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Summary: "American Graffiti" and "Rebel Without a Cause," related?
Review: "American Graffiti" is a classic film that in some ways, can relate to another classic: "Rebel Without a Cause," both were about teenagers. In "American Graffiti," within a day, all characters mature and grow up. It is the same with Jim Stark in "Rebel Without a Cause," who in the film is caught in something big that will effect his life forever (the chicky run), as that is also the case with Steve and Kurt in "American Graffiti" (should they stay home or fly off east to collage).
"Rebel Without a Cause" was based on James Dean and his character from "East of Eden," George Lucas based all of the male leads in "American Graffiti" (with the exception of Steve Bolander) on himself. Both films represent teenage nostalgia (although at the time it was made, "Rebel Without a Cause" just represented teenagers) "American Graffiti" would represent the great memories you had as a teenager in the 50's and early 60's, "Rebel Without a Cause" would represent what you were caught up in, and how to be a man in the 50's. Both films have dark ending which are horrificly realistic as in "Rebel Without a Cause" when the Plato character runs away with an unloaded gun and is shot by the police (the same fate of Dallas Winstons charatcer in "The Outsiders") and in "American Graffiti" when it shows the epilogue of our heroes where John Milner is killed and becomes apart of the legacy of racing heroes in that junk yard that he and Carol had walked through earlyer in the film. Terry "The Toad" meets a heroes end as his final fate is being "Declared missing in action." Steve finds out what he wants to do with his life and decides not to make it big but live a peaceful life as an insurance agent in Madesto. And Kurt makes up his mind as he becomes a writter living in Canada.
There is lightness in both dark endings of the films as in "Rebel Without a Cause" Jims father finally faces father hood and is there for Jim, along with in "American Graffiti," with Steves and Kurts future.
Over all, both movies were superb, realistic, memorable, and will share a long lasting place in movie history.
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Summary: Celebrating The American Car
Review: "American Graffiti" is a landmark film that marks George Lucas' debut as a major film director. "American Graffiti" marks Ron Howard's debut as an adult film star, and his association with George Lucas inspired Ron Howard in his own director's career. "American Graffiti" features an array of young, up-and-coming performers. But most important, "American Graffiti" document's America's love affair with cars."American Graffiti" describes the teen lifestyle that most males want and never achieve. Set in 1962, the film revolves around two young men out on the town on a weekend night, cruising the strip and chasing fast cars. The night is filled with hot rods, drive-ins, car hops, girlfriends and rock n' roll music. The young men are 'good kids', but their lives are about to change permanently and their heads are whirling with the challenge. "American Graffiti" revolves around cars. Characters' cars reflect their personalities and their status -- cars are passports to freedom. The airwaves are full of rock n' roll artists singing about cars. Cruising the strip takes a full tank of gasoline, and the man with the fastest car is the local celebrity. The characters in "American Graffiti" practically *live* in their cars. In Summer 1971 I was working two jobs, but gasoline sold for less than twenty-eight cents per gallon -- purchasing gasoline for my car was no problem. I love the memories that "American Graffiti" recalls. But with today's higher petroleum costs, gasoline is a significant budget item and my love affair with cars has cooled.
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Summary: "American Graffiti. Where were you in '62?"
Review: "American Graffiti" is great inspirational classic that can really grab your attention. Not only are the great cool-looking cars great, and the top soundtrack is, too, but the storyline is great. Set on a late summer night in 1962, four high school friends, two of them are graduates, spend their last night together before the two leave for college. At first at the beginning with that timeless "Rock Around the Clock" playing over Steve's (Ronny Howard) car radio in his marvelous '58 Chevy which I adore, the four friends meet at the local drive-in called Mel's. There is Curt (Richard Dreyfuss, Steve, John (Paul Le Mat), and Terry the Toad (Charles Martin Smith). They are all uncertain of their futures. Curt and Steve are the ones leaving for college, but Curt doesn't know for sure if he's going. Steve
is raring to go at first. As the night progresses, they split from Mel's. Curt goes wth his sister Laurie (Cindy Williams) and Steve to the hop. John goes looking for s good time, and on the lookout for a could-be-next-drag-racing champ in a black '55 Chevy. The Toad is just out cruising around like everybody else on the main strip. Later, he meets Debby (Candy Clark), a sort of mixed-up girl who puts Toad in the wrong direction almost. John gets an unexpected surprise from a Studebaker when a 15-year old girl named Carol (Makenzie Phillips) cruises around with him. John's not thrilled at first, but Carol eventually grows on him, when they both flatten the tires and spray shaving cream all over a white '59 Dodge, and when John finally meets his maker in the '55 Chevy called Bob Falfa (Harrison Ford), or when John goes to the a junkyard filled with old cars as he shows Carol who was the best of the best in drag-racing. Curt gets mixed up with a non-threating but cool gang called the Pharaohs led by Joe (Bo Hopkins). These are crazy and funny, and I love that maroon '51 Mercury. Steve and Laurie try to figure out what to do with their lives once Steve leaves, which causes them to break up. Curt meets Wolfman Jack who plays the great songs over the radio as they both try to find out who the mysterious and beautiful blonde is in the white '56 T-Bird. This and more all leads up to the race between John and Bob Falfa. This moment is stunning and a keep-you-on-the-of-your-seat moment. Could Falfa be the new champ? Both race fast down the road, when Falfa's Chevy spins off the road and topples over into falmes. Falfa and Laurie, who gets picked up earlier that night make it out okay as Steve and John try to tear them apart.
Steve and Laurie happily runite, and John wins the race but losing his crown as champ. Curt meanwhile gets in touch with the blonde, but her identity is still mysterious. The end is at the airport, where they all meet again. Curt decides to go, bidding his friends and family good-bye. As he is on the plane, he looks out the window and sees the white T-Bird going down the road. After this shot we see the pictures of the four guys and the following:
John Milner was killed by a drunk driver in December 1964.
Terry Fields was reported missing in action near An Loc in December 1965.
Steve Bolander is an insurance agent in Modesto, California.
Curt Henderson is a writer living in Canada. A true must-see coming of age story that everyone should see.
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Summary: The First of all Feel-Good 50s Films!
Review: "American Graffiti" is the best trip back to the summer of 1962 Hollywood ever had to offer! The eventful night when freshly graduated high school friends contemplated their futures while immersed in small town America's car-hops, drive-in movies & doo-wop music, is shown in "real time". Richard Dreyfuss is perfect as the smart kid, ready to drive off to college the next morning, but wondering if he's doing the right thing. Ron Howard and Cindy Williams get some practice for their soon to follow "Happy Days", while Charles Martin Smith and Candy Clark are wonderful as the goofus who wants to show a pretty girl a good time. Wolfman Jack plays himself (and cupid) when he plays a very special request going out from Richard Dreyfuss to his dream girl Suzanne Sommers. Look for a pre-teen McKenzie Phillips and a young Harrison Ford in minor roles. This film is a big winner in my book!
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Summary: Where Was I In '62? Where Were You?
Review: "Where were you in '62?" I wasn't around in '62 -- I was born in '63, as a matter of fact, and I was 10 when George Lucas' American Graffiti was released. I wasn't really aware of either George Lucas or American Graffiti in 1973, although four years later I would know Lucas from his next -- and most popular -- film, Star Wars. I did not go to the movies much in 1973, but I saw this wonderful film when it was broadcast by ABC some years later. (ABC, capitalizing on its "hot" new sitcom, Three's Company, shamelessly promoted it as "starring Suzanne Somers." In fact, Suzanne is not even billed with the eight "stars.") If film and television historians have it right, though, American Graffiti was the catalyst for the 1950s Nostalgia fad that begat TV's Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, and the blessedly short-lived Joanie Loves Chachi (not to mention Sha Na Na and Broadway's Grease). And it isn't terribly surprising that Happy Days and its spin-offs owe their inspiration -- if not their very existence -- to Lucas' first major culturally significant film. Happy Days starred Ron Howard, who (as Ronny Howard) had second billing in Graffiti, while Laverne and Shirley costar Cindy Williams was the female lead. American Graffiti is a bittersweet yet comedic look at what the DVD publicity blurb says was "America's last age of innocence." In the summer of '62, JFK was in the White House, the Beatles were still unknown in this side of the Atlantic, and drive in diners and movie palaces were very popular. There was no Internet or even Studio 54 just yet, so kids went cruising, looking for girls to pick up or rivals to race in their souped-up hot rods. (Lucas, in the Making Of documentary on the 25th Anniversary DVD, says his intent in making American Graffiti was to document cruising as a socio-cultural phenomenon that died in the more turbulent half of the 1960s.) The movie's structure -- commonplace now but it was revolutionary at the time -- intertwines several plots involving a group of recently graduated Southern California high school seniors on their last night before going to college. Curt (Richard Dreyfuss) is fretting about going to college in the East with his friend Steve (Howard). Wracked with indecision, he spends his last night in town searching for The Blonde in the White Thunderbird (Suzanne Somers in her first, albeit small, role). His misadventures cause him to step out of character, especially when he crosses paths with The Pharohs, the local gang of miscreants. Curt's sister Laurie (Williams) must not only cope with her brother's last minute bout with "cold feet" but with the fear of losing Steve. In what may be a typical situation for couples who are "steady" but are going to be separated by circumstances, she's devastated by Steve's suggestion that they "see other people" while they are in school. "I can't expect you to be a monk," Laurie says with false bravado, but in "The Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" sequence, it is obvious that she is hurt and angry. The other two subplots of this wonderful film center on Toad (Charlie Martin Smith) and John (Paul Le Mat). Toad is the car-crazy, girl-deprived nerd that we either knew in school or that we recognize in ourselves. His attempts to impress the lovely Debbie (Candy Clark) are hilarious -- rivaled only by a similarly themed scene in Summer of '42 -- only to discover that Debbie likes him for who he really is. John, on the other hand, is the Han Solo of this bunch, the high school dropout who loves fast cars and even faster women. He, too, discovers a tender side as he is saddled with 12-year-old Carol (a pre-One Day at a Time Mackenzie Phillips). Not only must he learn patience while driving around with Carol, but also he is being challenged as the top drag racer by Bob Falfa (played by the man who would be Han Solo, Harrison Ford). All these stories will converge in a climactic, winner take all race, and several Lucas touchstones will resurface in his later Star Wars series -- the choice to either take or reject a certain path, the relationship between men and their machines, and the quest for either love or adventure. Serving as a unifying thread to all these subplots is Wolfman Jack, mostly heard on the radio but seen briefly in a Yoda/Ben Kenobi style of mentor for restless Curt. Lucas uses music here very effectively. Each song (and there are over 40 here, ranging from Rock Around the Clock to The Great Pretender) was chosen to provide emotional context, not just period atmosphere. He envisioned American Graffiti as a musical "with no singing or dancing." This film is fun to watch and definitely deserves having been votes as one of the American Film Institute's top 100 Films of All Time. Watch it with a friend or alone, and if you were of age in the 1960s, answer the movie's famous log line: "Where were you in '62?"
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Summary: A trip back in time to the glory days of rock 'n' roll!
Review: "American Graffiti" has to be one of my all-time favorite movies. I'm only 12 years old, but I know my mom knew what it was like back in '62. I saw this movie 5 times, and I got the picture how it was. I loved the hot cars (especially John Milner's cute deuce coupe), and the sizzling soundtrack. My favorite actor and/or actress(s) is Paul Le Mat, Ronny Howard, Candy Clark, and Wolfman Jack. This movie was nominated 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director (George Lucas), and Best Screenplay (Story), If you loved living in the glory days of rock 'n' roll, get this movie! I know you'll love it!
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Summary: Excellent Film!
Review: "American Graffiti" is one of the best 70's movies ever made! Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard (the "Happy Days" star), Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips, Wolfman Jack, and Harrison Ford (from "Indiana Jones", "The Fugitive", and "Blade Runner") are awesome here! The film deals with the Californian high school graduates having fun one late summer night in 1962. If you have not seen "American Graffiti", I suggest you see it right away! You must own the DVD (like I do), if you own a DVD player. An excellent film!
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Summary: Greatest Movie Ever Made
Review: "American Graffiti" is so great because it is a movie that doesnt age. Its simply timeless. Teens of today can relate to this motion picture just as well as they could 27 years ago when this movie was released. "American Graffiti" is a nostalgic movie that will bring viewers back to the happy days of America, even if you weren't even alive yet. Another great thing about this movie is that it was the start independent film in America. This movie introduced to the world a bold new un-orthodoxed style in film making.With no one main character, and a story for each charactar, this movie had influences on movies such as "Dazed and Confused" and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" And it has a great soundtrack.
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Summary: The First of all Feel-Good 50s Films!
Review: "American Graffiti" is the best trip back to the summer of 1962 Hollywood ever had to offer! The eventful night when freshly graduated high school friends contemplated their futures while immersed in small town America's car-hops, drive-in movies & doo-wop music, is shown in "real time". Richard Dreyfuss is perfect as the smart kid, ready to drive off to college the next morning, but wondering if he's doing the right thing. Ron Howard and Cindy Williams get some practice for their soon to follow "Happy Days", while Charles Martin Smith and Candy Clark are wonderful as the goofus who wants to show a pretty girl a good time. Wolfman Jack plays himself (and cupid) when he plays a very special request going out from Richard Dreyfuss to his dream girl Suzanne Sommers. Look for a pre-teen McKenzie Phillips and a young Harrison Ford in minor roles. This film is a big winner in my book!
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Summary: Lucas' best film.
Review: 'American Graffiti' is easily George Lucas' best film. Not because of poor direction verging on the sloppy, killing any momentum with inept editing and boring compositions. Not because of a leaden script with no sense of structure, that prevents some decent actors from even thinking about characterisation, and which places the burden of period atmosphere and emotional resonance on the soundtrack. Not because of Lucas' usual preference for machines over people, or his misguided assumption that a string of tedious anecdotes makes a compelling, 'real' and nationally symbolic story. No. 'American Graffiti' is George Lucas' best film because it is 11 minutes shorter than 'Star Wars'.
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