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Big Wednesday [Region 2]
 
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Big Wednesday [Region 2] (1978)

Starring: Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt Director: John Milius Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Format: DVD
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)

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Region 2 encoding (This DVD will not play on most DVD players sold in the US or Canada [Region 1]. This item requires a region specific or multi-region DVD player and compatible TV. More about DVD formats.)

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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: PAL
  • Language: French (Dolby Surround), French (Mono), English (Dolby Surround), English (Mono), Italian (Dolby Surround), Italian (Mono)
  • Subtitles: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Arabic, Dutch, Romanian
  • Region: Region 2 (Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
  • Run Time: 120 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000092WD5
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #142,655 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  • For more information about "Big Wednesday [Region 2]" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

John Milius charts a decade of social change as three surfing buddies use the sport as a personal touchstone for their lives while growing up in the turbulent 1960s. Irresponsible hot-dogging legend Matt (Jan-Michael Vincent), serious and stable Jack (William Katt), and mad misfit Leroy, a.k.a. "Masochist" (Gary Busey), are teenage surf bums in 1963, living at the beach in a perpetual summer under the sway of surfboard-maker Bear (Sam Melville), guru, mentor, and keeper of the lore. But the times they are a changin' and boys grow up in the shadow of Vietnam while adulthood pushes them into hard decisions. John Milius mixes the nostalgia of American Graffiti with the reverence of a John Ford cavalry drama. Surfing becomes a kind of spiritual quest spoken of in awed mythic tones and photographed with the epic grandeur of a rite of passage. Milius's heavy-handed direction and reverent attitude slows the films and will turn off some viewers, but Milius fans will appreciate his macho stylings and philosophical musings, and surfing fans will love the spectacular surfing footage, including the dazzling stylings of world champion Gerry Lopez (who Milius later cast in Conan the Barbarian). Lee Purcell costars as Matt's supportive wife, with Patti D'Arbanville, Barbara Hale, and Robert Englund in supporting roles. Look for Ford stock player Hank Worden in a small role and Milius himself in a cameo selling marijuana in Tijuana. --Sean Axmaker

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Customer Reviews

57 Reviews
5 star:
 (41)
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 (10)
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (57 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
38 of 39 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
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (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.

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26 of 28 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.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A true cult classic for surfers, July 5, 2002
By Jay M. "Skylord" (Appleton, Wi United States) - 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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars the stuff of legends...
I watched this the other night for the first time. It is a classic and a legendary film. A coming of age story for 3 friends who are legends on the beach as the best surfers... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Kerry O. Burns

5.0 out of 5 stars big wednesday
I got this for my husband for chirstmas. I sat down and watched it with him and enjoyed the movie very much.
Published 10 months ago by Mary Smith

2.0 out of 5 stars "The Endless Bummer"
Nostalgia aside, you gotta admit: it was a '70s ultra-cheese fest, starring future burn-outs Jan-Michael Vincent and Gary Busey, and William Katt, who would go on to star in one... Read more
Published 14 months ago by W. B. Davis

5.0 out of 5 stars A "bombed" masterpiece
When I first saw this film on release in 1978, many of the critics had panned it with several observing that it was only interesting when in the water, given surfing is its main... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Siriam

5.0 out of 5 stars A Day Like No Other
The story of three surfing buddies from the 1960's into the 1970's, it is also John Milius most personal movie, written with a surfer buddy about those days. Read more
Published 15 months ago by L. Cabos

4.0 out of 5 stars An American Classic
What makes this a great movie is the cinematography that was executed back in 1978. The viewer will appreciate the complexities that the filming crew had to probably endure... Read more
Published on July 13, 2007 by J.F.

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific
"Big Wednesday" (1978) is a film that was made for baby boomers. Writer/director John Milius was born in 1944 and the material draws on a ten year span of his life from the early... Read more
Published on October 9, 2006 by Only-A-Child

4.0 out of 5 stars Big Wednesday
The only reason I give this a 4 star rating instead of a five is, one of the most important scenes that was in the original movie was cut from the VHS and DVD version. Read more
Published on June 25, 2006 by pammur

5.0 out of 5 stars A beach culture classic
I was a surf grommet growing up in the mid 1970's. This flick touched on Vietnam in ways that I could begin to understand. Read more
Published on April 19, 2006 by Frank E. Miller

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Surf Movie
This is an old favorite from my younger days. It is a movie written by John Millius about a group of young teens growing up in California and surfing. Read more
Published on February 27, 2006 by john m mozuke

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