American Graffiti (1973)

Director:

George Lucas

Writers:

George Lucas (written by) and
Gloria Katz (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

11 August 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

...is back! [1978 Re-release]

Plot:

A couple of high school grads spend one final night cruising the strip with their buddies before they go off to college.

Plot Keywords:

College | Night | School | Car | Summer

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Richard Dreyfuss	...	Curt
Ron Howard	...	Steve (as Ronny Howard)
Paul Le Mat	...	John
Charles Martin Smith	...	Terry (as Charlie Martin Smith)
Cindy Williams	...	Laurie
Candy Clark	...	Debbie
Mackenzie Phillips	...	Carol
Wolfman Jack	...	Disc Jockey
Bo Hopkins	...	Joe
Manuel Padilla Jr.	...	Carlos
Beau Gentry	...	Ants
Harrison Ford	...	Bob Falfa
Jim Bohan	...	Holstein
Jana Bellan	...	Budda
Deby Celiz	...	Wendy
Lynne Marie Stewart	...	Bobbie
Terence McGovern	...	Mr. Wolfe (as Terry McGovern)
Kathleen Quinlan	...	Peg (as Kathy Quinlan)
Tim Crowley	...	Eddie
Scott Beach	...	Mr. Gordon
John Brent	...	Car Salesman
Gordon Analla	...	Bozo
John Bracci	...	Station Attendant
Jody Carlson	...	Girl in Studebaker
Del Close	...	Man at Bar
Chuck Dorsett	...	Man at Accident (as Charles Dorsett)
Stephen Knox	...	Kid at Accident
Joe Miksak	...	Man at Liquor Store
George Meyer	...	Bum at Liquor Store
James Cranna	...	Thief
Johnny Weissmuller Jr.	...	Badass #1
William Niven	...	Clerk at Liquor Store
Al Nalbandian	...	Hank
Bob Pasaak	...	Dale
Chris Pray	...	Al
Susan Richardson	...	Judy
Fred Ross	...	Ferber
Jan Dunn	...	Old Woman
Charlie Murphy	...	Old Man
Ed Greenberg	...	Kip
Lisa Herman	...	Girl in Dodge
Mark Anger	...	Mr. Kroot (as Irving Israel)
Kay Lenz	...	Jane (as Kay Ann Kemper)
Caprice Schmidt	...	Announcer at Dance
Joe Spano	...	Vic
Debralee Scott	...	Falfa's Girl
Ron Vincent	...	Jeff
Donna Wehr	...	Carhop
Cam Whitman	...	Balloon Girl
Jan Wilson	...	Girl at Dance
Suzanne Somers	...	Blonde in T-Bird
Warren Knight	...	Herby and the Heartbeats (as Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids)
Sam McFadin	...	Herby and the Heartbeats (as Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids)
Kris Moe	...	Herby and the Heartbeats (as Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids)
Linn Phillips III	...	Herby and the Heartbeats (as Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids)
George Robinson	...	Herby and the Heartbeats (as Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Linda Christensen	...	Girl (uncredited)

Directed by
George Lucas

Writing credits
George Lucas		(written by) and
Gloria Katz		(written by) &
Willard Huyck		(written by)

Produced by
Francis Ford Coppola	....	producer
Gary Kurtz	....	co-producer

Cinematography by
Jan D'Alquen		(director of photography)
Ron Eveslage		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Verna Fields
Marcia Lucas
George Lucas		(uncredited)

Casting by
Mike Fenton
Fred Roos

Art Direction by
Dennis Lynton Clark		(as Dennis Clark)

Set Decoration by
Douglas Freeman

Costume Design by
Aggie Guerard Rodgers

Makeup Department
Bette Iverson	....	key hair stylist (as Betty Iverson)
Gerry Leetch	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Jim Hogan	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ned Kopp	....	first assistant director
Charles Myers	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Doug von Koss	....	property master (as Douglas Von Koss)

Sound Department
Walter Murch	....	sound montage
Walter Murch	....	sound re-recordist
James Nelson	....	sound editor
Art Rochester	....	production sound (as Arthur Rochester)
Michael Evje	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Stunts
Bob Herron	....	stunts (uncredited)
Charlie Picerni	....	stunt driver (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
William Maley	....	gaffer
Ken Phelps	....	key grip
John Bonfield	....	electrician (uncredited)
Tony Coangelo	....	grip (uncredited)
Lawrence Gruenberg	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)
Paul Ryan	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Music Department
Kim Fowley	....	music producer
Kim Fowley	....	music recordist
Karin Green	....	music coordinator

Transportation Department
Henry Travers	....	transportation supervisor

Other crew
Toni Basil	....	choreographer
Jim Bloom	....	production associate
Christina Crowley	....	script supervisor
Nancy Giebink	....	production associate
Gino Havens	....	dialogue coach
Al Locatelli	....	design consultant
Beverly Walker	....	assistant to producer
Haskell Wexler	....	visual consultant
Dan Hess II	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Thanks
Oscar Hammerstein II	....	courtesy: use of the song Some Enchanted Evening
Richard Rodgers	....	courtesy: use of the song Some Enchanted Evening

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures (presents) (as Universal® An MCA Company)
• Lucasfilm (as A Lucasfilm Ltd / Coppola Co. Production)
• The Coppola Company (as A Lucasfilm Ltd / Coppola Co. Production)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1973) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cinéma International Corporation (CIC) (1973) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Cinema International Corporation (C.I.C.) (1974) (Japan) (theatrical)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (198?) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures (1978) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1979) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MCA Home Video (1985) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• CIC Victor Video (1990) (Japan) (VHS)
• Esselte CIC Video (1990) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Universal Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Video (2004) (Canada) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Chapel Distribution (2011) (Australia) (theatrical) (New 35mm Print)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Home Video Hellas (HVH) (1990) (Greece) (VHS)
• SP Films (2013) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2012) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray) (Universal's 100th Anniversary)
• Universal Studios Home Video (2012) (Canada) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Cinemobile System  location equipment by (as Cinemobile)
• Film Production Services  location equipment by (as Film Producers Service)
• Radio Advertisers Bureau  commercials selected from
• Universal Title  titles and opticals

Also Known As:

Runtime:

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

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Denmark:15 (video rating) | Finland:K-12 | Iceland:L | Norway:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:AA (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1991) (2000) | West Germany:16 | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | South Korea:15 | USA:PG (certificate #23582) | Brazil:14 | UK:PG (tv rating) | Peru:14 | Japan:PG12 (2010) | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

American Zoetrope Studios, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The scene in which Steve assures Laurie he is staying in town and not going with Curt was shot in one take. Ron Howard and Cindy Williams had already been released from shooting and were in their street clothes when they were told to put their costumes back on so they could shoot that scene.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the beginning, Falfa's 55 has chrome wheels. But when he rolls the car, it has painted wheels.

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?
[...]

Movie Connections:

References THX 1138 (1971)

Soundtrack:

At the Hop

Let's be the way we are not going to be anymore for just one more night!!

American Graffiti was a compilation of pop culture pique, a harbinger of political changes, and the birth of an era that explodes the "Leave it to Beaver America" simply by saying farewell to it!!!...Set in a small town in Southern California, with a bunch of people who's existence in 1962 means the 13th and final year of the fifties, it correlates a cosmic awareness with an innocent societal disagreement.... People are happy, but not happy enough to want to stay the same.... The constant bond throughout the film is Wolfman Jack, the "supercool" disc jockey who creates a thousand different images of himself just by virtue of what he says on the radio...He is illuminating as well as socially influential to a bunch of naive teenagers....The music in this movie is extremely entertaining, as it signifies the end of an Eisenhower style Utopia.. The couples that are paired off in this movie homogenize the attitudes and aspirations of these precocious 1962 teenagers, who are on the verge of growing up!! All of the characters in this film have an imperviousness to the objections related to a perceived totalitarianism brought on in the sixties, not just because the radical aspect of the decade has yet to be, but also, because locking horns with the authority figures is not second nature to them ...(Even Big John Milner)... The bevy of Radicalism which besieges our nation over the remainder of this decade, (the 1960's) created a metamorphosis in social behavior that would change all Americans, even the people living in the town of Graffit, California!!! This movie superbly exemplifies the phrase "The calm before the storm" It gives the entire movie audience a crystal ball concept analysis report that sparks a bittersweet realization and empathy for everyone who plays a significant role in this George Lucas masterpiece!! Director George Lucas has never been better...The cast is sensational!!and the film's unassuming demeanor surprisingly captures the honor of being one of America's greatest films on record!!! Five stars!! No question!!