On Any Sunday, The Next Chapter | UP TO SPEED

What motorcyclist doesn't smile upon hearing those lyrics, announcing the first scene of On Any Sunday, the iconic documentary that introduced a generation—make that multiple generations—to the singular joy of the motorcycle life? Dana Brown was just 11 years old when his father, Bruce, filmed the original On Any Sunday, and although he has since become an accomplished director himself (the equally iconic surf documentary Step Into Liquid and epic Baja 1000 documentary Dust to Glory are both his credits), the motorcycle movie remained close to his heart. Now, 43 years after the original release, Dana Brown has tackled the challenge of telling the next chapter of the On Any Sunday saga. Here he talks to us about the pitfalls—and pleasures—of reopening the legendary franchise.

MOTORCYCLIST: How do you work up the courage to tackle a project like this? On Any Sunday is sacred to a lot of people.

DANA BROWN: No kidding! Red Bull Media House called me about a sequel to* On Any Sunday*, and I was like, why don't we just do a motorcycle movie and not call it On Any Sunday? I wanted to call it On Next Sunday, as a homage, to avoid the inevitable comparisons, but Red Bull insisted. It wasn't until dad said, "I think it's time to do another On Any Sunday," that I said, "Okay, let's do it."

MC: In what ways is this film similar to the first? And how is it different?

DB: The original is a timeless blueprint. As far as storytelling, we use more talking heads—technology didn’t allow that back then. The biggest difference is that the motorcycle world has changed so much. There are so many more types of riding and racing, so we cover a broader spectrum, including customizing with Roland Sands. On the other hand, the heart and soul of the sport, this passion that bonds people who are often misunderstood by the outside public, remains the same.

MC: Who are the stars this time?

DB: We followed Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa on the MotoGP tour. That’s the big-money side of the story. At the other end is Carlin Dunne, who is kind of our Malcolm Smith. Carlin is a really accomplished racer but not a professional, which I thought didn’t exist in this day and age. He won Pikes Peak on an electric bike, he raced at Bonneville, and we were right there for all of it. The scenes with Robbie Maddison are so interesting too. He’s almost Zen-like but, on the other hand, a total nut-job with his big jumps.

MC: Were the current-generation riders familiar with the original film?

DB: Yes! Travis Pastrana even sings the theme song to me! I was surprised, even on the MotoGP circuit, how much credibility the original On Any Sunday carried. People were like, “C’mon in and do whatever you want.” They trusted us to make it a positive thing, to show them as ordinary guys doing extraordinary things.

MC: Do you have a favorite scene?

DB: I love the scenes with Travis and Doug Henry, Travis’ boyhood idol. You can’t direct charisma and friendship like that. I love the Pikes Peak thing, too, because that was such a shot in the dark. It started raining, and the team had never even tested the bike in the rain. Carlin’s like, “Can it electrocute me?” and Richard Hatfield, the team owner, goes, “Well, yeah, it could...” You couldn’t script the look on Carlin’s face!

RELEASE DATE: July 28, 1971

DIRECTOR: Bruce Brown

STARS: Steve McQueen (who partially financed the film), Mert Lawwill, Malcolm Smith, J.N. Roberts

UNCREDITED CAMEO: A young Jeff Ward, riding an endless wheelie on a Honda Z50

TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS: Brown used 24-volt batteries in 12-volt cameras to create a makeshift high-speed camera for the close-up slow-motion segments of flat-track racing.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM: Roger Ebert said, "It does for motorcycle racing what The Endless Summer did for surfing;" Nominated for a 1972 Academy Award