By Alex Diaz-Granados
“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 actually conscious of either George Lucas or American Graffiti in 1973, though four years later I would know Lucas from his next — and most usual — film, Star Wars. I did not go to the movies much in 1973, but I saw this terrifi film when it was broadcast by ABC a lot of years later. (ABC, capitalizing on it is “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 it is spin-offs owe their inspiration — if not their very existence — to Lucas’ firstborn major culturally substantial 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 promotion 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 passed from physical life in the more turbulent half of the 1960s.)
The movie’s structure — commonplace now but it was revolutionary at the time — intertwines various plots involving a group of not long ago graduated Southern California high school seniors on their last night before going to college. Curt (Richard Dreyfuss) is fretting in regards to 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, even though small, role). His misadventures cause him to step out of character, peculiarly 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 circumstance for couples who are “steady” but are going to be divided by circumstances, she’s devastated by Steve’s suggestion that they “see other people” while they are in school. “I can’t suppose you to be a monk,” Laurie says with untrue bravado, but in “The Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” sequence, it is evident that she is hurt and angry.
The other two subplots of this terrifi 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 likewise themed scene in Summer of ’42 — only to discover that Debbie likes him for who he genuinely is. John, on the other hand, is the Han Solo of this bunch, the high school dropout who loves fast cars and even quicker 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 will have to he learn longanimity 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 assorted Lucas touchstones will resurface in his later Star Wars series — the choice to either take or reject a sure path, the kinship among men and their machines, and the quest for either love or adventure.
Serving as a unifying thread to all these subplots is Wolfman Jack, for the most part heard on the radio but seen briefly in a Yoda/Ben Kenobi style of consultant 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 aroused context, not just amount of time atmosphere. He anticipated American Graffiti as a musical “with no singing or dancing.”
This film is fun to watch and unquestionably 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?”
23 of 24 humans found the following review helpful.
American Classic
By Scipio
I in the first place watched this movie in high school. Despite having been told with regards to most of the best scenes in advance by my friends, it was still a lot of fun. Of course, a lot of other persons thought so too, as it spawned a nostalgia craze for the 50s and early 60s resulting in numerous (too many?) seasons of “Happy Days,” among others.
16 of 17 persons found the following review helpful.
A Portal Back To 1962! …. A Winning Film (& DVD To Match)!
By David Von Pein
I think you’ll find that the cash you’ll fork over for this DVD Collector’s Edition of 1973′s “American Graffiti” will be cash very wisely spent. Because the outstanding, in-depth, 78-minute documentary feature, “The Making Of American Graffiti”, is worth the cost all by itself.
Every single one of the film’s major cast members takes share in the documentary program. Director George Lucas and Producer Francis Ford Coppola (plus other members of the production staff and crew) likewise participate in this arousing and attention holding behind-the-scenes “Making Of” feature, which is one of the best documentaries I’ve ever come all over on a DVD.
Mr. Lucas talks in an open way and extensive with regards to the making of “Graffiti” and guides the viewer, step-by-step, through the some distinct elements of creating this distinguishable film — from the difficultness in getting a studio fascinated in the project, to the movie’s filming on the streets of two little California towns, and through to the release of the picture in theaters (the movie opened on August 11, 1973).
Many interesting tidbits of data are revealed in the documentary, including Harrison Ford’s recollection of his “cowboy hat”. It seems that Harrison was opposed to getting one of those amazing ’60s-style haircuts (as were others in the cast). So Ford talked Director Lucas into letting him wear a cowboy hat instead. And then there’s Charlie Martin Smith (“Toad”), who had galore difficultnesses parking his motor scooter in the film’s very introductory scene. But Charlie’s gaffe was left in the final cut of the movie by Director Lucas. (Which is a good thing too; it’s a great moment in the picture.)
Some original actor Screen Tests are likewise included in the Making-Of documentary. If you keep your eyes peeled on the “clapboards” that are shown in a few of these Screen Test shots, you’ll note that the date of filming is “May 26, 1972″ (which is 15 months before the movie in the end got freed into theaters).
“Graffiti” took just four weeks to film, but Mr. Lucas, for the duration of the documentary, said that it took him six months after filming was finished to edit the movie down to a manageable size. He tells us that his firstborn cut of “Graffiti” was a mammoth three hours in length. Therefore, much paring was required.
Other bonus features on the DVD include the Original Theatrical Trailer, which I found very good. Plus, a goodly number of “Cast & Crew Bios” to scroll through; as well as some informative Production Notes. All text pages I found most rewarding as well.
Then, of course, the DVD (which was in the first place freed by Universal Home Video on September 15, 1998, to commemorate the movie’s 25th anniversary) offers up a nice-looking Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 version of “Graffiti” itself. Colors look rich and completely filled and the black levels for the duration of the galore outdoor night scenes look very sharp as well, with little in the way of video distractions. Some fans of the film will no doubt be disappointed that a Dolby 5.1 re-mix was not included here (just a 2.0 Surround Sound track is applied for this DVD). But I think the Surround track does rather nicely. But a full-fledged 5.1 would likewise have been nice, to spotlight the aweinspiring number of rock-and-roll oldies in the film.
OTHER INFO ABOUT THIS DVD RELEASE………………..
Feature Film:
> Video — Widescreen 2.35:1 (Enhanced for 16×9 Widescreen Televisions).
> Audio — English (2.0 Dolby Digital Surround); French (2.0 Dolby Digital Mono).
> Subtitles — English and Spanish.
> Running Time — 1 hour, 52 minutes.
> Chapter Stops? — Yes. There are an abundance of chapter breaks here (49 total).
“The Making Of American Graffiti” Documentary:
> Video — Full Frame 1.33:1 (With clips from the actual film shown in 2.35:1 Widescreen).
> Audio — English only (2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo).
> Subtitles — English, Spanish, and French.
> Running Time — 1 hour, 18 minutes.
> Chapter Stops? — Yes. There are 7 total chapter breaks.
>> Menus — All “Static”. No music. No animated transitions.
>> Packaging — Keep Case. (One Disc.)
>> Enclosures/Inserts? — Yes. There’s a very nicely-done 8-page fold-out booklet, which includes behind-the-camera photos and quotes from George Lucas and galore other cast members on their memories of the film. Plus: Full Chapter Lists for both the movie’s Scene Selections and the Making-Of Documentary.
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“American Graffiti”, IMO, is in a class by itself. It has the perfective 1960s “feel” to it, that Director George Lucas strives so hard for (and succeeds in portraying). Each time you re-visit this film you are without delay transported back to the Summer of 1962, and to all those great oldies blaring away on the car radio.
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