Bruce Brown's motorcycle race documentary 'On Any Sunday' is screened at the American Film Institute campus in Beverly Hills, California.
'On Any Sunday' featured Steve McQueen (who partially bankrolled the flick), AMA Grand National Champion Mert Lawwill, Baja racing legend Malcolm Smith, Motocross World Champion Roger DeCoster and many other motorcycle racers from the late 1960's and early 1970's.
The film's real stars are the machines. Really cool footage of some great motorcycles that include Triumph, Husqvarna, Suzuki, Harley Davidson, BSA, Yamaha, Hodaka and Bultaco.
The following is from TCM Side notes...
"...according to the July 1971 Variety review, Brown spent two years filming the picture, shooting nearly 150 hours of footage. In a 1999 interview, Brown stated that the film was shot in 16mm at a cost of $330,000. A 1974 news item in Box Office adds that the film, which was released in 35mm, grossed $10,000,000. Brown noted that after completing the film, which utilized twelve cameraman to capture the various races, he realized he could have filmed it much more efficiently using a single camera and shooting much less footage. The July 1971 Hollywood Reporter review stated that the film was originally to be released on June 30, 1971, but was recalled for final editing. According to the Variety review, the film was screened at the American Film Institute campus (then in Beverly Hills) on July 12, 1971, two days before its Los Angeles opening. The LAHExam review noted that, when the film opened in Los Angeles, it was played with an intermission.
'On Any Sunday' was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary. The June 1974 Box Office news item noted that Yamaha motorcycles advanced $3,000,000 to reissue the film, which was to play in forty area theaters and be promoted by Roger Riddell, one of the riders in the film and a friend of McQueen and Brown. In 1981, Riddell and Don Shoemaker, who edited 'On Any Sunday' and served as one of the film's photographers, made a sequel titled 'On Any Sunday II', directed by Ed Forsyth. 'Dust to Glory', a 2005 film depicting the Baja 1000 off-road race, was written and directed by Bruce Brown's son Dana and included some archival footage from 'On Any Sunday'. A modern source includes David Evans in the cast.
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