Opening

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Big Wednesday (1978)

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No Reviews Yet...

Release Date: Jan 4, 1978 Wide

audience

84

liked it
Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 5,754

My Rating

Movie Info

Jan-Michael Vincent plays a self-destructive beach bum to whom surfing is a Zen experience. We first meet Vincent in the devil-may-care 1960s, in the company of his carefree buddies William Katt and Gary Busey. The boys reunite ten years later, after one has served time in Vietnam. The beach is still there, the waves still break upon the shore, and towards the end of the film, the characters become people that we truly care about. Barbara Hale, the real-life mother of costar William Katt, makes

PG,

Drama, Comedy

John Milius, Dennis Aaberg

Jul 9, 2002

Warner Home Video

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All Critics (13) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (8) | Rotten (3) | DVD (10)

Remains noteworthy as a cult film.

July 14, 2011 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Ambitious in goal, John Millius' tale suffers from an inconsistent tone, trying to be elegiac, nostalgic, and mythical in depicting the impact of Vietnam and aging on a clique of three surfers between 1962 and 1974 but the acting and imagery are good.

July 5, 2005 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com
EmanuelLevy.Com

Imparts quintessential elements of the male psyche more persuasively than Milius' other gung-ho action pictures

January 1, 2000 Full Review
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Audience Reviews for Big Wednesday

I did not quite find the same nostalgic feel which this very uneven film aimed for. John Milius might be known better as a writer in Hollywood and his Big Wednesday is a further proof of that as a filmmaker he is below average and lacks a style of his own.
This story, which centers on three surfer friends and their experiences from early 60's to 70's, is so full of corny acting (watch out for Gary Busey and his oiled body!) and aimless moments that it just becomes boring as hell to sit through. In the final third Milius tries very hard to make this something larger than life as a film but fails miserably. The last hour and a half is just flat out boring to watch and leaves no impression of anykind.
While this might not be as disgusting as other films by Milius, it still is flawed attempt to make an cult film about surfing with macho-posing.
October 30, 2012
emilkakko

Super Reviewer

3 buddy matt, jack, and leroy(jan-michael vincent, william katt, and gary busey)who surfer and the life from 1960's to 1970's. wow robert englund(who play freddy krueger in "a nightmare on elm street" series)early role.
February 8, 2009
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Foreign Titles

  • Big Wednesday - Tag der Entscheidung (DE)
  • Big Wednesday (FR)
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