Simply A Masterpiece

Great Film overall

Absolutely the worst movie.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Serious, if meandering odyssey of three male surfing friends from 1962 to 1974, local legends in the beach towns of Southern California, who reunite after each has come to a personal crossroads in his life. Jan-Michael Vincent's Matt is the troubled one who drinks, Gary Busey's Leroy is the hellraiser and William Katt's Jack is the writer's conscience, the straight arrow, the only one of the trio who goes to war in Vietnam. They have ladies in their lives but no real family, and their mentor is a bearded sage nicknamed Bear who makes surfboards (he gets married and opens his own shop, but we learn that he, too, goes to ruin). Anchored by beautiful Bruce Surtees cinematography (with surfing sequences by Greg MacGillivray), this drama from director John Milius (who also co-wrote the screenplay with Dennis Aaberg) is full of personal remembrances, quiet contemplation in the midst of turmoil, sad reflection and, yes, lots of fisticuffs (what would a Milius film be without them?). Like all movies extracted from a filmmaker's past--his lazy-hazy days of youth, and all that--these people and their decisions and interactions must mean a great deal more to him than to anybody else. Milius tries making the journey a lively one--he certainly makes it a visually handsome one--but he cannot escape clichés...in fact, he appears to embrace them. Once we move past the tumultuous younger years, the boys are already being referred to as "all-timers." It's important that we see the passage of time, but this exemplifies what's wrong with Milius' approach. He's so impatient and heavy-handed, he underlines everything twice, so that we don't miss a trick. ** from ****

I expected more by this movie, and let's admit that after having watched Fandango, I was a little disappointed, although some good elements are to be appreciated. Especially the beginning is a little slow and probably indulges in insignificant details (the party at Leroy's is too long, we perfectly know what kind of mood dominated those guys). Moreover, the story covers twelve years, from 1962 to 1974, a time-length during which the three boys should have been touched by the events of their personal lives and by history as well, on the contrary they remain a little underdeveloped till the very end. Obviously, it is impossible not to sympathize with them, they are really cute, captivating, but I expected more psychological insight. As it approaches the end, the movie gains rhythm; the final, in every sense, encounter with the big wave is rendered greatly, surfing action is truly gripping, we perceive the strong emotion when facing and struggling against this force of nature, and we also get more intimate with the characters's inner emotional world, probably because the confrontation between man and nature, with the undeniable sense of human finiteness as compared to the greatness of nature, always reveals the real quality of human life. It is also in the end that we sense the strong friendship of these boys having now turned men, and we understand how real friendship surpasses the years and the comradeship of youth. There is also a sense of nostalgia for the past years, but with the perception that what we experienced will always remain in our future lives as a precious treasure. Undeniable that the movie delivers also funny moments, mainly when we see these guys pretending every kind of physical and mental distress, in order to avoid the spectre of Vietnam: really amusing. A movie I would advise to a cinemagoer interested in the American film-rendering of the 60's 70's, but warning that cult movies are something different.

I went to college in a Coastal town. Got to be best friends with the local surfers. Went to Sandy Beach, Hawaii and surfed in the US Amateur with them.Went to jail with them for jumping of the pier(to catch pure glass 12ft.) during a huge hurricane swell Went on Hatteras trips with Matt Kechle and Sean Slater.Hung with Kelly when he was 16,17. I surf(ed). Big Wednsday, for me, always takes me back to the parties, the nuttiness, the very good friends, who I now haven't seen in close to 20 years. I love the film and, although fairly shallow, does a good job of describing the friendship of surfers and the different directions they all go when they leave their growing pains behind along with the commoness of the ocean they all had together.

Big Wednesday & Endless Summer. There is no real way to compare the two however since Endless Summer is a documentary that follows a couple of California surfers as they search out the perfect waves around the world. Big Wednesday is the story of 3 guys as they come of age together and culminates in an actual big wave day that happened at Malibu. The characters are guys almost any surfer from the late 60's and early 70's can relate to because of the bonding that would take place on the water. Back then surfing wasn't about the big buck tournaments they have now it was time well spent with your compadres and the film reflected that time. Remake this movie...I hope not because it captured the essence of the California beach scene then and William Katt, Gary Busey and Jan Michael Vincent portrayed 3 very typical California surfers of the time, and it would be almost impossible to capture that spirit again.