Rating: Summary: Great movie to watch for outstanding acting! Review: The Graduate is one of those films one can watch any time and truly enjoy. Both extremely funny and extremely sad (sometimes in the same scene, a rare thing to achieve without succumbing to campy irony), it is also an instance of outstanding acting. Hoffman and Bancroft must truly be among the best actors/actresses of their generation (along with Malcolm McDowell, Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, etc) and their chemistry, if that's the right word given the nature of the affair, is terrific. Also great is Katherine Ross. Disappointing are the people who played Hoffman's parents--or perhaps they are deliberately portrayed as caricatures. All in all, a landmark, and never was a better atmospheric soundtrack chosen. The baby boomers should feel lucky to have this as one of their generation's finest...does Generation X even have one that defines them?
Rating: Summary: The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman proves to be one of the best Review: I just finished watching The Graduate again. I am sure most people have seen it or if you have not you have been living in a hole. Well maybe not a hole...What a great performance Hoffman gives us. His silence. His tone. All incredible. It is like watching Buster Keaton mixed with a confused teenager...well it is unbelievable really, unlike anything I have seen. I have not had a chance to watch Carnal Knowledge...Director Nichols' next film, although as soon as I saw The Graduate I rushed out and bought it. There are so many good ideas in this movie. PERFECT...PERFECT...The more you watch the movie you will see that everything, no matter how small, will lead to something...that it is not just in the movie. It is in there for a reason. EVERYTHING in this movie is important and will lead to the next scene or situation. It is brilliant. I loved it. The Graduate is a very very SMART movie. Please, watch it. More than once. You will appreciate it more. Jared
Rating: Summary: Perfect - there can be no good arguments against it. Review: This is totally THE single best film of all time. I am a big film fan, I love loads of films but I have yet to watch one film that tops this one. It is totally perfect. You only have to watch it to realise this (though maybe more than once to pick up all the subtlety). here is why this film is the best film ever ever made ever: The acting is brilliant. Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft work together like magic. all the actors are brilliant. (one word "plastics"). the relationships between the characters is genius. The Directing is fantastic. The party scene is made to feel wonderfully chlostrophobic as it follows Ben around the room trying to escape. the underwater diving scene - fantastic. and the shot through mrs. Robinson's leg - is there a more famous, classic, genius shot? the story is highly original and brilliant. The character development is exquisitly amazing. The subtle humor is so funny and so observant of society. ...and the soundtrack... OH the soundtrack! So appropriate to the mood. Simon and Garfunkel have created the most perfect soundtrack. this film cannot be described fully in words. just see it. Pure Genius.
Rating: Summary: Comedy or Drama? Review: Brilliant acting, by both Hoffman and Bancroft, make this easily my favorite movie. Acting aside, the script is excellent, and the ending is one of the best I've ever seen. The movie is great for repeat viewings, I just purchased it recently and have already watched it two more times. Try watching the movie once as a comedy and then again as a drama. Either way, the movie is incredible.
Rating: Summary: To Be Fair.... Review: ...I wasn't even a twinkle in my mother's eye when this film came out so perhaps I shouldn't really judge this film as I can spot holes. But I am judging it because I liked the film and I can also appreciate fact that this film was groundbreaking at the time I am giving it four instead of three stars.Never before had there been a film about someone who is post-coming of age but still too young to class himself as an adult and the kind of life, a mish-mash of boredom, identity, duty and frustration, most of us feel when we are in that often ignored transition phase (ignored by culture, parents, teachers etc.) Fresh from college graduate Benjamin Braddock simply does not know what he wants to do with his life; but he does know he doesn't feel quite ready to jump into the cosey little life his ghastly parents have planned for him (ghastly in that they are insensitive, pushy, self-obsessed and seem to want to show him off as a reflection on themselves rather than worried about his own happiness). And so this is the perfect opportunity for Mrs. Robinson a bored alcoholic housewife who despises her husband to pounce on him. Purely to add some glamour into his life Benjamin starts an illicit affair with her which turns nasty once he meets and falls in love with her daughter, Elaine. Hoffman is terrific as the confused Benjamin adding wonderful comic timing and making this film throroughly entertaining. Bancroft is also good as the spiteful and manipulative Mrs. Robinson and Katharine Ross doesn't do a bad job either as Elaine. I liked the fact that Elaine was not written as a sickly sweet young thing and you can fully believe in them as a couple and you can see what they see in eachother. However, I prefer the stage play version; it offers more insight into Mrs. Robinson and Elaine but then again I guess I'm biased. But the ending is best on film; now that wa undeniably good.
Rating: Summary: SENTIMENTAL EDUCATION Review: An old friend of mine used to tell me years ago : " In the worst movie, there are always at least 5 minutes of pure cinema which will make you survive the other 85 minutes ". In THE GRADUATE, there are a lot more of these 5 minutes of grace when the conjunction of music, image, dialogs and acting transforms a simple scene in a sheer artistic moment. I think that THE GRADUATE could be considered as one of the movies representing in the best possible way the sixties. Behind this sentimental comedy, you capture the heart of that period. Paraphrasing Benjamin, I would say that it's an adequate movie. The features are very interesting. Just compare the trailer and the movie and you will have an idea of the terrific DVD transfer work that has been done here. A DVD which is already in your library.
Rating: Summary: a classic film Review: this film is timeless.Dustin Hoffman is in one of his many great films.Anne Bancroft does a great job.the music is also a perfect match to the film.it's a perfect one-two punch.it has aged very well.it captures the time period really well.
Rating: Summary: At minimum, the best film of the '60s Review: You can watch this movie with the sound turned down and marvel at its iconography. These images truly resonate, even after more than 30 years. I'm 39, and just recently viewed this on DVD widescreen. My two cents on the symbolism: in traditional societies, men enter adulthood at puberty. The Graduate explores a dysfunctional culture in which Ben is basically kept a child, then expected to make sense of an adult world at age 21; insightful.
Rating: Summary: Hands Down-the best movie ever made! Review: I would really like to give this movie infinite stars! It blows my mind every time I watch it. The acting is impeccable; Dustin Hoffman's genius is even more apparent in retrospect while Anne Bancroft's Mrs. Robinson resounds with fullness and contradiction. The writing is both hilarious and wrenching and the cinematography, while wildly creative, is not at all distracting or self-conscious. The perfect pairing of these components with the incredible Simon and Garfunkle soundtrack make for the most nuanced, subtle, and serendipitous film I have ever seen. I have seen this movie innumerable times and it never fails to surprise me with a previously unnoticed gesture, squeak, or breath contributing to the overall genius. Finally, all of this would be superflous if the movie did not have the enormous soul that it does. The flawless artistry of its production has produced an immortal story that transcends the medium of film. This movie changed my life and I recommend it to absolutely everyone.
Rating: Summary: hmmmmm Review: whats the deal...why or how does he fall for the young one? wheres the romance like out of the blue in the space of ten minutes hes going from having an fair with her mother to wanting to desperately marry the daughter! ...i must be missing the middle section i dunno...good flick clever directing but what the heck
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