Rating: 
Summary: More than a surf epic. A film that captures the period
Review: I love this film. It is a surf epic to be sure, but more than this it perfectly captures this period of time for me. It is beautifully written and photoghraphed, the surfing sceens are awesome. You care about these characters. For me, that's what makes a film great. It isn't perfect but what is? The three lead actors are certainly in their prime, and there are some excellent supporting performances from Lee Purcell and the late Sam Melville, among them. I have this film on laserdisc and recommend seeing it in widescreen format if available. Don't miss this one!
Rating:
Summary: Best Surf Film Ever Made
Review: I loved this Movie. I have Probably seen it thirty time
Rating:
Summary: I'm still waiting for the DVD Widescreen version
Review: I saw this movie many years ago and again recently. It's a great movie. I like movies that move along in time as the
players get older. The movie ages before your very eyes and takes you away to a special place. It explains what it is to get older.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I was disappointed with this movie. I did not expect the surfing coverage of "Endless Summer", but I expected more plot than "In God's Hands". Unfortunately, this movie was less than either. The actors definitely had greater skills and there was some plot, but it was more like "Porkys" meets "In God's Hands". If you want the good parts, you have to go about 90 minutes into the movie. In fact, you might want to do that after watching the intro until it gets slow. I liked the (very brief) aerial shots and some of the tube shots. Overall, though, I was disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: I'm 16 and I live in Tennessee, the worst place in the world, and the fact that it's landlocked doesn't help any. I go to the Florida coast every summer, and during winter days up here, I dream of all the beaches of the world. I bought Big Wednesday and it was a great movie. Reminds me of my friends, my life, or what I wish it was. Without waves, life would almost be meaningless
Rating: 
Summary: Best Surf Movie
Review: I'm sure I'll get some flack for declaring this the best surf movie. I don't intend to take anything away from Endless Summer, Step into Liquid, etc. But such movies are more documentary. Other examples such as North Shore, while entertaining, fall short of cinematic.
Big Wednesday is a semi-autobiographical story from director/writer John Milius. As many have made comments regarding the films philosophic take on life, surfing, and friends, I'll just make a few comments.
- The films pacing is slower and more deliberate than most films, giving it an almost literary feel. Admittedly, some would call it slow.
- The story is epic in scope, matching it's pacing.
- It seems to stay true to the surf culture.
- It holds great entertainment value if for no other reason than seeing Jan Michael Vincent and William Katt before their sitcom days (Air Wolf, The Greatest American Hero), and Gary Busy before....well, before his rehab days.
Big Wednesday is part of my movie library. If you enjoy thoughful, coming of age films, and surfing, buy the DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: BORING
Review: I've been reading as many surf books as I can find as I grew up in Southern California in the mid-60s. Based on the fantastic reviews, I expected much better of this movie. This is frankly, a very bad movie. Where can I start?Clearly a low budget movie, the sound is very low quality. Of course, that may be considered a positive given the extremely poor screenplay. The movie starts by a series of sketches designed to show life as a teenager growing up. The beach, the party, the quick trip to Tijuana, the girlfriend, and the older surfer mentor. All of them very cliched like they were almost copied. The dialog by all characters is so poor it's virtually impossible to feel emotion for the characters. A few weak attempts at comedy are more lowlifes. The movie then moves in time to show the kids growing up. The trip to the Draft Board and attempts to be deferred are almost incoherent. But the most humorous part of this movie is Jan Michael Vincent's occasional flashes as a drunken street person. Look quickly because he recovers by the next scene and is normal again. Maybe it's a disease because next the elder surfer (resembles Greg Noll, da Bull) catches the drunken role disease. As to being a surf cult film, yes there are some early surf scenes, and the ending has a solid 10 minutes of surfing as the kids are drawn to the beach 13 years later when the surf is up. But it's not enough to sit through 2 hours of bad movie to watch some surfing. I'm surprised this movie is rated so high by so many. If you want a movie of growing up, rewatch American Graffiti or even Saturday Night Fever. But not this movie. The one large positive of this movie is watching some future stars or at least working actors and see what they were like at the start of their careers.
Rating:
Summary: Yes
Review: If you're interested in surfing at all, you need this one.
Rating:
Summary: DANGEROUS UNDERCURRENTS
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A collectable...
Review: My husband owns this movie, and is one of our favorites. We want to own the DVD. I can't find one, will you offer it soon. VHS gets old and worn in time. Thanks.
|
