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Big Wednesday
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Big Wednesday | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical Poster |
|
| Directed by | John Milius |
| Produced by | Buzz Feitshans |
| Written by | John Milius Dennis Aaberg |
| Narrated by | Robert Englund |
| Starring | Jan-Michael Vincent William Katt Gary Busey |
| Music by | Basil Poledouris |
| Cinematography | Bruce Surtees |
| Editing by | Carroll Timothy O'Meara Robert L. Wolfe |
| Distributed by | Warner Brothers |
| Release date(s) | May 26, 1978 |
| Running time | 120 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $11,000,000 |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Big Wednesday is an American 1978 coming of age film directed by John Milius.[1]
The picture stars Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt and Gary Busey as California surfers facing life, the Vietnam War, and use of the ever changing surf as a metaphor for the changes in life.
Surfing aficionados consider it to be one of the best surfing-related films ever made, in part because of the outstanding surfing cinematography and the appearance of several world champion surfers as stunt performers, plus its verisimilitude, especially when compared to the kitschy 1960s Beach Party films. Milius had been a surfer in his youth.[2]
The film also examines the extremes which some young men went to during the Vietnam years to avoid being drafted and shipped off to war, including: faking insanity, homosexuality and all manner of medical ailments. The film also illustrates the tough decision some made to enlist.
Contents |
The film tells the story of three young friends whose passion for life is surfing. The friends include: Matt (Jan-Michael Vincent) a self-destructive and has a devil-may-care attitude; Jack Barlowe (William Katt), the calm and responsible one of the bunch; and Leroy "The Masochist" Smith (Gary Busey).
Their surfing lives are traced from the summer of 1962 to draft-dodging in 1965, and to the end of innocence in 1968 when one of their friends dies in Vietnam. The three make the difficult transition to adulthood with parties, surf trips, marriage, and Vietnam.
The friends reunite years later, after Barlowe has served time in Vietnam, for the "Great Swell of '74."
Tagline: A day will come that is like no other...and nothing that happens after will ever be the same.
The film premiered in wide release in the United States on May 26, 1978.
The picture was screened at various film festivals, including: the Davao City Film Festival, Philippines; the Turin Film Festival, Italy; and others.
Raised in Southern California, Milius made Big Wednesday as an homage to the time he spent in Malibu during his youth.
The surfing scenes used in the finale to Big Wednesday were not filmed in California, where the film is set. The filming of large surf conditions used in Big Wednesday were actually done at the famous Sunset Beach, located at Pupukea, Hawaii.
Other locations include: El Paso, Texas; Hollister Ranch, Santa Barbara; Surfrider Beach, Malibu; Ventura, California; all in the United States.
The was received mixed reviews by the film critics.
Critic Janet Maslin, writing for The New York Times, did not like the screenplay nor the performances of the actors. She wrote, "The surprise is not that Mr. Milius has made such a resoundingly awful film, but rather that he's made a bland one...the movie often seems even more uneventful than material like this need make it, and Mr. Milius's attention to his actors focuses more closely on their pectorals than on their performances. He encourages such stiffness in his players that Barbara Hale, for instance, is quite unconvincing as Mr. Katt's mother. This is a faux pas of no mean eminence; after all, Miss Hale actually is Mr. Katt's mother."[3]
| Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Australia: | M |
| Finland: | K-16 |
| Iceland: | 12 |
| Norway: | 16 |
| Singapore: | PG |
| United Kingdom: | PG |
| United States: | PG |
- Jan-Michael Vincent as Matt Johnson
- William Katt as Jack Barlowe
- Gary Busey as Leroy "The Masochist" Smith
- Patti D'Arbanville as Sally
- Lee Purcell as Peggy Gordon
- Sam Melville as Bear
- Darrell Fetty as Waxer
- Gerry Lopez as Himself
- Hank Worden as Shopping Cart
- Joe Spinell as Psychologist
- Steve Kanaly as Sally's Husband
- Barbara Hale as Mrs. Barlow
- Fran Ryan as Lucy
- Dennis Aaberg as Slick
- Reb Brown as Enforcer
- Arthur Rosenberg as Official
- Janet Julian as Party girl
- Charlene Tilton as Party girl
- Frank McRae as Sergeant
- Perry Lang as Tall kid
- Michael Talbott as Hog
- Robert Englund as Narrator, Fly
- Keith Davis as Ostrich
Nominations
- Awards of the Japanese Academy: Award of the Japanese Academy Best Foreign Language Film; 1980.
- ^ Big Wednesday at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Borte, Jason. Surfline web site, film review, October 2000.
- ^ Maslin, Janet. The New York Times, film review, "Big Wednesday Gets Caught in Some Rough Surf:Buddyhood of Surfing," July 28, 1978.