{{Short description|1971 American documentary film by Bruce Brown}} {{distinguish|Any Given Sunday{{!}}''Any Given Sunday''}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = On Any Sunday | caption = Theatrical release poster | image = On Any Sunday FilmPoster.jpeg | director = Bruce Brown | producer = Bruce Brown<br/>Steve McQueen<br>Robert Bagley | writer = Bruce Brown | starring = Steve McQueen<br/>Mert Lawwill<br />Malcolm Smith<br/>Paul Carruthers | narrator = Bruce Brown | music = Dominic Frontiere | cinematography = Robert E. Collins<br>Bruce Brown | editing = Bruce Brown<br/>Brian King | distributor = Cinema 5 | released = {{Film date|1971}} | runtime = 96 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $313,000 | gross = $1.2 million<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/americanfilmdist0000dona/page/297/mode/1up|title= American film distribution : the changing marketplace|last=Donahue|first= Suzanne Mary|year=1987 |publisher=UMI Research Press |page=297|isbn= 978-0-8357-1776-2}} Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada</ref> }}
'''''On Any Sunday''''' is a 1971 American documentary film about motorcycle sport, directed by Bruce Brown. It was nominated for a 1972 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.<ref name="NY Times">[https://web.archive.org/web/20121014035102/https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/158985/On-Any-Sunday/details NY Times: On Any Sunday.] ''The New York Times'' via Internet Archive. Archived October 14, 2012.</ref><ref name="Oscars1972">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1972 |title=The 44th Academy Awards (1972) Nominees and Winners |access-date=June 9, 2019|work=oscars.org|date=5 October 2014 }}</ref> Brown tried to show the unique talents needed for the different forms of racing. For instance, the motocross riders were typically free-spirited types, while desert racers were often loners. In Grand National racing, Brown showed widely differing personalities, such as the business-like approach to racing displayed by Mert Lawwill versus the carefree approach that David Aldana became known for.<ref name="Bruce Brown">{{cite web|title=On Any Sunday|publisher=Bruce Brown Films, LLC|url=http://www.brucebrownfilms.com/sunday.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121025610/http://www.brucebrownfilms.com/sunday.htm|archive-date=2013-01-21}}</ref>
In addition to Lawwill, Steve McQueen is featured in the film, along with Malcolm Smith and many other motorcycle racers from the late 1960s and early 1970s.
==Production== The film was financially backed, in part, by McQueen<ref name="ebert">{{cite news|title=On Any Sunday|publisher=Chicago Sun-Times|author=Ebert, Roger|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/on-any-sunday-1971}}</ref> through his "Solar Productions company," which received credit in the final seconds of the film. Some of the more dramatic shots were extreme closeup slow-motion segments of the Grand National races. From his surfing movie days, Brown was used to working with super telephoto lenses. The budget didn't allow the expense of high-speed cameras, so Brown improvised by using 24-volt batteries in the 12-volt film cameras. The result was a makeshift high-speed camera. Brown also used a helmet camera on some of the riders, which had not been widely attempted previously due to the bulk of film cameras of the day.
Regarding his filming method, Brown said:
<blockquote>At times I'd have a particular shot in mind. For example, I wanted to shoot a muddy motocross race and show the riders with mud all over them. First you have to be at a motocross race when it rains, then you have to find a good location to shoot. We tried and tried to get a shot with a rider caked with mud. We finally did get the shot, but for a while it seemed like we never would.</blockquote>
At one point, Brown found a perfect location for a sunset beach riding shot—Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
<blockquote>I figured there would be no way to get approval to film on the Marine base," Brown recalls. "Steve McQueen said he'd see what he could find out. The next day he called and was told to contact some General and the next thing you know we are shooting the beach sequences. It was pretty amazing the doors he was able to open.<ref name="Bruce Brown"/></blockquote>
==Critical reception== Roger Ebert says it "does for motorcycle racing what ''The Endless Summer'' did for surfing". Ebert praises the film's high level of artistry in accomplishing the impressive footage of motorcycle races (which he says are difficult to film), and he also credits the film for not bothering viewers with the technical details of how the filming was done.<ref name="ebert" />
==Impact== During the opening sequence, children are seen riding their bicycles on a dirt track, in imitation of motorcyclists. Thanks to this scene, ''On Any Sunday'' is thought to have popularized BMX biking across America; previously it had only been observed in Southern California.<ref>{{cite book|title=Famous Firsts|author=Rompella, Natalie|isbn=978-1-897073-55-1|year=2007|publisher=Lobster Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bc-_uWnoZWwC&q=%22On+Any+Sunday%22+motorcycle&pg=PT37|page=34}}</ref> Brown himself also believed the film changed public perception of motorcycle racers from "bad guys" (as depicted in popular films like ''The Wild One'') to popular heroes.<ref name="Bruce Brown"/>
Malcolm Smith credits his appearance in ''On Any Sunday'' with giving him the worldwide recognition that enabled him to become a leading entrepreneur in the off-road motorcycling business.<ref name="Bruce Brown"/>
Several follow-ups to the film were produced: * ''On Any Sunday II'' (1981), starring Bob Hannah and Larry Huffman * ''On Any Sunday: Revisited'' (2000), by Dana Brown * ''On Any Sunday: Motocross, Malcolm, & More'' (2001), by Dana Brown * ''On Any Sunday, The Next Chapter'' (2014), by Dana Brown
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|0067527|On Any Sunday}} * {{TCMDb title|id=411622}} * {{AFI film|54104}} * {{discogs master|671620}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090626230423/http://www.hulu.com/watch/79438/on-any-sunday ''On Any Sunday'' at Hulu]
Category:American auto racing films Category:American sports documentary films Category:Motocross films Category:Films scored by Dominic Frontiere Category:Films directed by Bruce Brown Category:Documentary films about auto racing Category:1971 documentary films Category:1971 English-language films Category:1971 American films Category:English-language documentary films