Big Wednesday (1978)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

John Milius

Writers:

John Milius (written by) &
Dennis Aaberg (written by)

Release Date:

May 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Three friends. Twelve Turbulent Years. And One Day We All Must Face.

Plot:

The lives of some California surfers from the early '60s to the '70s. |

Plot Keywords:

Surfer | California | Surfing | Army | Draft Board

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jan-Michael Vincent	...	Matt Johnson
William Katt	...	Jack Barlow
Gary Busey	...	Leroy Smith
Patti D'Arbanville	...	Sally Jacobson
Lee Purcell	...	Peggy Gordon
Sam Melville	...	Bear
Darrell Fetty	...	Jim 'Waxer' King
Gerry Lopez	...	Himself
Hank Worden	...	Shopping Cart Fisherman (as Hank Warden)
Joe Spinell	...	Army Psychologist
Steve Kanaly	...	Jacobson - Sally's Husband
Barbara Hale	...	Mrs. Barlow
Fran Ryan	...	Lucy
Dennis Aaberg	...	Slick
Reb Brown	...	Enforcer

Also Known As:

Summer of Innocence
Amargo Reencontro (Brazil) (TV title) [pt]
Den stora dagen (Sweden) [sv]
El gran miércoles (Spain) [es]
Nagy szerda (Hungary) [hu]
Tag der Entscheidung (West Germany) [de]
Teenagers (Greece) [el]
Un mercoledì da leoni (Italy) [it]
Villit vuodet (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | USA:PG | Singapore:PG | Norway:16 | UK:A | UK:PG | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Banzai Pipeline, Ehukai Beach Park, O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company:

A-Team

Trivia:

The role of the "Enforcer" was loosely based on longtime Malibu icon and waterman Ray Kunze who looked out for John Milus (director) and Dennis Aaberg (co-writer) in the late 50's.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): During the party scene a girl screams "Waxer, no!" when another character, Crusher, not Waxer, attacks her.

Quotes:

Narrator, Fly: Stay casual, Barlow.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "High Chaparall: (#2.5)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Three Friends Theme

A classic movie... the best surf movie of all times

A movie about surf, friendship and the hardness in growing up.

The movie has great surf pictures, great surfers (Gerry Lopez himself), it has a beautiful script and was very well directed.

I think this movie is already a classic for surfers and non-surfers... ;-)

I watch the movie in VHS long ago, and i´m waiting for the DVD (next month)