American Graffiti (1973)

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

Director:

George Lucas

Writers:

George Lucas, Gloria Katz

Stars:

Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

It's the proverbial end of the summer 1962 in a small southern California town. It's the evening before best friends and recent high school graduates, Curt Henderson and Steve Bolander, are scheduled to leave town to head to college back east. Curt, who received a lucrative local scholarship, is seen as the promise that their class holds. But Curt is having second thoughts about leaving what Steve basically sees as their dead end town. Curt's beliefs are strengthened when he spots an unknown beautiful blonde in a T-bird who mouths the words "I love you" to him. As Curt tries to find that blonde while trying to get away from a local gang who have him somewhat hostage, Curt may come to a decision about his immediate future. Outgoing class president Steve, on the other hand, wants to leave, despite meaning that he will leave girlfriend, head cheerleader and Curt's sister, Laurie Henderson, behind. Steve and Laurie spend the evening "negotiating" the state of their relationship. Meanwhile...

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Plot Keywords:

rock 'n' roll | car | california | street racing | 1960s | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 August 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Another Slow Night in Modesto

Filming Locations:

American Zoetrope Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$777,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$115,000,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$115,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Lucasfilm, The Coppola Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 112 min (re-release) (1978) 210 min (rough cut)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Dolby System®)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

George Lucas: [THX 1138] License plate on John Milner's car is "THX-138". THX 1138 (1971) is a film also directed by George Lucas. This number plate is on display inside 'The Main House' of LucasFilm's Head Office at Skywalker Ranch in Marin County.

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Goofs

As Falfa rolls his Chevy on Paradise Road a box wrench is clearly visible, lying on the bottom of the car body after the car comes to a halt.

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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 ...
[...]

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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.

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Alternate Versions

The 1978 re-release version was re-mixed for Dolby Stereo, which was not available when American Graffiti was produced.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Steve Martin/Kinky Friedman (1976)

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Soundtracks

I Only Have Eyes For You
Music by Harry Warren (uncredited)
Lyrics by Al Dubin (uncredited)
The Flamingos
Courtesy of Roulette Records:

User Reviews

As it should have been and sometimes was

While born three years after the events in the film, I could still relate to the plight of being a teenager on the threshold to adult life. I think it takes a pretty insensitive person not to be captivated by this excellent movie (boring? - because just one car blew up, or what?!). This was the 3rd or 4th time I saw it, and it is just getting better. It is unusual to see filmmaking of this caliber coming from Hollywood (not least when considering Lucas' latest offering - blech!), but like movies like "The Year My Voice Broke" and "My Life as a Dog", "American Graffiti" tells us something about where we came from, without being dull or preachy. ***½ out of ****