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American Graffiti - Collector's Edition ReviewsRating: 5 - Yea! 1962 comes alive for posterity! How many times have you seen this movie? It just never gets tired, and the older I get, the more fun it is to watch it and realize how very many of the young then-unknowns have gone on to stupendously successful careers. I mean, George Lucas, Ron Howard, Harrison Ford (without the Indy hat, but the sneer is already present), Richard Dreyfus, Wolfman Jack, of course, and the list goes on and on... It's so true to small town life in the early 60s, teenagers just having graduated from high school and about to take their first step into adulthood. The whole movie takes place during one hot summer night and manages to capture the look, cars, feel, morals, music, and hopes of that era. This collector's edition DVD includes a long and wonderful commentary by Lucas with interviews of some of the actors, behind-the-scenes production notes. Tops. One to own - and watch it again with your kids when they ask you what it was like "back in the olden days." Rating: 5 - It is more like a dream than a movie! Please believe me! I was 17 during the summer of '62, and this excellent movie seems more like a dream than an actual film. It captures the feelings, the personalities, the innocence better than any film of this type. George Lucas' lighting and pacing throughout this wonderful film casts a surreal, dreamlike feeling. The characters are believable, despite a cast of future all-stars. There's the common guys like Ron Howard and Richard Dreyfuss, the nerds, the hoods, and the local hot-rod legend. Even Harrison Ford makes his debut as a redneck hotrodder named Bob Falfa. McKenzie Phillips plays the typical 13-year-old. The music soundtrack features many of the 50's and 60's great hits with a hint of reverb adding to the dreamlike atmosphere. A poignant film, that leaves you emotionally drained at the end. Anyone who doesn't like this film must have no romance in their soul. Stick to WWF. This is one of the all-time greats! Rating: 5 - A truly incredible movie I'm not sure what it is, but alot of films that deal with the past and nostalgia (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump) have held a fascination with me. Just the differences, no information age, cars that looked cooler, and the styles and music weren't as grained down and commercialistic as today. American Graffiti was a film I had heard about quite a bit (being a Star Wars fan), and it was last fall during the early morning hours that I sat down and watched it. Well, the people who love it are not kidding: it really is a great film! Taking place in Modesto, CA (a nod to George Lucas's hometown), we begin at sunset (redone for the special edition, the once overcast sky is now ablaze in orange and blue) at Mel's Diner. Here, we meet Terry, Steve, Curt, and Curt's sister Laurie. Tonight is the last night before graduation, and some of them are wondering what the future holds for them. As the sun sets, Steve and Laurie begin to question their future together (Steve wants to go to the East Coast for college, and Laurie is unsure of their relationship), Terry is loaned Steve's car, and picks up a cute blond (he manages to convince her that the car is his, and that he is of legal age to buy alcohol!), and Curt spends the entire night, tracking down a girl in a white Ford T-Bird(one of the most intriguing plots of the movie!), as well as getting into some fun trouble with a gang of teen punks. The plot also includes John, almost the image of the teenage rebel, who cruises down main street in his bright yellow hot rod (with his THX1138 license plate), and Carol, the only girl out of a carload next to him that wants to ride with him. However, John did not know that she was 13! But, the play off of John's toughman compared to Carol's "I know everything, I'm 13!" attitude is great dialogue. In a slightly cameo role, Harrison Ford plays cowboy hat-wearing Bob Falfa, driving a 56 Chevy, cruising for a drag race with John. Lucas does an incredible job piecing these teenager's stories together, with everything taking place from the dusk of one day to the dawn of the next. As you watch, you almost wish the night would never end. The town seems so small and almost intimate, it's an entitiy in itself, from the downtown crusing streets, all the way out to Mel's Diner. Right now, there are some parts that words just can't describe what I mean about the film. But, I can't say enough about the soundtrack. I hadn't enjoiyed a timeline soundtrack since the 2-CD set of Forrest Gump. All the music is great, not a bad song in the bunch. The music fits in the entire film's continuity, being croadcast by The Wolfman, a radio entity that almost everyone has an interpretation of who he is (but only one of our teens finds out, but I'm not going to say which one). The film was Lucas's first major hit, and it almost did not get made. If you can believe it, Lucas worked like a dog on this film on the tightest of schedules and budgets (the same type of mood on Star Wars almost led him to a total breakdown). But, out of the complexity of his work came this hit. Almost none of the studio executives had confidence in it, except for Lucas, his friends, and Francis Ford Coppola (a man who is credited for helping Lucas in his early days). DVD is the best way to experience this film. In terms of teen movies, I'd choose this hands down over the 90's films being released today. Instead of a picture cranked out by studio execs leaning to make a buck, Lucas made Graffiti with his past and nostalgia in mind. It truly deserves to be seen and heard.
American Graffiti - Collector's Edition |
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