American Graffiti (1973)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

George Lucas

Writers:

George Lucas (written by) and
Gloria Katz (written by) ...

Release Date:

11 August 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

...is back! [1978 Re-release]

Plot:

A couple of high school grads spend one final night cruising the strip with their buddies before they go off to college.

Plot Keywords:

Night | College | Cruising | Car | High School

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Richard Dreyfuss	...	Curt Henderson
Ron Howard	...	Steve Bolander (as Ronny Howard)
Paul Le Mat	...	John Milner
Charles Martin Smith	...	Terry 'The Toad' Fields (as Charlie Martin Smith)
Cindy Williams	...	Laurie Henderson
Candy Clark	...	Debbie Dunham
Mackenzie Phillips	...	Carol
Wolfman Jack	...	XERB Disc Jockey
Bo Hopkins	...	Joe Young
Manuel Padilla Jr.	...	Carlos
Beau Gentry	...	Ants
Harrison Ford	...	Bob Falfa
Jim Bohan	...	Officer Holstein
Jana Bellan	...	Budda
Deby Celiz	...	Wendy

Runtime:

110 min | 112 min (re-release) (1978)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (original relase) | Dolby (re-release) (1975)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | South Korea:15 | USA:PG (certificate #23582) | Brazil:14 | Australia:M | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Denmark:15 (video rating) | Finland:K-12 | Iceland:L | Norway:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:AA (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Lucasfilm

Trivia:

The number 327 appears quite often in Lucas' movies. Here it is printed on the side of an engine. See also: Star Wars (1977), Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999).

Goofs:

Continuity: Toad backs Steve's car into another car, but his rear bumper is clearly undamaged in all subsequent scenes.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Terry Fields: Hey, what do you say, Curt? Last night in town - you guys gonna have a little bash before you leave?
Steve Bolander: The Moose have been looking for you all day.
[hands check to Curt]
Steve Bolander: They got worried - thought you were trying to avoid them or something.
Terry Fields: What is it? What do ya got?
Curt Henderson: Oh, great.
Terry Fields: That's $2000 man! $2000!
Steve Bolander: Mr. Jennings gave it to me to give to you. He says he's sorry it's so late, but it's the first scholarship the Moose Lodge has given out. And he, uh, says they're all very proud of you back at the lodge.
Curt Henderson: Cute. Why don't you hold it for me for awhile?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

Soundtrack:

Do You Wanna Dance

Let's be the way we are not going to be anymore for just one more night!!

American Graffiti was a compilation of pop culture pique, a harbinger of political changes, and the birth of an era that explodes the "Leave it to Beaver America" simply by saying farewell to it!!!...Set in a small town in Southern California, with a bunch of people who's existence in 1962 means the 13th and final year of the fifties, it correlates a cosmic awareness with an innocent societal disagreement.... People are happy, but not happy enough to want to stay the same.... The constant bond throughout the film is Wolfman Jack, the "supercool" disc jockey who creates a thousand different images of himself just by virtue of what he says on the radio...He is illuminating as well as socially influential to a bunch of naive teenagers....The music in this movie is extremely entertaining, as it signifies the end of an Eisenhower style Utopia.. The couples that are paired off in this movie homogenize the attitudes and aspirations of these precocious 1962 teenagers, who are on the verge of growing up!! All of the characters in this film have an imperviousness to the objections related to a perceived totalitarianism brought on in the sixties, not just because the radical aspect of the decade has yet to be, but also, because locking horns with the authority figures is not second nature to them ...(Even Big John Milner)... The bevy of Radicalism which besieges our nation over the remainder of this decade, (the 1960's) created a metamorphosis in social behavior that would change all Americans, even the people living in the town of Graffit, California!!! This movie superbly exemplifies the phrase "The calm before the storm" It gives the entire movie audience a crystal ball concept analysis report that sparks a bittersweet realization and empathy for everyone who plays a significant role in this George Lucas masterpiece!! Director George Lucas has never been better...The cast is sensational!!and the film's unassuming demeanor surprisingly captures the honor of being one of America's greatest films on record!!! Five stars!! No question!!