This coming-of-age buddy film was considered to be a guaranteed sure-fire commercial success on release. It was probably because it combined elements of two of the decade's biggest films, American Graffiti and Jaws. It even led George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and, the director of this film, John Milius to each share a percentage point of their latest movies, namely Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Big Wednesday. Needless to say, those first two raked in the cash and Big Wednesday went on to be something of a major flop. Seemingly, George Lucas is still annoyed about this!
It's a film which has garnered a cult rep over the years and is now regarded as a great movie by many people, particularly the surfer sect. But to be honest, while I am pleased for the renaissance of this film, I don't find it too hard to understand why it received a lukewarm and limited audience. Its story centres on a trio of Californian surfers played by Jan-Michael Vincent (the most talented but most troubled), William Katt (the most responsible), and Gary Busey (the loose cannon). The story is about their lives over the course of 15 years or so, from the innocence of the early 60's to the more cynical mid 70's. The lives of the characters mirrors the rapid social changes of the 60's in particular, with the Vietnam War a major player in the background. I thought the characters weren't especially interesting on the whole, even if there are good actors involved such as William Katt. Fortunately, there wasn't TOO much babble about the call of the ocean and the mystical nature of surfing, although the bearded character called Bear was getting dangerously close to trying my patience with nonsensical surf talk but luckily the authorities condemned the pier his house was located on and he was kicked out! On a far more positive note were the surfing scenes, which were very well shot and pleasingly cinematic, with some very impressive looking surf action. So, all-in-all, this one seemed a bit limited on the drama front but it gets over the line with its surf action and era detail.
It's a film which has garnered a cult rep over the years and is now regarded as a great movie by many people, particularly the surfer sect. But to be honest, while I am pleased for the renaissance of this film, I don't find it too hard to understand why it received a lukewarm and limited audience. Its story centres on a trio of Californian surfers played by Jan-Michael Vincent (the most talented but most troubled), William Katt (the most responsible), and Gary Busey (the loose cannon). The story is about their lives over the course of 15 years or so, from the innocence of the early 60's to the more cynical mid 70's. The lives of the characters mirrors the rapid social changes of the 60's in particular, with the Vietnam War a major player in the background. I thought the characters weren't especially interesting on the whole, even if there are good actors involved such as William Katt. Fortunately, there wasn't TOO much babble about the call of the ocean and the mystical nature of surfing, although the bearded character called Bear was getting dangerously close to trying my patience with nonsensical surf talk but luckily the authorities condemned the pier his house was located on and he was kicked out! On a far more positive note were the surfing scenes, which were very well shot and pleasingly cinematic, with some very impressive looking surf action. So, all-in-all, this one seemed a bit limited on the drama front but it gets over the line with its surf action and era detail.