"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 1960's to the early 1970's. Aside from needing a span of time to qualify as a coming-of-age saga, it was hoped that the long time span would enable it to connect with the entire range of boomers (birth dates from 1945-1963). Almost anyone born during those years will find things in the film they relate to-even shadow boomers with just the second-hand exposure provided by their older siblings. Younger viewers should enjoy the spectacular surfing sequences and might find the other stuff an interesting history lesson. <br /><br />Milius is one of the so-called young auteur directors of the 70's (Coppola, Lucus, Spielberg, Scorsese, De Palma). Unlike the others he did very little after 1984, the year he released "Red Dawn", an embarrassingly moronic and histrionic right-wing propaganda film that alerted an unsuspecting world to his extremist political views. Hollywood insiders already knew about this and the Coen Brothers would use him as a model for John Goodman's character in "The Big Lebowski". <br /><br />But "Big Wednesday" is his masterpiece and it is unlikely that any other writer/director could have brought this story to the screen this effectively. Unfortunately its surfer subject matter did not draw many non-enthusiasts to the theatre; even though the film is a lot more than surfing, containing a very original universal message about the process of living and changing. Low box office led to a re-edit for pay- television, with the more philosophical content was taken out. The current DVD and VHS are of this shorter version, so if you saw the "Big Wednesday" during its theatrical release you will be somewhat disappointed. <br /><br />Structured like a four act play with each transition moving the action ahead a couple of years, "Big Wednesday" follows three young surfers in the LA area (Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt and Gary Busey). Each plays a talented surfer with Vincent's character approaching legendary status. Surfing plays a big part in their lives (Bruce Surtees' cinematography provides some of the most stunning views of the sport you are likely to ever see) but much of the film takes place away from the beach; with scenes of parties, the military induction center, Tijuana, family life, and romance (a full range of what growing up in southern California was all about). <br /><br />Milius' treatment of surfing is reverential and sometimes even mystical, with a sweeping musical score and a local character (Bear) who is a kind of guru for the sport. In a scene cut from the television version Bear explains the origin and significance of the "Big Wednesday" title. Somehow Milius gets all this right and the film transcends what might have been a pretentious exercise in sport glorification. <br /><br />The final scene is truly special as the three main characters manage a convergence for a final day of surfing together, a scene that recalls the freedom and awe of their teenage years, contrasting it with how removed they have gotten from this former way of life. Anyone who has had to choke back their emotions after a nostalgic rush reminds them of what they will never have again, will be moved my this wonderful sequence. <br /><br />Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.