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IMDb > Big Wednesday (1978)
Big Wednesday
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Big Wednesday (1978)

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User Rating: 7.1/10 (1,625 votes)
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Overview

Director:
John Milius
Writers:
Dennis Aaberg (writer)
John Milius (writer)
more
Release Date:
May 1978 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama more
Tagline:
Three friends. Twelve Turbulent Years. And One Day We All Must Face. more
Plot:
The lives of some California surfers from the early '60s to the '70s. | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Party | Vietnam Era | California | Wave | Surfboard more
Awards:
1 nomination more
User Comments:
Spectacular surfing sequences and very hazy 60s lives more

Cast

 (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jan-Michael Vincent ... Matt
William Katt ... Jack

Gary Busey ... Leroy
Patti D'Arbanville ... Sally

Lee Purcell ... Peggy Gordon

Sam Melville ... Bear
Darrell Fetty ... Waxer
Gerry Lopez ... Himself

Hank Worden ... Shopping Cart (as Hank Warden)
Joe Spinell ... Psychologist
Steve Kanaly ... Sally's Husband
Barbara Hale ... Mrs. Barlow
Fran Ryan ... Lucy
Dennis Aaberg ... Slick
Reb Brown ... Enforcer
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Summer of Innocence
more
Runtime:
120 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby
MOVIEmeter: ?
^ 30% since last week why?
Company:
A-Team more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The role of the "Enforcer" was loosely based on longtime Malibu icon and waterman Ray Kunze who looked out for John Milus (director) and Dennis Aaberg (co-writer) in the late 50's. more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: It is 1965, but 1970s cars are visible as they drive to the military entrance processing station. more
Quotes:
[Leroy the Masochist pretends to be insane to avoid being drafted]
Psychologist: I see here they call you a masochist.
Leroy the Masochist: I like pain.
Psychologist: Can you be specific? What kind of pain do you like?
Leroy the Masochist: Any kind of pain.
Psychologist: Such as?
Leroy the Masochist: I like fights, I've dove through windows, I've eaten light bulbs, I like sharks, any kind of blood. If you gave me a gun, I'd shoot you in the face just to see what it looked like when the bullet hit.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Death Proof (2007) more
Soundtrack:
Three Friends Theme more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful:-
Spectacular surfing sequences and very hazy 60s lives, 27 April 2000
7/10

The surfing sequences are what make this movie, some of the waves on Big Wednesday at the end look too huge and powerful to be real, and the sight of these men standing at the foot of them on their puny little boards, battling to outrun the awesome power of the water crashing down, is real heart-gripping stuff. The tale of a group of friends drifting through the sixties and seventies, getting into scrapes, having parties, trying to avoid Vietnam and doing all that stuff sixties movies live for, is well enough done, though the script gets a bit cliche-heavy at some points. The episodic format, a series of brief snapshots taken from various moments over a spread of ten years or so, helps capture the rambling nature of these people's lives, and gives an insight on how much things change and yet stay the same between a gang of old friends as the times move on and the world turns. Katt fares well as the narrator and core, as is Stringfellow Hawk as the former champ surfer, and Busey gives his normal crazy shouty brilliance, but the surf takes the honours.

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Message Boards

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Fan-Bloody-tastic koloxxviii
Milius Q+A nataloff-1
Why were Waxers parents so cold to Matt? bigislander72
30th Anniversary. garygray46
soudtrack chacmol
Good but shallow cascole
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