RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / American Graffiti
American Graffiti

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

American Graffiti (1973)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
97 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:32

Fresh:31

Rotten:1

Average Rating:8.3/10

Consensus: One of the most influential of all teen films, American Graffiti is a funny, nostalgic, and bittersweet look at a group of recent high school grads' last days of innocence.

Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Set in 1962; Produced and released in 1973. AMERICAN GRAFFITI presents a powerful collage of youth on the brink of maturity just before the assassination of J.F.K.. Based on George Lucas's own... Set in 1962; Produced and released in 1973. AMERICAN GRAFFITI presents a powerful collage of youth on the brink of maturity just before the assassination of J.F.K.. Based on George Lucas's own teenage hot-rodding days in Modesto, California, this brilliant, bittersweet comedy inspired numerous other productions, including the long-running TV series HAPPY DAYS. Lucas's second feature film (following THX 1138), AMERICAN GRAFFITI contains an early screen appearance by Harrison Ford, who would figure heavily in the director's next movie, the sci-fi epic STAR WARS. The film follows one night in the lives of several recently graduated high school students. The genial Steve (Ron Howard) prepares to leave for college the next day, and Laurie (Cindy Williams), his girlfriend, is upset by his impending departure. Laurie's brother, Curt (Richard Dreyfuss), the class intellectual, is also slated for college, but he has serious doubts about his future. Also included here are the hopeless nerd (Charles Martin Smith) and the eternally cool drag racer, John (Paul LeMat), who feels pressure to live up to his reputation. A nostalgic feeling is evoked in seeing the teenagers cruising in their hot rods, eating at Mel's Diner, and listening to Wolfman Jack spin the latest hits, with the camera jumping from character to character as they each enjoy--or fret over--their last moments of summer freedom. [More]

Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Cindy Williams, MacKenzie Phillips

Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Cindy Williams, MacKenzie Phillips, Candy Clark, Harrison Ford, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Bo Hopkins, Wolfman Jack, Suzanne Somers

Director: George Lucas

Director: George Lucas
Screenwriter: George Lucas, Gloria Katz, Willard Huyck
Producer: Gary Kurtz, Francis Ford Coppola

[See More Credits]

Reviews for American Graffiti

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

A funny-serious movie with gorgeous cars and colours and an amazing feel for the artefacts of an instantly vanished era.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
05/06/08
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Lucas' direction is skilful and assured -- he follows several stories with wit and sensitivity -- and he's matched by his cast, the whole film perfectly evoking the end of an era.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/06/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film that launched a thousand careers.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
10/21/07
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

There is brilliant interplaying and underplaying, of script, performers and direction which will raise howls of laughter from audiences, yet never descends on the screen to overdone mugging, pratfall and other heavy-handed devices normally employed.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
06/27/07
A.D. Murphy
A.D. Murphy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A brilliant work of popular art, it redefined nostalgia as a marketable commodity and established a new narrative style, with locale replacing plot, that has since been imitated to the point of ineffectiveness.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
06/27/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

No review available.

comment Comment
02/15/07
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
www.susangranger.com

No review available.

comment Comment
01/15/07
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

No review available.

comment Comment
03/09/06
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

If Last picture Show presents gloomy portrait of small-town life prior to the advent of TV, Lucas moves the setting forward by a decade, in 1962, when TV had already become the mainstay of pop culture, though for his youths, radio is the relevant medium.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
02/13/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

...the ultimate nostalgia movie of all time ...

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Brad Laidman
Brad Laidman
Film Threat

Lucas' sleeper hit...casts a rose-colored eye back to a placid pre-Vietnam America, a time when rock 'n' roll was young and hot rods were cool.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
06/03/05
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
06/01/05
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

A successful tribute to an era of optimism and competitiveness which was bitchin’ -- and now seems very far in the past.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
05/04/05
David Bezanson
David Bezanson
Filmcritic.com

American Graffiti acts almost as a milestone to show us how far (and in many cases how tragically) we have come.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Trend setter, nostalgic, feel good hit

comment Comment
10/23/04
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

No review available.

comment 1 Comment
03/06/04
Ryan Cracknell
Ryan Cracknell
Movie Views

A hallmark film of the 1970s.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/30/03
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
07/09/03
Rebecca Murray
Rebecca Murray
About.com

It is a very good movie, funny, tough, unsentimental.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/21/03
Roger Greenspun
Roger Greenspun
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for American Graffiti

December 12, 2007: Walter Murch on Youth Without Youth: The RT Interview (With Exclusive Photos and Clips!)
This week, Francis Ford Coppola's Youth Without Youth hits theaters in limited release. The tale of a writer who becomes young again after being struck by lightning is a... More...

June 22, 2007: AFI Announces Top 100 Movies of All Time ... Again
Ten years ago the AFI gave us a list of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made -- and when that was done they churned out 15 other lists every few years. And then last night they... More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…
19% 19% Transformers: Revenge …
55% 55% Orphan
43% 43% The Proposal
26% 26% Land of the Lost

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
37% 37% G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
14% 14% I Love You, Beth Cooper
97% 97% Food, Inc.
28% 28% Aliens in the Attic

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Prince of Persia

Prince of Persia

Your first look at the swashbuckler.

Vampires

Vampires

We rank cinema's bloodsuckers.

Avatar

Avatar

The full trailer for Cameron's epic.

2012

2012

12 facts about Emmerich's disaster flick.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: Abrams eyes Micronauts, Aykroyd as Yogi Bear
84
  • J.J. Abrams Producing Micronauts Movie? Source: Wall Street Journal
11
  • Peter Murphy Filming Twilight Saga: Eclipse Cameo Source: MTV
18
  • David Goyer Promises "Existential" Ghost Rider Sequel Source: MTV
162
  • Emmerich Plans 2012: The TV Series Source: Entertainment Weekly
21
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
42
  • Guttenberg Promises Three Men and a Baby Sequel Source: WENN
66
  • Berenstain Bears Going CGI for Big-Screen Debut Source: USA Today
3
  • Ian McKellen Is Excited About The Hobbit Source: Sci Fi Wire
26
  • Owen Wilson IS Marmaduke Source: Hollywood Reporter
42
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • 12 Facts About 2012
132
  • Total Recall: George Clooney's Best Movies
91
  • Critics Consensus: A Christmas Carol Dazzles But Disappoints
41
  • Ho-ho-horror! 10 Scary Christmas Movies
36
  • Weekly Ketchup: Abrams eyes Micronauts, Aykroyd as Yogi Bear
28
  • Friday Harvest: Prince of Persia, The Road, and more!
22
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
14
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Christmas Carol Tops, Precious Rocks
5
  • New Moon Fan in the UK? Meet the Cast!
4
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
14
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
15
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
  • Emma Stone talks Zombieland - RT Interview
40
  • Michael Moore: The RT Interview
139
  • Andrea Arnold talks Fish Tank - RT Interview
4
  • Neill Blomkamp talks District 9 - RT Interview
51
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • American Graffiti at Rotten Tomatoes
  • American Graffiti at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.