Product Details

• Actors: Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt, Gary Busey, Patti D'Arbanville, Lee Purcell
• Directors: John Milius
• Writers: John Milius, Dennis Aaberg, Joel Chernoff
• Producers: Alexandra Rose, Buzz Feitshans, Greg MacGillivray, Tamara Asseyev
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: July 9, 2002
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000648ZP
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,593 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Big Wednesday" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG
Release Date: 20-APR-2004
Media Type: DVD

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DANGEROUS UNDERCURRENTS, May 28, 2002

By 

Robin Simmons (Palm Springs area, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Big Wednesday (DVD)

John ("Conan the Barbarian") Milius wrote and directed this underrated, but significant beach movie that is much more than first meets the eye.

What is most memorable is the terrific second unit big wave cinematography by famed Imax and surf photgrapher Greg MacGillivray. But the undercurrent (no pun intended) is a troubling tale that grew from Milius' memories about his own surfer buddy friendships on the day -- a big Wednesday -- when Watts was going up in flames and the surf was peaking.

Almost a great film that in retrospect was far and away more prescient than given credit at the time. Jan Michael Vincent, Gary Busey and William katt are perfect as the friends seeking meaning and purpose as they move through ten turbulent years starting in the mid-60s.

This title, like Monte Hellman's "Two Lane Blacktop" and Dennis Hopper's "Easy Rider" is a legendary film with a devoted cult following that looks at a specific time in America through the eyes of lost innocence.

"Big Wednesday" is finally available in a pristine widescreen DVD transfer with an insightful, witty, and at times almost poetic commentary by writer director Milius.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A true cult classic for surfers, July 5, 2002

By 

Oliver M. "Skylord" (Appleton) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Wednesday (DVD)

At the risk of sounding like a total pot-smoking burn out type who sits around all summer and eats cheetos and plays Nintendo I have to start out this review with a very loud and resounding "This movie rules!". Anyway if you are a surfer and are interested in a bit of history on a fictional level about some of the pioneers of the sport then this is the movie to see. Because this movie is unlike any of the other surf movies out there I can't really compare it to them in terms of whether or not it was better than them or not. It's in a class all it's own. From the first rate story-line to the spectacular big wave scenes at the end (spectacular for it's day that is), this movie holds much nostalgia from the 60's surf era. If you wanna go back in time a few decades for a couple of hours and get caught up in what it was like to be part of the surf scene "back in the day" then this is the movie to see. From the old wine cooler beach parties late into the night to the trips down the California coast to Tijuana searching for the right surf conditions this movie captures it all and freezes it in a time capsule in the from of a two hour cinematic documentry of sorts. Two thumbs up and then some is all I can say to end this review.

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SURF MOVIE OF THE CENTURY!, January 3, 2000

By 

John Moulis (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Big Wednesday [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This movie is regarded as a surf classic and rightly so. Slickly produced, consisting of a series of vignettes over 13 years it gives a non-surfing person a revealing insight into the surf culture. The still-thorny issue of the Vietnam War is dealt with and the transition from the swinging sixties into the seventies is handled very well (a technique John Milius perfected in his 1983 classic Uncommon Valor which incidentally pre-dated the much hyped Rambo First Blood II by nearly two years). The climax of the film is the surf footage at the end depicting the legendary day of a lifetime, Big Wednesday. The only negative is the thought that the two stars, Jan Michael Vincent and Gary Busey threw away their lives after this movie due to drug addiction (Busey almost died from an overdose in 1994). Another negative is that some of the surfing terminology in the book didn't make it to the film. In the book, the car is referred to as "The Makeshift" - it isn't in the film. Still, if you cast these things out of your mind for 100 minutes you will experience something truly special. You won't be disappointed.