movie review american graffiti

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, american graffiti.

Now streaming on:

My first car was a ‘54 Ford and I bought it for $435. It wasn’t scooped, channeled, shaved, decked, pinstriped, or chopped, and it didn’t have duals, but its hubcaps were a wonder to behold.

On weekends my friends and I drove around downtown Urbana -- past the Princess Theater, past the courthouse -- sometimes stopping for a dance at the youth center or a hamburger at the Steak ‘n’ Shake (“In Sight, It Must Be Right”). And always we listened to Dick Biondi on WLS. Only two years earlier, WLS had been the Prairie Farmer Station; now it was the voice of rock all over the Midwest.

When I went to see George Lucas ’s “American Graffiti” that whole world -- a world that now seems incomparably distant and innocent -- was brought back with a rush of feeling that wasn’t so much nostalgia as culture shock. Remembering my high school generation, I can only wonder at how unprepared we were for the loss of innocence that took place in America with the series of hammer blows beginning with the assassination of President Kennedy.

The great divide was November 22, 1963,and nothing was ever the same again. The teenagers in “American Graffiti” are, in a sense, like that cartoon character in the magazine ads: the one who gives the name of his insurance company, unaware that an avalanche is about to land on him. The options seemed so simple then: to go to college, or to stay home and look for a job and cruise Main Street and make the scene.

The options were simple, and so was the music that formed so much of the way we saw ourselves. “American Graffiti”‘s sound track is papered from one end to the other with Wolfman Jack ’s nonstop disc jockey show, that’s crucial and absolutely right. The radio was on every waking moment. A character in the movie only realizes his car, parked nearby, has been stolen when he hears the music stop: He didn’t hear the car being driven away.

The music was as innocent as the time. Songs like “ Sixteen Candles ” and “Gonna Find Her” and “The Book of Love” sound touchingly naive today; nothing prepared us for the decadence and the aggression of rock only a handful of years later. The Rolling Stones of 1972 would have blown WLS off the air in 1962.

“American Graffiti” acts almost as a milestone to show us how far (and in many cases how tragically) we have come. Stanley Kauffmann, who liked it, complained in the New Republic that Lucas had made a film more fascinating to the generation now between thirty and forty than it could be for other generations, older or younger.

But it isn’t the age of the characters that matters; it’s the time they inhabited. Whole cultures and societies have passed since 1962. “American Graffiti” is not only a great movie but a brilliant work of historical fiction; no sociological treatise could duplicate the movie’s success in remembering exactly how it was to be alive at that cultural instant.

On the surface, Lucas has made a film that seems almost artless; his teenagers cruise Main Street and stop at Mel’s Drive-In and listen to Wolfman Jack on the radio and neck and lay rubber and almost convince themselves their moment will last forever. But the film’s buried structure shows an innocence in the process of being lost, and as its symbol Lucas provides the elusive blonde in the white Thunderbird -- the vision of beauty always glimpsed at the next intersection, the end of the next street.

Who is she? And did she really whisper “I love you” at the last traffic signal? In “ 8 1/2 ,” Fellini used Claudia Cardinale as his mysterious angel in white, and the image remains one of his best; but George Lucas knows that for one brief afternoon of American history angels drove Thunderbirds and could possibly be found at Mel’s Drive-In tonight... or maybe tomorrow night, or the night after.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

Now playing

You Can Call Me Bill

Clint worthington.

Love Lies Bleeding

Brian tallerico.

Kaiya Shunyata

American Dreamer

Carla renata.

The Synanon Fix

Disappear Completely

Film credits.

American Graffiti (1973)

110 minutes

Latest blog posts

The Imperiled Women of Alex Garland’s Films

The Jinx – Part Two Continues One of the Most Fascinating True Crime Sagas of All Time

Introducing Ebertfest 25's Film Critics and Scholars

It's OK For Movies to Just End

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

site categories

‘american graffiti’: thr’s 1973 review.

On August 1, 1973, George Lucas brought his nostalgic film to the big screen at the Avco Cinema Center in Los Angeles.

By Alan R. Howard

Alan R. Howard

• Share this article on Facebook
• Share this article on Twitter
• Share this article on Flipboard
• Share this article on Email
• Show additional share options
• Share this article on Linkedin
• Share this article on Pinit
• Share this article on Reddit
• Share this article on Tumblr
• Share this article on Whatsapp
• Share this article on Print
• Share this article on Comment

On August 1, 1973, George Lucas brought his nostalgic film American Graffiti to the big screen at the Avco Cinema Center in Los Angeles. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below: 

Related Stories

'deadwood': thr's 2004 review, 'family guy': thr's 1999 review.

American Graffiti takes place in Modesto, California, in the early ‘ 60s , the twilight of American innocence, before drugs, Vietnam, assassination and political protest. During one night the town’s teenagers cruise the city streets in their fancy cars, fighting, dueling, arguing, falling in and out of love.

The ingeniously structured screenplay by Katz, Huyck and Lucas offers up a load of wonderful characters who whirl about in ducktail haircuts and shirtwaist dresses, lost in the obscenity of American culture. Thanks to some of the most spirited, daffy dialogue since Lubitsch , their sweetness is deliriously funny. No matter how high the dramatic stakes become, the movie never loses its sense of humor, and although it has a lot to say, it’s gloriously free of pretensions.

Lucas’ great accomplishment is that the proceedings don’t look like camp. Instead, the movie is a comic poem which celebrates the past but also catalogues its textures with telling precision. American Graffiti looks like no other movie, an achievement which is always the best measure of a truly gifted director.

The casting by Fred Roos and Mike Fenton is astonishing, down to the least important extra. Richard Dreyfuss plays the movie’s hero with humorous self-possession, a feeling of sanity which makes him a born survivor.

Ronny Howard plays the good, responsible kid, the class president in love with head cheerleader Cindy Williams, who gives the movie’s best performance as an engaging slip of a girl who probably doesn’t know she’s destined to a dreary, housewifey existence.

The comic duo is Candy Clark, a bleached blonde looking for liquor, sex and cheap thrills, and Charlie Martin Smith, a small guy who wears glasses and tries to pretend he’s not insecure. Clark and Smith are blessed with the best characterizations, and they take the movie away with their dizzy but warm bubble-headedness.

Harrison Ford is excellent as the king of the road in his fine car, a man destined to be dethroned because he’s too old to be playing such games. Bo Hopkins is the arrogant leader of the local street gang; Manuel Padilla Jr. and Beau Gentry are his followers.

The smaller parts, and there are dozens of them, are as affectionately observed as the major ones. The performers who stand out are Kathy Quinlan, Terry McGovern, Jana Bellan, Jim Bohan, Scott Beach and Al Nalbandian.

The intricate, provocative soundtrack created by Walter Murch and Lucas is one of the film’s highlights. Throughout the movie disc jockey Wolfman Jack speaks through car radios, announcing an endless stream of ’50s and ’60s hits which create a parallel dramatic subtext.

The film’s steady technique serves the story with disciplined control. The fine photography by visual consultant Haskell Wexler, Ron Eveslage and Jan D’Alquen is light years from superficial gloss. The film editing by Verna Fields and Marcia Lucas manipulates the sometimes hectic pace without assaulting the audience.

THR Newsletters

Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Bafta confirms date for 2025 awards, netflix adds cesc gay-directed drama ’53 domingos’ to spanish film slate, ‘rebel moon — part two: the scargiver’ review: zack snyder, netflix, rinse, repeat, jenna fischer filmed ‘mean girls’ with a broken shoulder: “the wildest experience”, m. night shyamalan’s ‘trap’ trailer features josh hartnett as a serial killer at a concert, leonardo dicaprio had “a lot of great ideas” for lex luthor in ‘batman v superman’.

Common Sense Media

Movie & TV reviews for parents

• For Parents
• For Educators
• Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

• Get the app
• Movie Reviews
• Best Movie Lists
• Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

• Best TV Lists
• Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
• Common Sense Selections for TV
• Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

• Book Reviews
• Best Book Lists
• Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

• Game Reviews
• Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

• Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

• Podcast Reviews
• Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

• App Reviews
• Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

• YouTube Channel Reviews
• YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids Channels for Gamers

• Preschoolers (2-4)
• Little Kids (5-7)
• Big Kids (8-9)
• Pre-Teens (10-12)
• Teens (13+)
• Screen Time
• Social Media
• Online Safety
• Identity and Community

Explaining the News to Our Kids

• Family Tech Planners
• Digital Skills
• All Articles
• Latino Culture
• Black Voices
• Asian Stories
• Native Narratives
• LGBTQ+ Pride
• Best of Diverse Representation List

Celebrating Black History Month

Movies and TV Shows with Arab Leads

Celebrate Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary

American graffiti, common sense media reviewers.

Coming-of-age classic has smoking, gender stereotypes.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Friends express their loyalty to one another, and

Most of the teens in American Graffiti are struggl

Main characters are all White and mostly men. Whit

Fistfights, but no blood. Gunshots during a robber

Teens flirt constantly, talk about dating and brea

Several uses of "s--t," plus "damn," "goddamn," "a

Mentions of Chevy, Thunderbird, and Jeep cars, and

One teen gets a stranger to buy him alcohol at a l

Parents need to know that George Lucas' American Graffiti follows a group of teens in the early 1960s as they cruise the streets in their showy cars, flirting, fighting, and drag racing the night away. It stars Ron Howard, Mackenzie Phillips, Harrison Ford, and other well-known actors/directors early in their…

Positive Messages

Friends express their loyalty to one another, and Steven and Laurie thoughtfully try to figure out what the uncertain future will do to their relationship. But rebelliousness, including illegal acts (drag racing, etc.), is rewarded, and symbols of authority (cops and laws) exist to be circumvented and mocked. Casual racism when a teen says her mom won't let her listen to a radio host "because he's a Negro."

Positive Role Models

Most of the teens in American Graffiti are struggling with their identity and the transition to life after high school. Steve hurts Laurie at the start of the film but eventually realizes his mistake. Carol is tough, curious, and independent.

Diverse Representations

Main characters are all White and mostly men. White women have supporting roles; their lives revolve around boys (and what type of cars the men drive), but they do have their own minds and opinions. Still, gender norms are strongly enforced, as men are expected to chase women, a girl says "girls don't pay, guys pay," etc. Mexican American character Carlos, played by Latino actor Manuel Padilla Jr., has a handful of lines playing a gang member. The role starts off stereotypically, but the gang eventually becomes friendly with the main character. Casual racism when a teen says her mom won't let her listen to a radio host "because he's a Negro." At a school dance, brief glimpses of East Asian and Black students among a nearly all-White crowd.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Fistfights, but no blood. Gunshots during a robbery. A car crash and a car explosion. Groups of men, including a main character, harass women and girls on the street (whistling, a White teen calls out "buenos noches," young men follow women and girls with their cars) -- it's portrayed as OK behavior, with one girl appearing pleased when a man eventually uses the "right" compliment on her (comparing her to a celebrity she likes).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Teens flirt constantly, talk about dating and breaking up, and kiss. A character is pantsed, briefs visible. Innuendo ("I'll let you touch it. I mean, I'll let you touch the upholstery"). Backseat necking, petting implied. Flashing of bare bum (mooning). Stereotypes of romantic roles (men chase women; women judge men on how flashy their cars are). Some flirtations border on harassment -- see Violence & Scariness for details.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Several uses of "s--t," plus "damn," "goddamn," "ass," "hell," "bitchin'," "spastic," and "Jesus" used as an exclamation. Middle-finger gesture. A White character says her mom won't let her listen to a radio host "because he's a Negro."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Mentions of Chevy, Thunderbird, and Jeep cars, and a pop culture reference to The Beach Boys.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

One teen gets a stranger to buy him alcohol at a liquor store and then gets so drunk that he throws up. He also drives after drinking. Teens smoke cigarettes.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that George Lucas ' American Graffiti follows a group of teens in the early 1960s as they cruise the streets in their showy cars, flirting, fighting, and drag racing the night away. It stars Ron Howard , Mackenzie Phillips , Harrison Ford , and other well-known actors/directors early in their careers. Teens frequently smoke cigarettes and drink. There's a fistfight, gunshots (no one gets injured), drag racing, a car explosion, and some strong language ("s--t," "damn," "ass," "hell," "bitchin'," and "spastic"). Teens challenge authority, drink and drive, talk about sex, and make out, and there's one shot of a naked backside during a drive-by mooning. There's not much diversity -- the cast is nearly all White, and gender norms are strictly enforced (plenty of street harassment is portrayed as OK behavior, a woman says "girls don't pay, guys pay," etc.). But the characters realistically portray the confusion around this age, as newly graduated high schoolers who have yet to start work or college. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (4)
• Kids say (14)

Based on 4 parent reviews

It nails youthful nostalgia almost perfectly!

What's the story.

AMERICAN GRAFFITI is a coming-of-age dramedy set in Modesto, California, in 1962. Steven ( Ron Howard ) and Curt ( Richard Dreyfuss ) are leaving for college. Over the course of a long last night, Steven and Laurie ( Cindy Williams ) resolve to date others, while Curt chases a mysterious blond woman ( Suzanne Sommers ) in a T-bird. Meanwhile, Steven's friend Toad ( Charles Martin Smith ) takes Steven's car and romances a girl named Debbie (Candy Clark). Another friend, John Milner (Paul Le Mat), wants to drag-race hotshot Bob ( Harrison Ford ). Unfortunately, Milner gets saddled with babysitting 13-year-old Carol for the evening ( Mackenzie Phillips ). Teens tangle with a gang, destroy a cop car, get into a car crash, and consult with DJ Wolfman Jack (playing himself). With varying degrees of anticipation and fear, the teens leave high school behind.

Is It Any Good?

Four years before he would make Star Wars , a then-unknown George Lucas set the standard for teen movies with this exceptional film . The cast is uniformly strong. Most of the young actors are famous now: Howard, Ford, Dreyfus, Sommers, and Phillips have all had long careers. And the soundtrack, virtually a greatest-hits collection from the early 1960s, includes recordings from such early rock legends as Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, and Fats Domino. The songs are beautifully woven into the movie's restless teenage world. Like the characters themselves, America in 1962 was on the brink of enormous changes, and Lucas captures that momentous feeling, tinged with uneasiness, in the exceptional American Graffiti .

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how the teens in American Graffiti have just closed a chapter of their lives and whether they can relate. Teens: What phases of life have you completed? Elementary, middle, or high school? What do you think about the idea of moving away from everything you know?

How does American Graffiti compare with contemporary movies about high school kids? How is it different? The same?

Which characters do you most identify with? Which ones feel more remote? What are the similarities or differences that make you feel this way?

The teens in American Graffiti spend several hours aimlessly driving around. Do you experience a modern-day equivalent of this type of freedom? Or does this lifestyle feel rooted in the past? What are the pros and cons of growing up without any digital connectivity?

What do you think about the way characters flirt and date in this film? Are they relatable, or do teens pursue romance differently today? Are the aggressive tactics used by male teens in this movie acceptable? Why, or why not?

Movie Details

• In theaters : April 11, 1973
• On DVD or streaming : March 1, 1992
• Cast : Richard Dreyfuss , Ron Howard , Charles Martin Smith , Paul Le Mat , Cindy Williams , Harrison Ford
• Director : George Lucas
• Inclusion Information : Female writers
• Studio : Universal Pictures
• Genre : Comedy
• Topics : Cars and Trucks , Friendship , High School
• Run time : 110 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG
• MPAA explanation : mature themes and sexuality
• Award : Golden Globe
• Last updated : April 16, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

Our editors recommend.

Breaking Away

Say Anything

Hairspray (2007)

Coming-of-age movies, coming-of-age books, related topics.

• Cars and Trucks
• High School

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Trivia & Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

Movies / TV

No results found.

• What's the Tomatometer®?
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening this week
• Top box office
• Coming soon to theaters
• Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

• Fandango at Home
• Netflix streaming
• Prime Video
• Most popular streaming movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• Civil War Link to Civil War
• Monkey Man Link to Monkey Man
• Scoop Link to Scoop

New TV Tonight

• The Sympathizer: Season 1
• Under the Bridge: Season 1
• Conan O'Brien Must Go: Season 1
• Our Living World: Season 1
• The Spiderwick Chronicles: Season 1
• Orlando Bloom: To the Edge: Season 1
• The Circle: Season 6
• Dinner with the Parents: Season 1
• Jane: Season 2

Most Popular TV on RT

• Fallout: Season 1
• Baby Reindeer: Season 1
• Shōgun: Season 1
• Ripley: Season 1
• 3 Body Problem: Season 1
• X-Men '97: Season 1
• Parasyte: The Grey: Season 1
• Sugar: Season 1
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV
• TV & Streaming News

Certified fresh pick

• The Sympathizer: Season 1 Link to The Sympathizer: Season 1
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

Video Game TV Shows Ranked by Tomatometer

MGM: 100 Years, 100 Essential Movies

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

Awards Tour

TV Premiere Dates 2024

Hulu’s Under the Bridge : Riley Keough, Lily Gladstone on Respecting Reena Virk’s Memory

• Trending on RT
• The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
• Play Movie Trivia
• Baby Reindeer

American Graffiti Reviews

The primary interest of American Graffiti is its setting and the nostalgia that it conjures.

Full Review | Nov 8, 2023

American Graffiti is a classic coming-of-age flick that holds up rather well after 50 years. It may not be too heavy on plot, but it more than makes up for it with its charming characters, brought to life by a tremendous cast, and its rockin' soundtrack.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Nov 6, 2023

I'm not sure I would have enjoyed their way of life, but it's a great one to remember, even if you didn't live it yourself, and it makes American Graffiti the ultimate nostalgia movie -- certainly the best teen-myth movie since Rebel Without a Cause.

Full Review | Oct 3, 2023

The movie has no resonance except from the jukebox sound and the eerie, nocturnal jukebox look.

Full Review | Sep 19, 2023

A surprise blockbuster hit with an enormous and lasting cultural footprint.

Full Review | Aug 26, 2023

Nothing much really happens as they hit the sock-hop, cruise the strip, grab a bite at the drive-in, and square off in a drag race on the outskirts of town. It’s more of a mosaic, jumping from character to character over the long, last night...

Full Review | Aug 19, 2023

George Lucas's “Great Gatsby,” his statement on his generation, and looking back, it’s clear that as popular as his later works became, this was his masterpiece.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Jun 10, 2023

A wistful picture about the twilight of American innocence, set on the precipice of the Kennedy assassination and Vietnam. It’s the last night of summer, in more ways than one.

Full Review | May 12, 2023

I admit it, seen it at least fifty times since 1973. Similar to Gone With the Wind American Graffiti packs a potent nostalgia which is why it always leaves you with a bittersweet ache.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Apr 27, 2023

Like a lot of great nostalgia pieces (Meet Me in St. Louis, Summer of ‘42, Cooley High, New York New York, Dazed and Confused) it seems to get better the further it gets from its original release date.

Full Review | Jun 30, 2022

The ostensible narrative focus is Curt (Richard Dreyfuss), the sensitive scholarship kid determined to break away, but the film, sometimes to its detriment, is more in love with the vibrant small-town milieu.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 20, 2021

I was, and remain, very tempted to add this film to my Top 100.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 2, 2020

A fun-filled cultural snapshot imbued with classic rock and reminiscence.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Aug 27, 2020

George Lucas has directed with a remarkably firm but unostentatious hand, two virtues equally rare in a young film maker.

Full Review | Jul 23, 2020

Without unnecessary nudging or underlining, Lucas beautifully establishes his characters as both enslaved to the image of themselves which the media have given them and permanently in need of its company.

Full Review | Mar 27, 2020

Stop reading this and go out and see it!

Full Review | Oct 2, 2019

... the music-filled picture still holds up nearly a half-century later.

Full Review | Aug 24, 2018

...it transports you to 1962, to a moment in American history in which all you had to worry about was your car, your music and your friends... [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Jun 5, 2018

The movie is a comic poem which celebrates the past but also catalogues its textures with telling precision. American Graffiti looks like no other movie, an achievement which is always the best measure of a truly gifted director.

Full Review | Aug 1, 2017

Maybe the best film about teenagers ever made.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Sep 11, 2014

American Graffiti

Of all the youth-themed nostalgia films in the past couple of years, George Lucas' "American Graffiti" is among the very best to date. Set in 1962 but reflecting the culmination of the 1950s, the film is a most vivid recall of teenage attitudes and mores, told with outstanding empathy and compassion through an exceptionally talented cast of relatively new players.

By A.D. Murphy

A.D. Murphy

• Domestic B.0. sizzles in record July 31 years ago
• $203.5 mil week makes B.O. history 31 years ago
• ‘Park’ propels June to new high 31 years ago

Of all the youth-themed nostalgia films in the past couple of years, George Lucas’ “American Graffiti” is among the very best to date. Set in 1962 but reflecting the culmination of the 1950s, the film is a most vivid recall of teenage attitudes and mores, told with outstanding empathy and compassion through an exceptionally talented cast of relatively new players. The Universal release, filmed in small towns north of San Francisco, is first-rate Americana which should strike its most responsive chord among audiences of 40 years of age and under, though older filmgoers certainly should enjoy it also.

Francis Ford Coppola was the nominal producer, and Gary Kurtz was coproducer. The superior original screenplay, in which the predominant comedy values are deftly supported by underlying serious elements of adolescent maturation, was written by director Lucas in collaboration with Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck. This is Lucas’ second feature; his first, “ THX 1138 ,” was a futuristic socio-political drama, not quite the total fantasy many might have thought it to be.

Popular on Variety

“American Graffiti” occupies that very lonely ground between the uptight misunderstood teenage mellers of its era, and the beach-party fluff on which American International held the only successful patents. Its milieu is the accumulated junk and materialism of the Eisenhower years, an endowment of tin theology and synthetic values which, in younger generations, sowed the seeds of an incoherent unrest that would mature violently a decade later.

Design consultant Al Locatelli, art director Dennis Clark and set director Douglas Freeman have brilliantly reconstructed the fabric and texture of the time, while Walter Murch’s outstanding sound collage–an unending stream of early rock platter hits–complements in the aural department. “Visual consultant” (read: cameraman) Haskell Wexler has done an excellent job in capturing the mood, refreshingly devoid of showoff lensing gimmicks. Even the limitations of the now-rarely used Techniscope anamorphic process contribute an artful touch of grainy, sweaty reality.

Against this chrome and neon backdrop is told the story of one long summer night in the lives of four school chums: Richard Dreyfuss, on his last night before leaving for an eastern college; Ronny Howard, less willing to depart the presence of Cindy Williams; Charles Martin Smith, a bespectacled fumbler whose misadventures with pubescent swinger Candy Clark are as touching as they are hilarious; and Paul Le Mat, 22 years old on a birth certificate but still strutting as he did four years earlier.

Mackenzie Phillips, in real life the 12-year-old daughter of composer John Phillips, is sensational in film debut as a likeable brat whom Le Mat cannot shake from his car. Harrison Ford is a hot-rodder whose drag-race challenge to La Mat provides a discreetly violent climax to the story’s restless night. Bo Hopkins leads a gang of toughs, and longtime deejay Wolfman Jack is heard regularly on the sound collage, and appears briefly in a scene with Dreyfuss.

There is brilliant interplaying and underplaying, of script, performers and direction which will raise howls of laughter from audiences, yet never descends on the screen to overdone mugging, pratfall and other heavy-handed devices normally employed. Some petting scenes get their point across without the patronizing voyeurisms so often found in nostalgia pix. The filmmakers’ hearts obviously were with their characters all the way. Lucas has done a truly masterful job.

Murch’s sound track uses about 40 platter hits, not all of which were precisely contemporaneons but no harm done. Film opens with Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock,” which serves Lucas well now as it did Richard Brooks in 1955 in that never-to-be-forgotten whammo main title of “The Blackboard Jungle.” Karin Green was music coordinator. Kim Fowley produced the two original recordings for the film, done by Flash Cadillac and The Continental Kids, playing a local rock band engaged for a freshman hop.

In such a meritorious filmmaking ensemble, lots more people contributed: hair stylists Gerry Leetch and Betty Iverson; editors (to 109 minutes) Verna Fields and Marcia Lucas; operating cameramen Ron Eveslage and Jan D’Alquen; costume designer Aggie Guerard Rodgers; choreographer Tony Basil; production sound recorder Arthur Rochester; sound editor James Nelson; and casting supervisors Fred Roos and Mike Fenton.

Without exception, all players fit perfectly into the concept and execution, and all the young principals and featured players have a bright and lengthy future. And so does Lucas. “American Graffiti” is one of those rare films which can be advanced in any discussion of the superiority of films over live performances; the latter can vary from show to show, but if you get it right on film, you’ve got it forever.

[Pic was reissued in 1978 in a 112-min. version featuring three extra scenes.]

1973: Nominations: Best Picture, Director, Supp. Actress (Candy Clark), Original Screenplay, Editing

Related reviews: “ More American Graffiti ”

• Production: Universal. Director George Lucas; Producer Francis Coppola, Gary Kurtz; Writer George Lucas, Gloria Katz, WIllard Huyck; Camera Haskell Wexler Editor Verna Fields, Marcia Lucas; Music Karin Green (sup.) Art Dennis Clark. Reviewed at Directors guild of America, L.A., June 15, '73. (MPAA Rating: PG.)
• Crew: (Color) Widescreen. Available on VHS, DVD. Original review text from 1973. Running time: 109 MIN.
• With: Curt - Richard Dreyfuss Steve - Ronny Howard John - Paul Le Mat Terry - Charles Martin Smith Laurie - Cindy Williams Debbie - Candy Clark Carol - Mackenzie Phillips Disc Jockey - Wolfman Jack Bob Falfa - Harrison Ford Gang Members - Bo Hopkins, Manuel Padilla Jr., Beau Gentry Rock Band - Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids Teacher - Terry McGovern Policeman - Jim Bohan Wendy - Debbie Celiz Blonde in Car - Suzanne Somers Vagrant - George Meyer Thief - James Cranna Liquor Store Clerk - William Niven

More From Our Brands

The metaverse flopped, so mark zuckerberg is pivoting to empty ai hype, a park-view aerie in one of n.y.c.’s buzziest towers lands on the market for $33 million, for vr prophets, 3dtv serves as a lebron-sized cautionary tale, be tough on dirt but gentle on your body with the best soaps for sensitive skin, did young sheldon just reveal the premise of next season’s georgie and mandy spinoff, verify it's you, please log in.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Metacritic reviews

American graffiti.

• 100 Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert On the surface, Lucas has made a film that seems almost artless; his teenagers cruise Main Street and stop at Mel’s Drive-In and listen to Wolfman Jack on the radio and neck and lay rubber and almost convince themselves their moment will last forever. But the film’s buried structure shows an innocence in the process of being lost, and as its symbol Lucas provides the elusive blonde in the white Thunderbird -- the vision of beauty always glimpsed at the next intersection, the end of the next street.
• 100 The Hollywood Reporter The Hollywood Reporter The ingeniously structured screenplay by Katz, Huyck and Lucas offers up a load of wonderful characters who whirl about in ducktail haircuts and shirtwaist dresses, lost in the obscenity of American culture. Thanks to some of the most spirited, daffy dialogue since Lubitsch, their sweetness is deliriously funny. No matter how high the dramatic stakes become, the movie never loses its sense of humor, and although it has a lot to say, it's gloriously free of pretensions.
• 100 The New York Times The New York Times American Graffiti exists not so much in its individual stories as in its orchestration of many stories, its sense of time and place. Although it is full of the material of fashionable nostalgia, it never exploits nostalgia. In its feeling for movement and music and the vitality of the night—and even in its vision in white—it is oddly closer to some early Fellini than to the recent American past of, say, The Last Picture Show or Summer of '42.
• 100 Variety Variety Of all the youth-themed nostalgia films in the past couple of years, George Lucas’ American Graffiti is among the very best to date. Set in 1962 but reflecting the culmination of the 1950s, the film is a most vivid recall of teenage attitudes and mores, told with outstanding empathy and compassion through an exceptionally talented cast of relatively new players.
• 100 The Dissolve Matt Singer The Dissolve Matt Singer It isn’t simply a nostalgic movie, it’s a nostalgic movie about nostalgia. Lucas could have set the film in 1959, when Steve, Curt, and John were still in high school and still cruising night after endless night. Instead, Graffiti begins right as the fun is about to end, and gives its characters just enough self-awareness to recognize that this is last call at the party. George Lucas isn’t the only one mourning for this magical lost era; the characters onscreen mourn right along with him.
• 100 TV Guide Magazine TV Guide Magazine In a series of touching and telling vignettes, American Graffiti follows a memorable crew of small-town teenagers through one momentous night in 1962. Based on George Lucas' own teenage hot-rodding days in Modesto, California, the appeal of American Graffiti is in its fragmentary scenes; the nervous camera jumps from character to character to present a powerful collage of American youth on the brink of maturity and the complex experiences of the coming decade.
• 90 The Telegraph The Telegraph American Graffiti is more a collection of vignettes than a straight forward movie, and the quality of the different plots is a bit hit and miss. But American Graffiti's appeal has less to do with plot and more to do with seeing the USA of the early 1960s faithfully recreated in celluloid, and Lucas gets every detail right. From the diner waitresses on skates to the hokey-sounding slang to the sock hop line dances to the gorgeous soundtrack (which is a aural treasure trove of late 50s and early 60s pop), Lucas doesn't put a foot wrong.
• 83 The A.V. Club Scott Tobias The A.V. Club Scott Tobias American Graffiti is an unabashed nostalgia piece, but the poignancy of Lucas holding onto this memory only becomes clear at the end. For these boys, nothing would ever be the same again.
• 80 Empire Empire A funny-serious movie with gorgeous cars and colours and an amazing feel for the artefacts of an instantly vanished era.
• 80 Time Out London Geoff Andrew Time Out London Geoff Andrew Too full of incident to reflect a typical night in reality, it's nevertheless funny, perceptive, pepped up by a great soundtrack, and also something of a text-book lesson in parallel editing as it follows a multitude of adolescents through their various adventures with sex, booze, music and cars.
• See all 15 reviews on Metacritic.com
• See all external reviews for American Graffiti

More from this title

More to explore.

Recently viewed

• Universal Pictures

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

Directed By : George Lucas

Written By : Gloria Katz, Willard Huyck, George Lucas

American Graffiti

Where to watch.

Richard Dreyfuss

Paul Le Mat

Charles Martin Smith

Cindy Williams

Candy Clark

Mackenzie phillips.

Wolfman Jack

Disc jockey.

Manuel Padilla Jr.

Beau gentry.

Harrison Ford

Jana bellan.

Lynne Marie Stewart

Terence McGovern

Kathleen Quinlan

Scott beach, critic reviews.

• All Reviews
• Positive Reviews
• Mixed Reviews
• Negative Reviews

User Reviews

Related movies.

Singin' in the Rain

City Lights

The Rules of the Game

Some Like It Hot

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

The Shop Around the Corner

A Hard Day's Night

The Philadelphia Story

Ratatouille

The Lady Eve

Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World

La Dolce Vita

Meet Me in St. Louis

The Apartment

Chimes at Midnight

Related news.

Every Guy Ritchie Movie, Ranked

We rank every one of the British director's movies by Metascore, from his debut Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels to his brand new film, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

2024 Movie Release Calendar

Jason dietz.

Find release dates for every movie coming to theaters, VOD, and streaming throughout 2024 and beyond, updated weekly.

April Movie Preview (2024)

Keith kimbell.

The month ahead will bring new films from Alex Garland, Luca Guadagnino, Dev Patel, and more. To help you plan your moviegoing options, our editors have selected the most notable films releasing in April 2024, listed in alphabetical order.

DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

Find a list of new movie and TV releases on DVD and Blu-ray (updated weekly) as well as a calendar of upcoming releases on home video.

SXSW 2024 Recap: Best and Worst Films

Which films impressed reviewers during the 2024 edition of the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival? We recap the reactions of critics to all of this year's major SXSW premieres and tell you which titles won the festival's major awards.

American Graffiti Review

01 Jan 1973

107 minutes

American Graffiti

George Lucas' second directorial effort - and his first big hit - was set in 1962 on the night before the graduating class of that year split up. An instant classic perfectly attuned to the mood of early 70s baby boomers who'd just woken up after Vietnam, Watergate and the hippie era. Besides setting Georgie and producer Coppola on the road to moguldom, this launched the acting careers of Ron Howard, Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss, Candy Clark, Charlie Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Joe Spano, Paul Le Mat and Kathleen Quinlan, all of whom interact as cruising teens on the strip in Modesto, California, and take their first steps into the turbulent 60s. A funny-serious movie with gorgeous cars and colours and an amazing feel for the artefacts of an instantly vanished era.

Related Articles

Movies | 13 07 2023

Movies | 07 12 2015

Movies | 25 06 2017

Accessibility Links

American Graffiti (1973) review — Harrison Ford’s charisma shines in this iconic drama

Challenge yourself with today’s puzzles.

★★★★☆ This landmark teen drama is vital to the history of American cinema. It’s a love letter from the Star Wars creator George Lucas to radio rock’n’roll (the use of a radio DJ voiceover was replicated by Reservoir Dogs ), drag racing (see The Fast and the Furious ) and the innate charisma of Harrison Ford.

His star-making appearance here, as racer Bob Falfa, was a dry run for Han Solo and he injects the movie with a welcome dash of scoundrel when he hisses at Charles Martin Smith’s nerdy Terry: “I ain’t nobody, dork!”

The ostensible narrative focus is Curt (Richard Dreyfuss), the sensitive scholarship kid determined to break away, but the film, sometimes to its detriment, is more in love with the vibrant

Related articles

American Graffiti

Where to Watch

Richard Dreyfuss (Curt) Ron Howard (Steve) Paul Le Mat (John) Charles Martin Smith (Terry) Cindy Williams (Laurie) Candy Clark (Debbie) Mackenzie Phillips (Carol) Wolfman Jack (Disc Jockey) Bo Hopkins (Joe) Manuel Padilla Jr. (Carlos)

George Lucas

A group of teenagers in California's central valley spend one final night after their 1962 high school graduation cruising the strip with their buddies before they pursue their varying goals.

Recommendations

More about American Graffiti

American graffiti said goodbye to both summer and youth.

Every day, Watch This offers staff recommendations inspired by a new movie coming out that week. This week: With the …

Advertisement

In most non-fact-based films, closing-title epilogues are superfluous: After all, these are fictional characters, …

American Graffiti: Collector's Edition (DVD)

Historical coming-of-age movies tend to portray the era in which they're set—almost always the era in which their …

Classic Film Review: “American Graffiti” (1973) at 50 — Nostalgia as American Epic

“American Graffiti” was a culture-shifting blockbuster when it came out, a modestly-budgeted movie with a mostly-no-name cast that spawned a 1950s-early-’60s nostalgia boom that swam against the tide that gave birth to disco and punk.

Its warmth, innocence and fun, celebrating “car culture” in the middle of an Arab Oil Embargo, gave us “Happy Days” and “Laverne & Shirley” on TV, movies from “The Buddy Holly Story” to “La Bamba” and oldies radio stations that endured well into the ’90s.

But looking at it anew, 50 years after it launched the career of George Lucas, passing over its impact on the culture, you can’t help but be struck by how beautiful it is — the glossy images, indelible, quick-sketch archetypal characters, the visual and aural grandeur of it all.

“American Graffiti” is an American Epic.

It’s about the allure of leaving for a bigger life vs. the pull of the comforts and security of home, the celebration of youth culture and nostalgia for its rituals, an eagerness to “grow up” battling the ease of a life of arrested development, curiosity and naivete contrasted with the first insights of worldly wisdom.

Director and co-writer Lucas plainly felt bittersweet, conflicted about it all, looking back on the early ’60s a mere decade after he lived through them. His film became his “Great Gatsby,” his statement on his generation, and looking back, it’s clear that as popular as his later works became, this was his masterpiece.

Lucas was recreating his rural, overwhelmingly white Modesto, California youth, serving up a sort of “Andy Griffith” past where the farm-town’s Latin populace is represented by a lone character, and the tiny number of Black residents didn’t register.

But race and a shift in the culture worked its way in, through the music and by this admission from annoying tween Carol ( Mackenzie Phillips ) about her favorite DJ.

“I just LOVE listening to the Wolfman! My mom won’t let me at home, because he’s a Negro.”

The four threads of the totally masculine story are firstly, the Great Romance. Ron Howard is Steve, college-bound and clumsily trying to extract himself from his steady girlfriend. Laurie ( Cindy Williams ) is the only girl to wear his #62 letterman’s sweater.

“Where were you in ’62?” was the movie’s poster tag-line. And Steve’s big George-Bailey-in-“It’s-a-Wonderful-Life” decision is whether he has the guts to hurt someone he loves. Howard is wonderful as the exasperated, conflicted and responsible center of the movie. Cindy Williams is here to break his and our hearts.

You Can’t Go Home Again if you Never Leave is the thread about Curt. Richard Dreyfuss is Curt, Laurie’s brother and just as college-bound as Steve. But even though Curt has no real ties holding him there, he’s conflicted about going to college way out East. He will spend this “last night” sampling the world he might be leaving behind, tempted by the mysterious blonde in the white T-Bird ( Suzanne Somers ), buffeted by all the people urging him to “LEAVE.”

“We’re finally getting outta this turkey town,” Steve pleads. Besides, you don’t “wanna end up like John.”

That would be John Milner (Paul Le Mat ), the Big Fish in a Small Town icon story thread. He’s an auto mechanic, and thanks to his yellow Little Deuce Coupe , the king of the illegal drag racing subculture. Like Wooderson, the “Dazed and Confused” character he inspired, Milner never left town, still acts like a juvenile and cruises every Friday night, looking for high school girls.

In Western terms, Milner’s the fastest gun. There’s always somebody new gunning for the legend. This night, that would be hotrodded ’55 Chevy cowboy Bob Falfa, played by future superstar Harrison Ford.

Curt? In a town of hot-rods and every V-8 under the sun, Curt drives a tiny Citroen 2CV. He’s plainly too hip for this ‘burg.

And the final thread is a Princess and the Frog story. Toad ( Charles Martin Smith ) is the runty mascot of them all, liked by everyone, respected by few. He figures his ticket out of that pigeon-hole isn’t leaving town. It’s Steve’s generous act of leaving Toad his ’58 Chevy Impala, fuzzy dice and all, to drive and take care of while he’s in college. Toad can reinvent himself in a town that thinks it knows him.

As we’ve seen him tumble off his Vespa pulling into Mel’s Drive-in, we know he’s got the steepest hill to climb. A lot of lies and misadventures trying to impress Deb ( Candy Clark ) lay ahead of him on this long, late-summer night.

As the music of the era — oldies from the ’50s, pre-Beatlemania/British Invasion pop and rock of the early ’60s — weaves in and out of the soundtrack, everybody in this narrative meets, flees or embraces his or her destiny.

The Dennis Lynton Clark production design of this picture is era-defining, and the 35mm Techniscope photography — the film had two directors of photography, with Lucas pitching in on some shots and Haskell Wexler “consulting” on the shooting — has a sheen that few digital shoots today could match.

But if you’re looking for the “Star Wars” saga to come in this film, you have to see beyond Harrison Ford and use your ears to do that. The seamless sound design (Walter Murch & Co.) uses music as the soundtrack of these lives. It is diegetic here , sounds that emanate from car radios — with every car radio tuned in to The Wolfman Jack Show — or a diner jukebox, with Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids recreating the hits of the day live at the Freshman Hop at the local high school.

A song introduces a shift in scene or a new sequence, heard in full, deep, stereophonic sound. Then we’re edited into the interior of this VW Beetle, that Chevy, Edsel, Buick or whatever , with the Wolfman pranking phone callers and promising that tonight “We’re gon’rock’n roll ourselves to DEATH.”

The genius of this film is its sense of dropping in on one night of lives being lived. School restroom primping rituals, eagerness to get your hands on “the hard stuff,” the liberation of having a ride for the evening, the security of having someone you want to ride around with, it’s all become cliches now. But when Lucas came at it, it was fresh.

“American Graffiti” is brimming with movement — the swirl of the high school hop, the whirl of motion at the drive-in, the cars “doing the loop.” Cruising, flirting, mooning, and peeling out as a mating ritual  isn’t limited to America, but it was invented and perfected here.

My favorite bits about it haven’t changed over the years. I laugh at the hilarious intimidation and then initiation of Curt into The Pharoahs, led by Bo Hopkins , every time it turns up. The famous Richard Dreyfuss laugh was introduced to the world in these scenes. How he kept a straight face among these goofy goons is a marvel.

And Curt’s fateful meeting with Wolfman Jack is quiet, touching and just a tad thrilling. He’s a kid stumbling into a creature of myth from the pre-Internet days when media figures could seem larger than life because who knew who this dude was, what he looked like or where he even broadcast from? Mr. “Ha’MERCY, baby” embodies the idol you meet, mentally cut down to size, and then swells back up in the memory as he is everything you want and hope him to be.

That’s been the journey George Lucas has taken through pop culture over the decades. Built up, an icon and emperor of an empire of his own creative imagination, losing style points and widely criticized before selling his brainchildren to Disney and regaining some of his obscurity as he did.

But fifty years on, we can look back, past the huge footprint he left on world pop culture, and watch this beautiful film that came directly from his adolescence and straight from his heart, a young man facing the first big choices life gave him and plunging on, straight into the nostalgia that would make him and entertain generations that followed.

He made “Where were you in ’62?” universal, a touchstone era and cultural shorthand for every “last night” of a “last summer” and the choices we all have to make at just that moment — move on or stay, grow up or — as we say today in an arrested development societal change that George Lucas helped engineeer — “cosplay.”

Label it as culturally significant or dismiss it as simply an astonishingly vivid snapshot, but there’s no way you can rewatch this close-to-perfect jewel of a film and not think “American Graffiti” is a defining modern American classic.

Rating: PG, fisticuffs, teen drinking, smoking, mild profanity

Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Cindy Williams, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Candy Clark, Harrison Ford, Bo Hopkins, Mackenzie Phillips, Suzanne Somers and Wolfman Jack.

Credits: Directed by George Lucas, scripted by George Lucas, Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck. A Universal release.

Running time: 1:50

Share this:

About Roger Moore

Top posts & pages.

• Movie Review: The "Civil War" so many have been asking for, but here on The Big Screen
• Netflixable? Reindeer herders face a "Stolen" way of life in this Swedish thriller
• Netflixable? Neighbors consider "Love, Divided" by a shared load-bearing wall
• Movie Review: "Deadly Justice," murderous goings-on Down Around Biloxi
• Movie Review: Keep Your Distance, Tiny Dancer "Abigail"
• Movie Preview: Richard Linklater makes Glen Powell his fake "Hit Man"
• Classic Film Review: "Leon: The Professional" (1994), as Twisted as You Remember It
• Movie Review: Guy Ritchie makes sport of Commando Combat -- "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare"
• Movie Review: Tom Sizemore suffers through the Cinematically Interminable -- "Impuratus"
• Movie Review: Chinese and in Japan? He'll never fit in without "Complicity"

Find a Movie Review

Like Movie Nation on Facebook

Recent Reviews/Stories

• Classic Film Review: Cagney and Bogie & Co. try to Survive “The Roaring Twenties” (1939)
• Movie Preview: Richard Linklater makes Glen Powell his fake “Hit Man”
• Movie Review: Keep Your Distance, Tiny Dancer “Abigail”
• Netflixable? Photojournalist faces the horror that he will “Disappear Completely”
• Movie Review: It all comes to a head in “The Big Bend” of Texas
• February 2024
• January 2024
• December 2023
• November 2023
• October 2023
• September 2023
• August 2023
• February 2023
• January 2023
• December 2022
• November 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• August 2022
• February 2022
• January 2022
• December 2021
• November 2021
• October 2021
• September 2021
• August 2021
• February 2021
• January 2021
• December 2020
• November 2020
• October 2020
• September 2020
• August 2020
• February 2020
• January 2020
• December 2019
• November 2019
• October 2019
• September 2019
• August 2019
• February 2019
• January 2019
• December 2018
• November 2018
• October 2018
• September 2018
• August 2018
• February 2018
• January 2018
• December 2017
• November 2017
• October 2017
• September 2017
• August 2017
• February 2017
• January 2017
• December 2016
• November 2016
• October 2016
• September 2016
• August 2016
• February 2016
• January 2016
• December 2015
• November 2015
• October 2015
• September 2015
• August 2015
• February 2015
• January 2015
• December 2014
• November 2014
• October 2014
• September 2014
• August 2014
• February 2014
• January 2014
• December 2013
• November 2013
• October 2013
• September 2013
• August 2013
• February 2013
• January 2013
• December 2012
• November 2012
• October 2012
• September 2012
• August 2012
• February 2012
• January 2012
• December 2011
• rogermooresmovienation.fi…
• doesthedogdie.com
• eddieizzard.com/en/run-fo…
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hun…
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli…
• gravatar.com/rogerinorlan…
• rogermooresmovienation.wo…
• Deadline.com
• Internet Movie Car Database
• Internet Movie Database
• The Hollywood Reporter

Follow Movie Nation by email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address:

Blogs I Follow

• Movie Nation
• Mann-ing Up
• Action/Adventure Film & Screenplay Festival
• Reel Time Flicks
• From the Fourth Row!
• keithandthemovies.wordpress.com/
• Los Angeles feedback film festival
• LOWLIFE MAGAZINE
• The Watcher Blog

RSS Feeds — subscribe, or else

• RSS - Posts
• RSS - Comments

Tweets and more tweets

• Max Von Sydow

Roger Moore's film criticism, against the grain since 1984.

Living in a Mann’s World

Get your short film showcased at the FEEDBACK Film Festival. Get your screenplay showcased at the Writing Festival.

Film reviews, news, previews and general insane ramblings of a film enthusiast!

Movies, Reviews,Trailers,Interviews and News

A monthly event... LAFeedbackFilmFestival.com

"Find what you love and let it kill you." – Charles Bukowski

Keeping an eye on all the latest mainstream films and television.

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

The best things in life are free.

Sign up for our email to enjoy your city without spending a thing (as well as some options when you’re feeling flush).

Déjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

Love the mag?

Our newsletter hand-delivers the best bits to your inbox. Sign up to unlock our digital magazines and also receive the latest news, events, offers and partner promotions.

• Things to Do
• Food & Drink
• Arts & Culture
• Time Out Market
• Coca-Cola Foodmarks
• Los Angeles

Get us in your inbox

🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed!

American Graffiti

Time Out says

Release details.

• Duration: 110 mins

Cast and crew

• Director: George Lucas
• Screenwriter: George Lucas, Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz
• Charles Martin Smith
• Cindy Williams
• Harrison Ford
• Richard Dreyfuss
• Candy Clark

An email you’ll actually love

Discover Time Out original video

• Press office
• Investor relations
• Work for Time Out
• Editorial guidelines
• Privacy notice
• Do not sell my information
• Cookie policy
• Accessibility statement
• Terms of use
• Modern slavery statement
• Manage cookies
• Advertising

Time Out Worldwide

• All Time Out Locations
• North America
• South America
• South Pacific

Where were you in ’73? ‘American Graffiti’ marks 50 years

With “American Graffiti” (1973), George Lucas wanted to put 1962 in a time capsule, and he ended up creating a film that has stood the test of time. It was added to the National Film Preservation Act’s catalog in 1995 and this week is being celebrated for 50 years of influence on filmmaking.

Lucas’ most personal film

Ironically, it’s the most different film among Lucas’ directorial catalog – the other five are sci-fi films – but it’s also his most personal (even though it’s also a rare film where he’s a co-writer, sharing duties with Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck). At one point, Modesto’s reigning street racer John (Paul Le Mat) walks with Carol (Mackenzie Phillips) through a junkyard and recalls a vicious crash – a reference to Lucas’ near-fatal crash a decade earlier.

The difference in genre disguises the similarities with “Star Wars’ ” Luke Skywalker, as Curt (an appealingly smirky Richard Dreyfuss) debates whether to stay or split town on this last night before he’s scheduled to depart for college out East. Steve (Ron Howard, in his proto-“Happy Days” role) likewise has this internal debate, and they make different choices at the end. The male leads – the fourth being Charles Martin Smith’s geeky Toad – are Lucas’ personality split into four.

“American Graffiti” (1973)

Director: George Lucas

Writers: George Lucas, Gloria Katz, Willard Huyck

Stars: Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Charles Martin Smith

For all “American Graffiti’s” simplicity as a slice of life in 1962 Modesto, and for all its mass appeal, it’s remarkably influential, too. The reason why many films before this time seem to be slow-burn and plot-based is because strict linear storytelling dominated.

“American Graffiti” carved a path for multiple-storyline narratives in the mainstream. We get a bit of Curt (who accidentally gets initiated into the Pharaohs), a bit of Steve (who thinks breaking up with Cindy Williams’ Laurie is the mature move), a bit of Toad (trying to be cool with Candy Clark’s Debbie) and a bit of John (who embodies the idea that “it’s all downhill after high school” since all he knows is racing, and his title is in jeopardy thanks to Harrison Ford’s proto-Han Solo Bob Falfa). Rinse and repeat.

Interestingly, Lucas was adamant that “Star Wars” (1977) return to linear storytelling, which is why he has never restored the deleted Biggs scenes on Tatooine to a cut of the movie. Because he wanted to capture the serial style, he had each character lead to the next character – the droids to Leia to Luke – rather than breaking the flow by cutting to Luke before his linear introduction.

It doesn’t need a plot

As ubiquitous as the multiple-narrative structure is now, it was “experimental” at the time. “THX-1138” (1971) was also experimental – more interested in dystopian themes than plot. It’s notable that Lucas – proving himself as a strong character writer here — has always struggled with the detailed part of plotting (he’s better at the macro portion, a.k.a. world-building). Because of Expanded Universe stories, every aspect of “A New Hope” makes sense to me, but someone watching it for the first time will likely find it filled with, if not plot holes, under-explained elements.

One thing “Graffiti” and “Star Wars” have in common is they move so briskly – thanks in both cases to the editors (Verna Fields and Marcia Lucas on this one) – that it’s like surfing on an attitude more so than following a story. In “Star Wars,” the story is bizarre (to the uninitiated) and “Graffiti” outright lacks an overarching story.

(It has memorable snippets of story, though. Toad’s and Debbie’s feared encounter with the Goat Killer shows Lucas could’ve been a slasher filmmaker if he wanted. And the Pharaohs’ move of ripping off the police car’s bumper is an all-timer among youth-movie pranks.)

“Graffiti” doesn’t need a big plot, because the characters and after-dark cruising vibe – narrated by radio DJ Wolfman Jack (who plays himself) — is enough. John Hughes’ Eighties films and Kevin Smith’s Nineties films further built “one night of young people being young people” into a genre.

Both of Lucas’ Seventies blockbusters are long music videos, in a way, with John Williams soundtracking “Star Wars” and the radio hits of the Fifties through 1962 filling “Graffiti.” “41 Original Hits from the Soundtrack of American Graffiti” pioneered that entire category of music album.

Cruising culture

The film captures a way of life I’ve never been comfortable with, but which I find fascinating in fiction. People just do stuff for the sake of doing it. “Cruising” culture – at its height in 1962 but it carried into the Nineties, at least – consists of driving back and forth through town. Teens and 20-somethings talk to other people through their windows while driving, and girls hop into guys’ cars on a whim.

The small-town, trust-your-neighbor attitude is taken for granted (Lucas knows no other approach). Humor is gleaned from the notion of sexual assault – Carol’s threat to John of crying rape in front of a police officer – and the idea of an older guy putting moves on a 12-year-old. John uses this tactic to finally get rid of Carol, who has been his cruising passenger against his wishes. When watched today, this aspect of “Graffiti” – wherein females are indeed objectified but likewise are respected as not being fragile — is as fantastical as anything in “Star Wars.”

So Lucas’ notion of making a nostalgic time capsule a mere 11 years after the time he’s chronicling proved wise. If someone made a nostalgic film about 2012 in 2023, it would be absurd. Things got worse in these past 11 years, but gradually and boringly. From 1962 to 1973, things got worse in shocking and sudden ways, so “American Graffiti” was a poignant look at the more innocent 1962.

In 2023, the film plays as a look back at the more innocent 1962 and 1973. Despite the cultural sea changes, it still wasn’t nuts in 1973 for people to casually trust each other. Now that seems like science fiction. As for the stakes — whether to leave for college or remain a townie, and a road race that puts nothing at stake except the most important thing, pride — they become epic under Lucas’ direction.

That’s why today’s teens (and today’s people who remember being teens) will never feel totally out of touch with the bygone time of “American Graffiti.”

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Hear me out: why More American Graffiti isn’t a bad movie

The latest in our series of writers defending unloved films is a defense of a sequel with more to it than people originally saw

A fter Bill L Norton’s More American Graffiti hit theaters in August 1979, Janet Maslin called it “grotesquely misconceived” in the New York Times. The movie still holds a 20% score on Rotten Tomatoes and, since its release, has been largely forgotten. But just like 2008 Kentucky Derby racehorse Big Truck, More American Graffiti was thrown to the wolves under the guise of a pitiful, boring title and high expectations. At the box office, the future Oscar-winner Apocalypse Now and the audacious Life of Brian ran the gamut – so More American Graffiti had to be a near perfect sequel in order to outshine its competition sweeping the US. It wasn’t.

The movie’s predecessor, 1973’s American Graffiti, was a perfect film. A baby boomer’s chef d’oeuvre. An Oscar-nominated encapsulation of suburban American idealism, positioned before the looming culture shift as the first troops touched down in Vietnam. It had the sitcom star Ron Howard and the future Oscar-winner Richard Dreyfuss. On the flipside, More American Graffiti was seen as a messy experiment – a movie not just decimated by Dreyfuss missing in the cast, but also by failing to nail the transition from the original’s late-night car cruises and doo-wop chart-toppers to a distinctive and differentiated riff on a decade-old counterculture.

Still, More American Graffiti does right in honoring the original by capitalizing on its narrative formula, in that it properly balances the lives of all of its protagonists – but this time not over the course of one summer night, but four consecutive New Year’s Eves. Milner (Paul Le Mat) is competing in an amateur drag-racing league in 1964; Toad (Charles Martin Smith) fakes his death during the Vietnam war in 1965; Debbie Durham (Candy Clark) falls in love with a honky-tonk singer in 1966 after Toad was reported missing in action; conservative suburban couple Steve and Laurie Bolander (Howard and Cindy Williams) are raising twin boys while their marriage falls apart in 1967. Each year is shot differently, ranging from super 16mm used during the Vietnam war chapter to the multi-angled split-screen shots reminiscent of the Woodstock concert film in the Haight-Ashbury scenes.

But to me, what defines More American Graffiti is the earnest attempt it makes at remembering. Like its predecessor, the film is eulogizing something . In American Graffiti, it was an era loved and longed for by the people who lived through it; in the sequel, it’s the memory of a now-deceased friend carried on by four people widely separated from one another, as if they are each living in four different worlds, or in four different films.

Where American Graffiti was immediately a breathing time capsule full of familiar faces that an entire generation could always return to, More American Graffiti was seen as unnecessary – released in the era before sequels became blockbuster endeavors. Movies like Jaws 2 and Beneath the Planet of the Apes, were obvious studio cash-grabs recycling exhausted ideas but More American Graffiti is an experimental love-letter to teenage omnipotence becoming adult mortality – with the urgency of foreshadowed devastation at the center of it all. The viewer knows Milner dies at the end, but the quick mentions of the anniversary of his death, the way each character’s memory of him is still so clearly palpable, reminds us that, yes, these characters have grown apart from each other, but they are still tethered together by the grief filled with Milner’s absence.

That’s what makes More American Graffiti so compelling, that there is a beautiful melancholia lurking beneath the comedic surface. It’s an empathetic look at the distances in which our sorrows can migrate. Early in the movie, Toad breaks the news to Milner about his upcoming deployment, to which Milner ironically retorts: “Just come back alive.” The story then ends 12 hours later, as the cast communally sings Auld Lang Syne at the break of midnight, while Milner drives his famous yellow Ford Coupe towards the car crash that will kill him. When his car disappears into the California landscape, the grief surrounding his death takes immediate shape in the collective suffering of what characters are still left to remember him.

More American Graffiti is available to rent digitally in the US and UK

• Hear me out
• Comedy films
• Drama films

Comments (…)

Most viewed.