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| Big Wednesday [1978] | ![Big Wednesday [1978]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51EKRV9NQJL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: John Milius
Actors: Jan-michael Vincent, William Katt, Gary Busey, Patti D'arbanville, Lee Purcell
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: £12.99
Buy New: £5.47
You Save: £7.52 (58%)
Buy New/Used from £5.47
Avg. Customer Rating:  (14 reviews)
Sales Rank: 7297
Format: Pal
Languages: English (Original Language), Italian (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired), English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Italian (Subtitled), German (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), Arabic (Subtitled), Dutch (Subtitled), Romanian (Subtitled)
Rating: Parental Guidance
Media: DVD
Running Time: 114 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 7321900111829
ASIN: B000092WD5
Release Date: June 1, 2006
Theatrical Release Date: May 1978
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
John Milius charts a decade of social change as three surfing buddies use the sport as a personal touchstone for their lives whilst growing up in the turbulent 1960s. Irresponsible hot-dogging legend Matt (Jan-Michael Vincent),serious and stable Jack (William Katt) and mad misfit Leroy, aka "Masochist" (Gary Busey), are teenage surf bums in 1963, living at the beach in a perpetual summer under the sway of surfboard-maker Bear (Sam Melville), guru, mentor, and keeper of the lore. But times are changing and boys grow up in the shadow of Vietnam while adulthood pushes them into hard decisions. John Milius mixes the nostalgia of IAmerican Graffiti/I with the reverence of a John Ford cavalry drama. Surfing becomes a kind of spiritual quest spoken of in awed mythic tones and photographed with the epic grandeur of a rite of passage. Milius's heavy-handed direction andr everent attitude slows the films and will turn off some viewers but Milius fans will appreciate his macho stylings and philosophical musings, and surfing fans will love the spectacular surfing footage, including the dazzling stylings of world champion Gerry Lopez (who Milius later cast in IConan the Barbarian/I). Lee Purcell costars as Matt's supportive wife, with Patti D'Arbanville, Barbara Hale and Robert Englund in supporting roles. Look for Ford stock player Hank Worden in a small role and Milius himself in a cameo role selling marijuana in Tijuana. I--Sean Axmaker/I
Amazon.co.uk Review
John Milius charts a decade of social change in IBig Wednesday/I as three surfing buddies use surfing as a personal touchstone for their lives while growing up in the turbulent 1960s. Irresponsible hot-dogging legend Matt (Jan-Michael Vincent), serious and stable Jack (William Katt), and mad misfit Leroy, aka "Masochist" (Gary Busey), are teenage surf bums in 1963, living at the beach in a perpetual summer under the sway of surfboard-maker Bear (Sam Melville), guru, mentor, and keeper of the lore. But the times they are a changin' and boys grow up in the shadow of Vietnam while adulthood pushes them into hard decisions. p John Milius mixes the nostalgia of IAmerican Graffiti/I with the reverence of a John Ford cavalry drama. Surfing becomes a kind of spiritual quest spoken of in awed mythic tones and photographed with the epic grandeur of a rite of passage. Milius' heavy-handed direction and reverent attitude slows the films and will turn off some viewers, but the director's fans will appreciate his macho attitudes and philosophical musings, and surfing fans will love the spectacular surfing footage, including the dazzling stylings of world champion Gerry Lopez (whom Milius later cast in IConan the Barbarian/I). Lee Purcell costars as Matt's supportive wife, with Patti D'Arbanville, Barbara Hale, and Robert Englund in supporting roles. Look for Ford stock player Hank Worden in a small role and Milius himself in a cameo selling marijuana in Tijuana. --ISean Axmaker/I
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
A "bombed" masterpiece August 12, 2008
When I first saw this film on release in 1978, many of the critics had panned it with several observing that it was only interesting when in the water, given surfing is its main excitement and the movie subsequently bombed. Looked at again 30 years later (I have in fact seen it several times in between given the cult status it enjoys in UK fringe cinemas), the film's time horizon of mid 1960s to early 1970s following a surfing mad group growing up is nowhere as bad as those critics may have indicated. br /br /Named after the fact that most big surfing swells over the years have occurred on Wednesday, the film by using the surfing culture provides an excellent snapshot of a group of Californian teenagers maturing across the late 1960s and facing up to their changing responsibilities, with its keen observations along the way on the tension with the later hippy movement and the indirect impact of the Vietnam War and its draft on people's lives. br /br /None of the three lead actors (two actual surfers and Gary Busey as the "Masochist" in gonzo mode) were going to be Oscar contenders based on this outing but what makes the performances succeed is the quality of the ensemble playing. The director co-written script given John Milius's other writing credits is a bit clunky in parts (especially the lead personal relationships and the father figure of "Bear"), but since Milius was a surfer from a very young age, he admits in the recent interview included in this Anniversary DVD that it is a very personal movie and an amalgam of many different characters he knew from those days.br /br /Sure the film's surfing scenes still look fantastic 30 years on, especially in widescreen format. The accompanying short Milius interview and his Director commentary (which because of its conversational style works well in conveying his enthusiasm for the subject as well as including lots of personal observations and stories) also makes you realise the difficulties and dangers that were faced in the location shooting of such footage. br /br /Yes, one suspects as has already been seen over the last 30 years that this little gem while bombing on initial release will outlast many other over hyped movies of the same period. This is not just just because of its surfing community following but because it is a lot closer to depicting how it actually was for many in those times.br /br / br /br / br /br /
The end of summer... August 27, 2006
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Even if you're not into surfing, you'll find Big Wednesday a treat. Its ambience is almost a stripped down American Graffiti, also dealing in that film's nostalgia but presenting a more moving, tighter story. Shot through the nostalgia is an elegiac voiceover and grace notes such as the surfing hero of the previous decade becoming forgotten by the present crop of Surfers. It's not downbeat though with a witty truth to the writing and a livewire Gary Busey performance. Events begin to pull friendships apart and Vietnam interrupts the freewheeling lives, the only hope to rekindle youthful spirit and vigour is the dream of the ultimate wave ... the Big Wednesday.
Big Wednesday- Big any day you watch it! April 8, 2006
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I first saw this film twenty one years ago, since then I have worked my way through 3 videos and am on my first copy of it on dvd. The nearest I ever got to surfing was some UK boardsailing and dipping my toes into the Pacific at Waddell Creek Beach but this movie strikes a chord deep within each time I watch it. I don't know if it's possible but if Milius could produce a director's cut incorporating all the discarded footage I would certainly sit through it regardless of its length. A Tour De Force it certainly is. By the way the CD is pretty good too.
The Ultimate Surf Movie July 24, 2004
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
There maybe more and more radical surfing on out and out surf vids but for a surf movie (ie one with a story) this is street ahead of everything else.
Elegiac vision of those lost summers March 25, 2004
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
We can all identify with one of the cypher characters in Milius' deeply affectionate portrait of lost youth. One of the film's main achievements is it's ability to make the viewer nostalgic for a time that never realy existed for most of them. We all think we can remember summers that echo those in Big Wednesday. This a beautifully shot movie, the leads underplay thier roles and give space to the main star - the sea and the smell of hot sand on a summer's day. This movie deserves reappraisal as a minor classic of it's time.
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