Big Wednesday (1978)

Director:

John Milius

Writers:

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

Release Date:

May 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Sport

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' (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
Robert Englund	...	Narrator, Fly
Keith Davis	...	Ostrich
Johnny Fain	...	Breathman
Rick Dano	...	Panhead
Michael Talbott	...	Hog
Geoff Parks	...	Crusher
Ivar Arai	...	Boogie
Titus Napoleon	...	Chubby
Frank McRae	...	Sergeant
Perry Lang	...	Tall Kid
Michael Raden	...	Denny (as Mike Raden)
Pat Beckwith	...	Flea
Kathy McCullen	...	Party Girl #1
Charlene Tilton	...	Party Girl #2
Terry Bolo	...	Party Girl #3
Kevan Dignam	...	Party Girl #4
Sherry Lee Marks	...	Party Girl #5
Cindy Daly	...	Party Girl #6
Lynn Theel	...	Party Girl #7
Janet Julian	...	Party Girl #8 (as Janet Johnson)
Lorie Busk	...	Melissa (1973)
Jack Bernardi	...	Tailor
Gray Frederickson	...	Doctor
Arthur Rosenberg	...	Official
Stephen Mendillo	...	Orderly
Aesop Aquarian	...	Hippie
Guy Larry Finley	...	Surfer #1
Richard O'Bryan	...	Surfer #2
Todd Lookinland	...	Surfer #3 (as Todd Lookingland)
Gary Boyle	...	Surfer #4
Sascha Jensen	...	Surfer #5 (as Sasha Jensen)
Christopher Woods	...	Lifeguard
Jimmy Bracken	...	Kid Surfer
Kevin Schultz	...	Surfer
Stacy Keach Sr.	...	Old Man
Iris Korn	...	Old Woman
Ollie O'Toole	...	Minister
Celia Kaye	...	Bride of the Bear
Clete Roberts	...	Minor Role
Herb Voland	...	Minor Role
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Milius	...	Marijuana dealer in Tijuana (uncredited)
Richard O'Neal	...	Veteran surfer (uncredited)
Marty Thomas	...	Pipeline Seth (uncredited)
Dana Winseman	...	Induction Ctr. Elevator Operator (uncredited)
Robert S. Woods	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
John Milius

Writing credits
John Milius		(written by) &
Dennis Aaberg		(written by)
Joel Chernoff		uncredited

Produced by
Tamara Asseyev	....	executive producer
Buzz Feitshans	....	producer
Greg MacGillivray	....	producer: surfing sequence
Alexandra Rose	....	executive producer (as Alex Rose)

Original Music by
Basil Poledouris

Cinematography by
Bruce Surtees

Film Editing by
Carroll Timothy O'Meara		(as Tim O'Meara)
Robert L. Wolfe

Casting by
Karen Rea		(as Karen Rea Grossman)

Production Design by
Charles Rosen

Art Direction by
Dean Edward Mitzner		(as Dean Mitzner)

Set Decoration by
Ira Bates

Makeup Department
Jack H. Young	....	makeup artist (as Jack Young)

Production Management
Joel Chernoff	....	executive in charge of production
John G. Wilson	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard Hashimoto	....	first assistant director
Victor Hsu	....	second assistant director
Terry Leonard	....	second unit director
Bill Scott	....	second assistant director

Sound Department
Marvin I. Kosberg	....	sound effects editor
Harlan Riggs	....	sound mixer
Josef von Stroheim	....	sound effects editor (as Joe von Stroheim)

Special Effects by
Joseph A. Unsinn	....	special effects (as Joe Unsinn)

Visual Effects by
Harrison Ellenshaw	....	matte artist (as P.S. Ellenshaw)

Stunts
Ian Cairns	....	surfing double
Jackie Dunn	....	surfing double
Richard Epper	....	stunt performer
Bill Hamilton	....	surfing double
Bruce Raymond	....	stunt performer
J. Riddle	....	surfing double
Peter Townend	....	surfing double
Denny Arnold	....	stunts (uncredited)
Diamond Farnsworth	....	stunts (uncredited)
Thomas Rosales Jr.	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Mike Chevalier	....	camera operator: second unit
Thomas Del Ruth	....	camera operator
George Greenough	....	camera operator: special water photography
Ron Grover	....	still photographer
Dan Merkel	....	camera operator: special water photography
Michael Simpson	....	assistant camera
Ty Suehiro	....	grip

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ann Gray Lambert	....	wardrobe
Bill Milton	....	wardrobe
Mary Lou Reinbold	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Arthur W. Forney	....	assistant editor
Carol Ann Jackson	....	assistant editor
Steve Johnson	....	colorist

Music Department
Greig McRitchie	....	orchestrator
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer

Other crew
Bud Browne	....	surfing photography consultant
Roger C. Brown	....	surfing photography consultant (as Roger Brown)
Greg MacGillivray	....	producer surfing sequences
Kathy Orloff	....	unit publicist
Jonathan Paskowitz	....	surf instructor
Paul Pav	....	location manager
Mary Ellen Trainor	....	production assistant
Spyder Wills	....	surfing photography consultant

Production Companies

• A-Team

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1978) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1985) (USA) (TV) (pan-scan)
• Warner Home Video (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)

Also Known As:

Summer of Innocence
Amargo Reencontro (Brazil) (TV title) [pt]
Den stora dagen (Sweden) [sv]
El gran miércoles (Spain) [es]
Graffiti Party (France) [fr]
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 in geography: Right after the scene where Matt is talking to Bear on the pier the night before 'Big Wednesday', they show the sunrise of the next morning, with the sun just coming up over the horizon. The horizon, however, is the Pacific ocean, and if the sun was in that position, it would be setting, not rising.

Quotes:

[Waxer pretends to be homosexual to avoid being drafted]
Sergeant: Are you a homosexual?
Waxer: Well, I guess I am. I wrote it down, "Homosexual Tendencies: Yes." Yes.
Sergeant: Well, you're just gonna love it in the United States Army. There's lots of men there. And they get real close in foxholes and tanks, and in combat. Get him out of here and process him in the Marine Corps.
Waxer: If you send me to Vietnam, I'll just die.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "High Chaparall: (#2.7)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

What'd I Say

Awesome

I first saw this film in 1978, my father took me to see it with my brothers at the drive-in as a double feature with "Every Which Way But Loose." It's a movie that I have never forgotten. It combines brilliantly heart gripping surfing action, heart wrenching emotions, and heart uplifting humour, all set against the back-drop of the Vietnam War, teenagers growing up, the wisdom of elders (Bear) and of course, the surfing.

I've never surfed a minute of my entire life (although whenever I watch this, I feel like I should), so don't think of this as a "surf movie". It simply is an excellent piece of cinematic history that you will feel you missed on if you never see it.

Recommended with 2 thumbs way way way up.