1001 Movie Club - American Graffiti (1973)

#561. American Graffiti (1973)

Why It's In The Book: "Produced by Francis Ford Coppola and directed by his protégé and former assistant George Lucas, who also cowrote the autobiographically-flavored screenplay, this hugely entertaining, perceptive coming-of-age ensemble piece of high school graduates cruising through one eventful summer’s night in 1962 was inspired by 1950s teen pics but set the style – often imitated, never surpassed in hilarity, penetration, or technical virtuosity – for a hundred and one rites of passage comedies played out in classic cars to a vintage soundtrack. It was also the clear inspiration for such wholesome, nostalgic television sitcoms as “Happy Days” and “Laverne and Shirley”, featuring some of the same players and fanciful revisiting that supposedly more carefree youth era before Vietnam… The confluence of young talent brought energy, comedy, insight, and craft, superbly captures by cinematographer Haskell Wexler, one of Lucas’s early mentors…
In what was only his second feature, Lucas demonstrated a charm and warmth not found in his cool, futuristic debut, the Orwellian THX 1138. Shot in just 28 nights for well under a million dollars, American Graffiti not only became a box office smash, one of the most profitable pictures of all time, but received critical kudos and five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay, a triumph that enabled Lucas to make an even more phenomenal mark with his next film, Star Wars." -1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Member Ratings

Jaime Grijalba - 10/10
"my favorite decade is the 50s"
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Nicolas Krizan - 9/10
"the perfect blend of innocence and nostalgia"
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Adolytsi - 8/10
"The film is such an encapsulation of an era that you’ll have flashbacks of carhops, cruisers and sweet surfer rock’n'roll."
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Alyson - 8/10
"The film seems to be in a world where nothing is more important than cars, cruising, chicks and rock and roll."
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Movie Guy Steve - 8/10
"Who knew Richie Cunningham and Shirley Feeney went steady?"
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Squish - 8/10
"I said, go kiss a duck, marblehead."
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Sunny D - 7.5/10
"Clearly, making American Graffiti in 1973 was a genius move on George Lucas’s part, as it was a hangout film which was essentially about its own audience that reinforced how wonderful everything was back in the day. I may roll my eyes at it a little, but I can’t argue with the logic of it."
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Chip - 6/10
"American Graffiti is probably the first “nostalgia” movie ever made about the early rock and roll era."
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Siochembio - 6/10
"The sort of movie that my father absolutely loves."
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Overall Rating: 7.8/10