American Graffiti Reviews

(OK) Lucas's wonderful years´s 'vitelloni', all summed in one night woth a twist. It is Dreyfuss who travels and not his encouraging friend. Each one of the 4 male characters live his own light nghtmare...

I actually already saw this movie but it was a long time ago so I thought I should give it a 2nd chance, considering its pretty good reputation. Indeed, the first time around, I didn’t like it much and I even thought it was actually rather boring. Maybe I didn’t really get the appeal because I grew up in Europe and not in the USA and the whole thing seemed rather pointless to me. Well, this time around, I was finally able to see why it was so popular. The point is that it is actually rather realistic and, instead of having a straightforward plot, you just follow some American kids in the 60’s throught one night and, like any other teenagers, they didn’t do much actually. The funny thing is that 50 years later, they still do pretty much the same thing. Indeed, when I was younger, I used to go every year to Baltimore and, sometimes, the oldest son would ask me to go somewhere in his car and I remember while sitting in his car, I was really wondering where the hell we were going. We weren’t going anywhere, we were just driving around which was a very odd concept to me. Apparently, that was and still is their way to past their time in the week-ends. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, I still believe the characters were still not really engrossing and the way Ron Howard and Richard Dreyfuss’ characters suddenly switches their destinations felt rather artificial. Still, it remains a pretty good flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I love this movie. This poster hangs in our office. Both make me smile as I recall scenes from "American Graffiti." The car races, broken hearts, life's endless possibilities are something I think everyone can identify with. Can you identify the actor who was not part of this poster who later became very famous?

"We're finally getting out of this turkey town, and now you wanna crawl back into your cell, right? You wanna end up like John? You just can't stay seventeen forever."

All and sundry can recollect a teen flick that reflects accuracy in its depiction of the existing teen generation. American Graffiti was made during the 1970s but was set in the 1960s as we scrutinize the lives of the youths from the period. When this film was initially released George Lucas hadn't yet made a name for himself. For those of you familiar with Star Wars you will never recognise that this is actually George Lucas grasping the reigns.

Although American Graffiti was made several decades ago, very little of its influence and poignancy has degenerated. In fact this is still one of the greatest teen films ever made. Even if filmmakers used contemporary technology and was given a large budget, nothing would come close to the atmosphere or the accuracy of George Lucas' classic film gem. With this film Lucas proved that he was able to create an outstanding film on time and on budget (the film costed exactly $777,777.77 to make).

American Graffiti was released with the tagline "Where were you in '62?" and, logically enough, is set in 1962. This year was on the eve of the loss of American innocence - marginally preceding Kennedy's assassination and the Vietnam War. The focal characters of this comedy/drama movie are a group of high school graduates who spend their last night in town before heading off to college in the morning. We follow their exploits throughout the entire night as they cruise around town while listening to popular radio personality Wolfman Jack.

In creating American Graffiti Lucas learned a number of valuable lessons about filmmaking that proved useful when he went on to create the Star Wars movies several years later. Star Wars fans should be grateful of this film's existence.

With this film, Lucas has created the essential addition to the coming-of-age genre. These teenagers have to overcome hindrances to accomplish the shared objective of reaching adulthood. They cope with the predestined bereavement of innocence and their apprehension towards change. American Graffiti is not only a wonderful piece of entertainment even in this era of cinema, but it also marks a historical milestone in filmmaking and one of the most accurate non-Hollywood portrayals of the era it is representing.

The film also launched the careers of several people; Harrison Ford's acting career, Ron Howard's acting + directing career, Richard Dreyfuss' acting career, and of course George Lucas' versatile career in the industry. The central characters of this film are filled by Ron Howard and Richard Dreyfuss. This was far before any of them become famous and much-loved actors.

Because it has been several decades after American Graffiti first hit cinemas people always wonder what the appeal is for this classic. To address this query you can only watch the film. Honestly, you cannot describe the film's appeal using words. Needless to say it's an enthralling film with interesting characters and an intriguing plot.

It's a landmark in cinema and catapulted those involved to almost immediate stardom. Within the script you'll find outstanding humour, clever dialogue, hilarious situations and a suitable 1960s setting.

George Lucas purposely used a number of outtakes (including fluffed lines and actions done incorrectly) to create more of a realistic effect...and of course for the sake of an on-set laugh. American Graffiti embodies all the qualities of life as a teenager during the '60s. This doesn't focus on the parties, drugs and alcohol: instead it's a story about the fun that teenagers can have with a set of wheels and some interesting people. This is truly one of the most important films in cinematic history. Followed by More American Graffiti.