Ted Kramer's wife leaves her husband, allowing for a lost bond to be rediscovered between Ted and his son, Billy. But a heated custody battle ensues over the divorced couple's son, deepening the wounds left by the separation.
Director:
Robert Benton
Stars:
Dustin Hoffman,
Meryl Streep,
Jane Alexander
Bonnie Parker, a bored waitress falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.
Director:
Arthur Penn
Stars:
Warren Beatty,
Faye Dunaway,
Michael J. Pollard
Wyoming, early 1900s. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid are the leaders of a band of outlaws. After a train robbery goes wrong they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heals. Their solution - escape to Bolivia.
Director:
George Roy Hill
Stars:
Paul Newman,
Robert Redford,
Katharine Ross
"The Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon's resignation.
Director:
Alan J. Pakula
Stars:
Dustin Hoffman,
Robert Redford,
Jack Warden
A graduate history student is unwittingly caught in the middle of an international conspiracy involving stolen diamonds, an exiled Nazi war criminal, and a rogue government agent.
Director:
John Schlesinger
Stars:
Dustin Hoffman,
Laurence Olivier,
Roy Scheider
Ben has recently graduated from college, with his parents now expecting great things from him. At his "Homecoming" party, Mrs. Robinson, the wife of his father's business partner, has Ben drive her home, which leads to an affair between the two. The affair eventually ends, but comes back to haunt him when he finds himself falling for Elaine, Mrs. Robinson's daughter. Written by
Zac Abrams
Simone Signoret was considered for the role of Mrs. Robinson. See more »
Goofs
At the backyard birthday party for Benjamin, his father keeps whispering to him at the kitchen door, and Ben replies, hidden just a few inches away. Yet, in the next moment, when Mr. Braddock opens the door for him, he is 20 feet away, fully encased in a scuba mask and cowl, with the regulator in his mouth, and all sound cut off from the outside world. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Pilot:
Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to begin our descent into Los Angeles. The sound you just heard is the landing gear locking into place. Los Angeles weather is clear; temperature is 72. We expect to make our 4 hour and 18 minute flight on schedule. We have enjoyed having you on board, and look forward to seeing you again in the near future.
See more »
Many people who saw The Graduate on its original release, including critics like Roger Ebert, have misinterpreted the main point of the film. Ben Braddock is NOT a hero that is supposed to glorify the rebellion of the 60s generation. The viewer is NOT supposed to stand up and cheer after the final scene. Ben is supposed to represent the confused state of a college graduate stuck in between youth and adulthood. As best depicted by the scene where he holds the hotel door open for both the elderly group and the younger group, he feels alienated from both generations. He does not want to hear the loud music of the car next to him at the drive-thru, nor is he interested in `plastics' or the materialistic pleasures of his parents.
He has no idea what he wants out of life, and only thinks that marrying Elaine will be the solution to this problem. As the last shot depicts (which may be the best final shot in film history), Ben only seems to be happy for a few seconds after he and Elaine get onto the bus with no money, no prospects, and no certain future. In fact, Nichols cleverly uses Paul Simon's Sound of Silence, and drowns out much of the background sound to show that Ben's is in the same position at the end of the film as he is at the beginning. He has not found what he really wants to get out of life and is as confused as ever. This scenario is not dated nor is it only appropriate for the 60s, it can apply to anyone who is lost or has no idea what to do with his or her lives.
Nichols' brilliant direction reinforces the complex exploration of confusion and uncertainty. The flow of shots after he first sleeps with Mrs. Robinson is incredible, as is his use of the swimming pool to enforce his entrapment. He effortlessly switches in and out of focus at different depths of each shot to emphasize certain characters and dialogue. It goes without saying that the performances by Hoffman and Bancroft are first-rate. Add Paul Simon's haunting Sound of Silence, Scarborough Fair, and the instrumentals of what would become Mrs. Robinson, and you have songs and images that downright haunting. As a recent college graduate who was not even born in the 60s, I can say that this film has not dated, and is deserving of its #7 ranking by the American Film Institute.
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Many people who saw The Graduate on its original release, including critics like Roger Ebert, have misinterpreted the main point of the film. Ben Braddock is NOT a hero that is supposed to glorify the rebellion of the 60s generation. The viewer is NOT supposed to stand up and cheer after the final scene. Ben is supposed to represent the confused state of a college graduate stuck in between youth and adulthood. As best depicted by the scene where he holds the hotel door open for both the elderly group and the younger group, he feels alienated from both generations. He does not want to hear the loud music of the car next to him at the drive-thru, nor is he interested in `plastics' or the materialistic pleasures of his parents.
He has no idea what he wants out of life, and only thinks that marrying Elaine will be the solution to this problem. As the last shot depicts (which may be the best final shot in film history), Ben only seems to be happy for a few seconds after he and Elaine get onto the bus with no money, no prospects, and no certain future. In fact, Nichols cleverly uses Paul Simon's Sound of Silence, and drowns out much of the background sound to show that Ben's is in the same position at the end of the film as he is at the beginning. He has not found what he really wants to get out of life and is as confused as ever. This scenario is not dated nor is it only appropriate for the 60s, it can apply to anyone who is lost or has no idea what to do with his or her lives.
Nichols' brilliant direction reinforces the complex exploration of confusion and uncertainty. The flow of shots after he first sleeps with Mrs. Robinson is incredible, as is his use of the swimming pool to enforce his entrapment. He effortlessly switches in and out of focus at different depths of each shot to emphasize certain characters and dialogue. It goes without saying that the performances by Hoffman and Bancroft are first-rate. Add Paul Simon's haunting Sound of Silence, Scarborough Fair, and the instrumentals of what would become Mrs. Robinson, and you have songs and images that downright haunting. As a recent college graduate who was not even born in the 60s, I can say that this film has not dated, and is deserving of its #7 ranking by the American Film Institute.