Big Wednesday

Directed by John Milius

Poledouris's major feature debut, collaborating with USC classmate John Milius on this elegiac surfing drama set across three decades of California beach culture. It was the first time Poledouris heard his music performed by a full symphony orchestra — a milestone he recalled vividly throughout his career. The full-bodied orchestral score revealed a composer entirely at ease with the symphonic form, and foreshadowed one of cinema's great composer–director partnerships.