutely nothing here that is going to surprise any fan of this type of film, and the performances are generally quite genial. The film's humor is kind of hit or miss, as frankly is some of the drama, but the entire outing is so scenic that it really doesn't matter as much as it might have in less exotic locations. Windrider may never make Kidman's career "demo reel", but she's quite spunky throughout and provides a nice counterpart to the equally energetic Burlinson.

Windrider Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Windrider is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD Visual's MVD Rewind imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. MVD Rewind's documentation simply states that this is a "new HD digital transfer", and while there is a lot to like about the appearance of this presentation, there are also a few issues that may concern some ardent videophiles. On the plus side, the palette is really beautifully suffused almost all of the time, providing incredibly rich blues in the skies and seas on display, as well as at least relatively more subdued tones like Kidman's kind of auburn tresses. (Some of the interior footage, notably some of the office material, can look a bit faded and skewed toward brown occasionally.) Detail levels are generally very good to excellent as well, and there is no sign of any artificial filtering or sharpening. All of that said, the element used does show fairly recurrent damage, some of it quite small in terms of flecks or specks (look at the white speck on the clock radio in screenshot 12 for an example of the kind of minor thing that can be spotted with some regularity). However, starting at around 32:41 and continuing off and on for a few more seconds, there's some pretty significant damage along the left side of the image where it looks like the actual element was torn and there are sections of the frame on the left side that are actually missing, sometimes with a kind of "ragged edge" showing. There are also a couple of kind of odd density issues, including what almost look like vertical dark lines protruding from the top of a weather vane that is utilized in a couple of interstitial shots. Grain generally looks organic, but is frequently on the coarse side. For those who can tolerate and/or overlook some of these passing anomalies, Windrider should provide at least an acceptable viewing experience.

Windrider Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Windrider features an LPCM 2.0 mono track that quite capably supports both dialogue and the often tune filled score. There's actually a kind of raucous ambience to some of the source cues (including Jade's would be "hit") and the music sounds clear and bright, without any hints of distortion or clipping. Ambient environmental sounds are rendered with sufficient energy, especially in some of the POV shots out on the ocean, and dialogue is always presented cleanly and clearly, though I personally wouldn't have minded the amplitude of the entire track to have been boosted a bit.

Windrider Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with director Vince Monton and writer Everett De Roche


• Music Promo (480p; 1:09) features Nicole Kidman as Jade.


• Young Days Music Promo Video (480p; 1:36) plays to scenes from the film and features pretty ragged video quality.


• Windsurfing Promo (480p; 2:44) is an archival piece showing people enjoying the sport.


• Photo Gallery (480p; 1:21)


• Trailers includes Windrider (480p; 00:26) along with several other MVD Rewind offerings.

Windrider Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Windrider is no forgotten or overlooked classic, but it's generally quite amiable and coasts along (no pun intended) courtesy of some really splendid location photography. MVD Rewind continues to release a rather interesting array of cult items, and those who like surfing (wind or otherwise) may find this an agreeable enough time killer. Video encounters some problems but audio is generally fine if a little anemic sounding at times, for those considering a purchase.