Big Wednesday (1978)

[Ruemorgue10]

NEW 2018 1080p HD remaster!
Run Time 119:00
Subtitles English SDH
Sound Quality DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 - English
Aspect Ratio ORIGINAL ASPECT RATIO - 2.40:1, 16 X 9 LETTERBOX
Product Color COLOR
Disc Configuration BD 50
Special Features:
Feature-Length Audio Commentary by Director/Cowriter John Milius;Retrospective Documentary "Capturing the Swell"; Theatrical Trailer

No matter what rolled in on the tides of time, California surfing buddies Matt, Jack and Leory knew they’d stick together. And that they’d be ready when a rare 20-foot swell hit the coast at last.

Big Wednesday celebrates surfing as much as the most dedicated kid who ever waxed a board. It’s also a fascinating 1962-1974 chronicle of friendships and lifestyles in transition. John Milius (Apocalypse Now, Red Dawn) directs and coscripts with a passion for the ultimate ride and a truthful feel for those turbulent times. Stars Jan-Michael Vincent and William Katt are accomplished surfers; colead Gary Busey (Point Break, 1991) learned for the role. And the vivid camerawork drops you inside awesome barrels of ocean blue.

[mastadge]

A minor classic with a minor classic score by Basil Poledouris. Will definitely pick this up.

[CouncilSpectre]

Another one knocked off the wishlist!

[Hoke Moseley]

Great news! Hoping two more from '78 (Straight Time and Fingers) will be on the way soon too...

[Mose Harper]

One more title to add to my Lee Purcell collection!

[Jobla]

Originally Posted by Mose Harper

One more title to add to my Lee Purcell collection!

I thought she'd become a bigger star. A longtime friend of hers feels that her choice of boyfriends actually inhibited her career.

[dommie]

Big Wednesday has been on my wishlist for so many years I was beginning to think this day would never happen. Fantastic!!!!

[FilmNerdJamie]

Damn good film that is mostly famous for an inside-baseball story of Milius, Lucas and Spielberg swapping points. They were all so convinced the other guys' movie (Big Wednesday, Close Encounters and Star Wars) was going to explode commercially and theirs would bomb. So they placed a friendly wager.

Milius lost but he also won based on how much $$$ he got off Star Wars and Close Encounters.

[The Screaming Feces]

Ooh, another 70s fave of my mine coming to Blu! I'll be watching this repeatedly during the dead of next winter!

[dommie]

Big Wednesday release date now looks like September 11. That's sooner than I expected when I fist saw this title announced.

[Youre My Boy Blu!]

Tasty Waves

[Dubliner1]

No reviews out for this yet?

[Fat Phil]

Received my copy today (In the UK so it took a little while). The disc's playing surface is absolutely covered with marks and scratches though. Worst i've ever seen for a brand new product. It was factory sealed so it's just shite quality control at the factory. I'll be amazed if it plays through without freezing. Balls.

[Dubliner1]

Originally Posted by Fat Phil

Received my copy today (In the UK so it took a little while). The disc's playing surface is absolutely covered with marks and scratches though. Worst i've ever seen for a brand new product. It was factory sealed so it's just shite quality control at the factory. I'll be amazed if it plays through without freezing. Balls.

...if it does play please share your thoughts on the picture quality...

[Fat Phil]

Originally Posted by Dubliner1

...if it does play please share your thoughts on the picture quality...

I haven't sat down to watch the whole thing yet but I've had a flick through a few scenes and it looks great. Certainly up to the standard i've come to expect from Warner Archive. They normally give these catalogue titles a 2K remaster and it seems that's what they've done for Big Wednesday.

Grain is ever present, fine and well resolved for the most part, but obviously gets chunkier and more pronounced on opticals etc.

When comparing it to my region 2 DVD I can see improvements in all the expected areas, more detail is resolved and colour saturation is far better. I'll be able to say more when i've actually watched the thing

[GiorgioV]

That's some great news!! One of my top three movies
I was afraid I'd have to take on a mortgage to get the jap blu...

p.s. now, if only they gave me Fandango too...

[Dan8700]

Been a month since its release, still I don't see caps from the BD (showing once again how underrated this masterpiece is...), so I took some frames and did some comparisons using my R2 DVD: the upgrade is considerable in every respect. What is also clear is a slight red push on the DVD, which was corrected by Warner through this new restoration.
File size for the film is about 36 GB, frame rate is 23.976 fps. Again top quality by Warner Archive Collection.







Also relevant is the restored mid-1970s Warner logo at the beginning; on the DVD, it was totally missing and replaced by the 2000s one.

[GiorgioV]

Finally got my copy...
I too cannot believe there is no review for this title yet, nor caps, anything.

What I can tell you about my viewing experience is: just watching that opening scene with this quality... goosebumps. Not really techie on my part, I know, but that's it. Plain beautiful.

[Flexicon9]

This blu-ray presentation is absolutely magnificent... hadn't seen it in HD since an HDnet Movies Channel broadcast I had on dvr back in 2007.. Warner Archive really came through on this one. Also, the sound is quite good considering the era and origins of the soundtrack... really impressed. Highly recommended. Great film and one of Milius' very best cinematic achievements.

[skreemingskulll]

Originally Posted by Flexicon9

Also, the sound is quite good considering the era and origins of the soundtrack

I'm not one of those weird guys who buys movie soundtracks and listens to them independently of a film, but every time I watch this I'm fairly amazed at Basil Poledouris' score. It's really fantastic and transporting.