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Movies / On DVD / American Graffiti
American Graffiti

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American Graffiti (1973)

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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

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

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

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

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 3 Comments
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

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

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

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

Destined to be an instant classic. The performances are timeless.

comment Comment
09/18/02
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Moviehole

No review available.

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

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

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 still bears the mark of a superb filmmaking talent.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

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

Director George Lucas has evoked the era in a most authentic, moving, and aesthetically pleasing way.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
10/13/01
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

No review available.

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

No review available.

comment Comment
09/03/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

No review available.

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

...not a bad film but not an exceptional one either. It's modestly entertaining to watch, but I didn't find it really involving

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment 1 Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal

Teen tales don’t get much better than this.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

No review available.

comment Comment
05/01/03
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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