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Summary: All about the cars!
Review: Just saw this last night on AMC and took special note of the cars featured since they are a HUGE part of the plot, as each person's car defines their character:1958 Chevrolet Impala - white. Ron Howard's car that gets stolen and stolen back. Great white/red "tuck and roll" upholstry. Notice that even the dashboard is tuck and roll - custom work, not from the factory. 1958 Edsel 4-door hardtop (I think it's a Citation, or the top-of-the-line model) - turquoise. Cindy Williams' car. Nerdy - probably belonged to her parents. 1932 Ford - yellow. The famous "little deuce coupe" that Paul LeMat drives/races. Looks like a miniature piston that serves as a shift knob. Note that this car has been "chopped," i.e. a section of the roof pillars has been removed to make the top lower. Very cool car. The maroon-colored Mercury that the Pharohs drive around in has also been "chopped," it appears. 1955 Chevrolet - black. Harrison Ford's car and the one that crashes to the tune of "Green Onions" at the climax of the film. This is a basic 2-door sedan, not a fancy Bel Air hardtop. 1960? - Citroen Deux Chaveaux - blue. This is Richard Dreyfuss' car - too nerdy to cruise in. Nowadays it's a cult classic. I think it's a 2-cylinder engine with (really) 12 horsepower. The canvas roof folds right up to provide sun and air. 1956 Ford Thunderbird - white. Suzanne Somers' car, probably the most famous vehicle in the film. 1960 Cadillac Sedan deVille - white. This is the car that McKenzie Phillips and Paul LeMat hit at the stoplight, spraying it with shaving cream and deflating the tires. Late '50s/early '60s VW Beetle cabriolet - red. Seen early in the film as Richard Dreyfuss and his ex-girlfriend have a little discussion in the "aft chamber," i.e. the backseat. Other cars prominent in the film are a 1961 Ford 4-door (the cops' car that gets its rear end "removed," a 1961 Ford Falcon station wagon (white), a 1960 Chevrolet Impala (the white 2-door that the gentleman gets out of at the liquor store) and a copper-colored 1957 Chevrolet. These last 3 do "double duty" in the cruising scenes and also in the used car lot as Richard Dreyfuss proves himself to the hoodlums he's hanging out with. Very accurate use of cars in the film - good stuff!
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Summary: George Lucas vs Universal....
Review: In 1973, when George Lucas made this movie, the preview audience liked it. They loved the performances of Cindy Williams, Ron Howard, Richard Drefuss, and Harrisson Ford kind of spoke to the early 70's generation of youth who distrusted the establishment and lived a life of fast cars. But Universal did not like the movie and cut about 8 minutes from the film to make it more "mainstream". Lucas was furious. But it did not stop the movie from becoming a hit with the public. about ten years later, after George Lucas had become a very successful film maker, he went back to Universal and said "I want to finish my movie and do my director's cut." By this time, the studio was under new management who realized that a large mistake had been made, and they said "Okay." So today the movie as you see it on the DVD is the director's cut and it's one of the most best praised movies ever spoken of. Since then Lucasfilm and ILM have done a lot of business with Universal in making some very good movies that have done well at the box office.
Rating: 
Summary: This film has been modified from the original!
Review: When he wasn't making digital modifications to his original Star Wars trilogy, director George Lucas apparently found the time to tweak his first blockbuster, American Graffiti, as well. A glorious orange sunset has been dropped behind Mel's Drive-In in the opening shot, where originally was just a solid blue sky.
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Summary: Has it really been 30 years?
Review: I saw this film and Diner (1982) when each was first released and have since followed with interest the subsequent careers of their youthful lead actors, notably Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Charles Martin Smith and Cindy Williams in American Graffiti and Steve Guttenberg, Daniel Stern, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Ellen Barkin, and Paul Reiser in Diner. Separated by nine years, the two films offer informative as well as entertaining perspectives on their respective youth cultures. George Lucas directed this film which focuses on Modesto (California) during the late-summer of 1962. The screenplay and cinematography are seamlessly integrated with 4l popular tunes which comprise the soundtrack. Most of the central characters can be viewed as "tweeners," in awkward transition from one phase of life to another. For example, Curt Henderson (Dreyfuss) will soon depart for college but seems ambivalent about that. The others' plans are even less certain. Meanwhile, together or separately, they spend their evenings cruising around town. (All of the scenes are at night.) I enjoyed the humor, some of it poignant, and could identify with many of the situations which closely resemble those of my own teenage years in Chicago. Keep an eye open for Harrison Ford in a brief appearance as Bob Falfa. Who knew then what awaited him next: a minor part in The Conversations (1974) and then starring roles in Lucas' Star Wars (1977) and Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Of course, I have no idea how appealing American Graffiti will be to those born since (let's say) 1985 but it is still great fun for many of us born before then and will perhaps be of greatest interest to cultural anthropologists who study the teenage culture in the U.S. in the 1960s. For me a sobering thought with which I conclude this brief commentary: if Curt (Dreyfuss), Steve (Ron Howard), Terry (Smith), and Laurie (Cindy Williams) were real people and alive today, they would be about 59 years old. Hmmmmmmm.... If you purchase the DVD version (which I strongly recommend), be sure to check out the documentary "The Making of American Graffiti" which features interviews with director George Lucas, executive producer Francis Coppola, and other cast and crew members as well as never-before-seen screen tests. Excellent stuff.
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Summary: a great coming of age film
Review: this movie has so many future stars like harrison ford when they are jsut starting out it shows the joys of being a teenager in highschool and the hopes and fears we all have when we graduate and prepare for life
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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?"
Rating:
Summary: Relive Your Teen Years
Review: This 1973 film was directed and written by George Lucas. It runs 112 minutes in length. It has an all star cast consisting of: Richard Dreyfuss as Curt Henderson, Ron Howard as Steve Bolander, Paul Le Mat as John Milner, Charles Martin Smith as Terry "The Toad" Fields, Cindy Williams as Laurie Henderson, Candy Clark as Debbie Medway, Mackenzie Phillips as Carol and Wolfman Jack as the Disc Jockey. This film is about a group of teenagers who have recently graduated from high school and their adventures revolving around one summer night of cruising the streets in 1962.
The film opens as Curt Henderson and Steve Bolander are set to leave for college the next morning but Curt is reluctant to leave. Steve tries to convince him that leaving is the only option and the wise thing to do. Meanwhile, Steve's girlfriend Laurie Henderson pleads with him to stay behind and remain with her. John Milner is the "cool" character in the film. He drives the fastest car and always has someone challenging him to a race. On this particular night his challenger is Bob Falfa played by Harrison Ford. Terry "Toad" Fields is the nerdy member of the group. His adventure begins when Steve gives him the keys to his car and asks that he take care of it while he is away at college. Toad happily parks his scooter in exchange for the car. His luck increases when he spies Debbie Medway walking down the sidewalk and picks her up. This pair creates quite a venture in their endeavor to score liquor. This is a brief explanation of the characters in the film. It is very entertaining and regardless of the time period when you were a teen anyone will enjoy reliving the evening with the cast of this film. The film is also equipped with an excellent sound track of music from the 1950's and 1960's. I give this film five out of five stars. This movie makes you feel as though you were present with the characters throughout their life-changing events. It made you feel as though you had stayed up all night just as they had.
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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: A movie about life before the dark times.
Review: Before the vietnam war gave us a generation of leaders who hate and distrust America there was a different America. Lucas captures the essence of that time. More importantly its success gave George the money to make the greatest movie of all times, and I don't mean Apocalypse Now.
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Summary: REALITY KILLS
Review: Is AMERICAN GRAFFITI George Lucas's remembrance of a period he cherishes or an essay retracing the beginning of the sixties in the U.S. ? A mixture of both, I presume. Curt Henderson, like a Federico Fellini hero, wanders through the city and the night, looking for a sign. At the end of the movie, he will have taken a decision. His town is a dream come true: colourful, reassuring and without a single trace of dust. Curt's friends are equally so typical than it's hard to believe that Lucas has really met them in his youth. Anyway, the musical score is one of the trademark of this movie and adds to the nostalgia George Lucas wants us to feel. And it's really heart-warming to believe for two hours that yesterday was so nice and polished. A DVD for the Wolf.
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