American Graffiti (1973)

Taglines:

...is back! [1978 Re-release] See more »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 August 1973 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Locura americana See more »

Filming Locations:

California, USA See more »

Budget:

$777,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$115,000,000 (USA)

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Lucasfilm, The Coppola Company See more »

Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »

Runtime:

110 min  | 112 min (re-release) (1978)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Trivia

Filming was beset by a series of misfortunes and disasters. The day before filming was due to start a key member of the crew was arrested for growing marijuana. On the first night of shooting it took so long to get the cameras mounted onto the cars that filming didn't get started until 2 a.m., putting the crew half a night behind schedule before they'd even started. Most of the outdoor footage was to be shot in San Rafael. After the first night of shooting the city revoked the crew's filming permit due to complaints from a bar owner that their blocking off of the main street was costing him business. Filming proceeded in San Rafael for three more nights, then moved to Petaluma, 20 miles away. On the second night of shooting a fire in a nearby restaurant brought fire trucks into the area, their sirens and the resulting traffic jam preventing any filming. During the filming of Milner's deuce coupe, assistant cameraman Barney Colangelo slipped off the trailer of the camera truck and was run over, suffering minor injuries. Paul Le Mat also ended up being rushed to hospital after suffering an allergic reaction to the walnuts in the Waldorf salad he had at dinner. Another night LeMat threw Richard Dreyfuss into a swimming pool, gashing his forehead on the day before he was due to have his close-ups filmed. Dreyfuss also had wardrobe complaints - he refused to wear the loud Bermuda shorts and shirt Lucas had chosen for his character. During the filming of the drag race between Milner (LeMat) and Falfa (Harrison Ford), the car's axle broke and was replaced. On the second try, the replacement axle broke. On the next try the car failed to veer off the road as planned, narrowly missing two cameramen lying on the road. See more »

Goofs

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Terry is trying to buy liquor, the sign on the door of the liquor store, although apparently appropriate to the period ("Winston" ad), says "Push" on the "Pull" side of the door. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Terry Fields: Hey, what do you say, Curt? Last night in town... you guys gonna have a little bash before you leave?
Steve Bolander: The Moose have been looking for you all day.
[hands a check to Curt]
Steve Bolander: They got worried... thought you were trying to avoid them or something.
Terry Fields: What is it? What do ya got?
Curt Henderson: Oh, great.
Terry Fields: That's $2,000 man! Two thousand dollars!
Steve Bolander: Mr. Jennings gave it to me to give to you. He says he's sorry it's so late, but it's the first scholarship the Moose Lodge has given out. And he, uh, says they're all very proud of you back at the lodge.
Curt Henderson: Cute. Why don't you hold it for me for awhile?
[...]
See more »

Crazy Credits

At the start of the closing credits, the character and actor names for the
main characters randomly appear in time to the opening xylophone notes of
the Beach Boys' All Summer Long, which continues to play over the credits. See more »

Connections

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Steve Martin/Kinky Friedman (#2.5)" (1976) See more »

Soundtracks

"Runaway"
Written by Del Shannon and Max Crook
Performed by Del Shannon
Courtesy of Embee Productions See more »