Big Wednesday
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Movie Reviews of Big Wednesday
Movie Review: Great Surf Movie
Summary: 4 Stars
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. It starts with them in their teen years and deals with their parties, loves, friendship and of course riding the big waves. It is a simpler and nicer time in America in the early 60's. The Beachboys and surf music ruled the airwaves and everybody was tan, hair bleached by the sun, in bikinis and swimming trunks, surf boards, your best girl and late night camp fires on the beach. But then things start to change and the Viet Nam era comes into play. The boys have to make a decision on if they are going to serve, dodge the draft or scheme to come up with a way to get out of it. Also other things are changing. Things are getting more complicated simply because everybody is growing up and has to face more serious issues than when the next keg party is going to be and when the next waves are coming in.
Jan Michael Vincent stars and looks like he is cut out of a Michelangelo sculpture. He was the early 70's adonis and he and Willian Katt and Garey Busey round out the cast. They and their friends are a colorful bunch of characters and as they go thru the ups and downs of becoming adults their friendships are tested by time and by adversity.
I think this is a really good movie. The surfing footage is also very good and I think most of the guys do their own surfing. The guy that plays 'The Bear' is also very good in his role. I believe Millius wrote this about his own coming of age and surfing so it is dead on accurate and believable. Vincent is outstanding in his performance and you can't take your eyes off of him his charisma is that commanding.
Movie Review: Nolstagic look back at the 60s and 70s
Summary: 4 Stars
This film was written and directed by John Milius, who also directed such films as "Dillinger," "Conan the Barbarian," and "The Wind and the Lion" and has writing credits for "Magnum Force" and "Jaws." This film apparently incoporates some of his own memories of hanging out with friends and surfing in California in the 1960s. The movie chronicles the story of three friends over the course of 13 years from 1962 to 1974.
The movie is similar to "Animal House" and "American Grafitti," in the way it shows these hard-living kids, their beach parties, their wild trips to Mexico, and the way they try to avoid the Vietnam-era draft by faking various injuries and mental illnesses, etc. In fact, the movie is more about friendship and growing up in the tumultuous late 60s and early 70s than about surfing, although there are several surfing scenes sprinkled throughout the movie, especially the "Big Wednesday" at the end of the film.
The movie is more profound and deep than if it had been just a surfing movie, and there's enough going on that people who aren't really interested in the surfing sub-culture will still enjoy it.
Movie Review: DANGEROUS UNDERCURRENTS
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Best Surf Movie
Summary: 4 Stars
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 Busey 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.
Movie Review: the stuff of legends...
Summary: 4 Stars
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 around. Their exploits in the water and out of the water make them legends but this is a coming of age story and as they get older what they leave behind in their carefree days is what makes growing up so hard. William Katt, Jan Michael Vincent and Gary Busey are great and Sam Melville as Bear is excellent. The bond of friendship between Katt, Vincent and Busy drives the film as they navigate their lives between surfing, Vietnam and getting drafted, jobs, pregnancy, family and death. What they always had was the waves. Surfing was their bond. The surfing scenes are incredibly shot. The story moves slow at times and the drama is not always riveting but ultimately like a long lazy summer day this film pulls you in and left me exhilarated.