Big Wednesday (1978)

I first saw this when it came out. As a surfer, I looked forward to it, and was disappointed. I just watched it today on Netflix and was even more disappointed! The unbelievable house party scene was probably what really highlighted how Hollywood fantasizes too much about how they think either the world is, was, or should be. It was kind of funny to see Gary Bussey play essentially himself in this movie, after rewinding in my head the news stories of the past 30 years about him. The Endless Summer movies still are the best at depicting what surfing is about, despite the many corny scenes thrown into them. The attempts of Big Wednesday to depict teens maturing into adults just fell flat. I wish I hadn't wasted another 2 hours watching this movie again.

Fmovies: There have been many feature length films out of Hollywood that have latched on to the subject of surfing. Endless Summer is the definitive classic, but it falls under the category of a documentary. The others are somewhere between comedy and drama. Some are cult classics and others are just plain silly 60's teeny movies. North Shore is a cult classic, but as a drama and a story it is basically lame, but I still like North Shore alot. Big Wednesday is truly credible. The story is great, the characters are great and it is worthy of respect as cinema. It is a kind of timeless story which happens to be told using the backdrop of Southern California surf culture. Those who live outside of this world may not fully apprieciate all of the nuances present or understand the surfer-surf-surfboard relationship. Now as to locations for filming: Most of the scenes are shot at Cojo Point, which is in Santa Barbara County, CA. Cojo is located in a remote part of this county and is not accessible by any public means other than by boat (the beach front is all private land). Other scenes were shot in El Salvador at a place called La Libertad. It isn't always easy to tell them apart. Both breaks are well above average in quality when on. The scenes with the more textured water that has a wilder appearance are probably La Libertad. The final and climactic scene on "Big Wednesday" is at Sunset Beach on Oahu's north shore. This is where Rick Kane first paddles out with Occy and Alex in North Shore. Sunset is a heavy wave breaking on an outside reef that can hold size and is no place for the inexperienced. Gerry Lopez does a reasonable job surfing Sunset with his back to the wave. Gerry was better known for his exploits at Pipeline, where he could surf facing the wave. Surfers like Billy Hamilton, Peter Townend and Ian Cairns were probably giving a stronger account of themselves at Sunset in the final scene. John Milius was never a surfer of any particular note growing up around Malibu, so I would question the autobiographical basis. He probably witnessed this type of stuff, but I don't know about actually participating.

I much prefer a movie that looks great to one with great dialogue. So with this movie I was pretty much satisfied. OK the acting can be a little iffy at times ("those kids do look up to you" said in a bit of an over the top way) but the story line, humour, and fights (very enjoyable at the party, not as much in Mexico because of the more serious tone) are all very good.

But this film really excels in the shots of the ocean and surfing. They are quite simply beautiful.

I don't really understand why this film did so badly but heh it seems to be more accepted now.

Big Wednesday fmovies. A movie about surf, friendship and the hardness in growing up.

The movie has great surf pictures, great surfers (Gerry Lopez himself), it has a beautiful script and was very well directed.

I think this movie is already a classic for surfers and non-surfers... ;-)

I watch the movie in VHS long ago, and i´m waiting for the DVD (next month)

Gary Busey's career high as the insane "Masochist" with the irrisistable quote "More Beer!". Okay, this is a little patchy, but it's beautifully shot and has that old fashioned innocence that most modern teen films lack. The surfing rules and the leading trio is well played. Oh and I forgot to mention, the entire narration is by none other than Elm street's Fred Kreuger, a.k.a Robert Englund, which just makes it uber-cool in my minds eye; but I am biased. A great feel-good movie from when movies still felt pretty good.

The lives of some California surfers from the early '60s to the '70s.

Who should have been cast: Jan-Michael Vincent or Jeff Bridges? Well, in retrospect, Bridges might have drawn more acclaim to this picture. But Vincent nails the role, and although not as big of a name, he was the man for the job.

John Milius is known for his conservative, manly films. This does not really mesh with the idea of the surfer, at least until you see this film. Then you understand that the surfer - to Milius - is a libertarian at heart, fighting against the "lifeguard state".

The film features great music, great fights, and a nice cameo from a then-unknown Robert Englund. And heck, this is Gary Busey in his prime.

Interestingly, because the film takes place during the Vietnam War, this acts like something as a counterpoint to "Apocalypse Now", another Milius film. What message are we to get from the two combined?