Big Wednesday (1978)

Director:

John Milius

Writers:

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

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 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]
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:

Anachronisms: During the 1962 party at Jack's house, his mother is reading the book 'Catch-22', a book first published in 1961. However, the copy she is reading is an edition that had not yet been printed. The photo of author Joseph Heller on the back of the jacket is clearly from years later than 1962.

Quotes:

Narrator, Fly: Stay casual, Barlow.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Point Break (1991)

Soundtrack:

What'd I Say

Classic.

This is a great film. I won't say that everyone would like it, because there is always someone who will hate it. But I love this movie and cannot imagine hating it. I watch it again and again, mostly for Jack who is wonderful in his personality and development. I can't rate this highly enough. The surfing scenes are spectacular, and watching the characters slowly mature and try to cope with life as an adult is always worth watching. Seeing Matt in particular struggle with his unwanted hero status and seeing his friends grow up, move away or die is really something to see. What he would have done without the capable, beautiful, indefatigable Peggy is anyone's guess. However, I must say that you either get it or you don't.