Big Wednesday (1978)

Directed by

John Milius

Genre

drama film, comedy drama, teen film, coming-of-age film

Country

United States

Runtime

2h

Rated

PG

Rating

6.9 of 10 from 194 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Three friends grow up surfing in Malibu during the 1960s. They deal with the Vietnam War and the pressures of adulthood while holding onto their passion for the ocean.

nostalgicmelancholicbittersweetleisurelysun-drenchedwistfulreflectivecoming-of-age

What happens

Big Wednesday is a 1978 American epic coming of age buddy sports comedy-drama film directed by John Milius. Written by Milius and Dennis Aaberg, it is loosely based on their own experiences at Malibu, California. The picture stars Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt, and Gary Busey as California surfers facing life and the Vietnam War against the backdrop of their love of surfing. Raised in Southern California, Milius made Big Wednesday as an homage to the time he spent in Malibu during his youth. Milius and his friends George Lucas and Steven Spielberg famously agreed to exchange a percentage point of Big Wednesday, Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind prior to the release of the three films throughout 1977–1978. Spielberg in particular was certain that Big Wednesday was going to be a box office hit, opining it was like "American Graffiti meets Jaws", two of the decade's most successful films. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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