The Graduate Reviews

Much has been said about how good The Graduate is. I have one word really to say, Amen! This film is wonderful in every way, from the cinematography, to the acting to the soundtrack.

ACTING- The acting is really quite excellent in The Graduate. In his first major role, Dustin Hoffmann(a great actor) is sensational as the innocent college graduate, while Anne Bancroft is also excellent as the older woman who seduces him. And Katherine Ross was surprisingly effective as the daughter Hoffmann's character falls for.

DIRECTION- Mike Nichols' direction is very, very good, easily one of his best directing jobs. He ensures flawlessly that there isn't a single wasted scene while watching The Graduate. And in my opinion, he thoroughly deserved the best director Oscar.

SCREENPLAY- I don't know when to start when saying how good The Graduate's script is. The humour is sophisticated and has the bite of a dry martini.

CINEMATOGRAPHY- The Graduate also benefits hugely from having beautiful cinematography, and it is quite innovative too. It also has a sense of visual irony about it, especially in the scene where Hoffmann runs to the church.

SOUNDTRACK- Maybe I am biased because I am very fond of Simon and Gunfunkel. In The Graduate, the soundtrack is so moving and beautiful, perfectly captures the mood of disaffected youth seething beneath the laid-back exteriors of the 1960s.

STORY- The Graduate works brilliantly as a satire, and the story is never less than engaging and thoughtful.

So all in all, The Graduate is a wonderful film on every level, one of my personal favourites of the 1960s that's for sure. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Brilliant soundtrack with amazing performances, and memorable characters that tell a bit more than what it's conveying in its controversial material.

Very overrated in my opinion. Dustin Hoffman is a great actor, but his performance here is just okay. Moreover, the development of the story is boring, the plot twist doesn't convince me, not even their characters. The end of the movie, which had the intention to be a surprise, came out to be completely unnecessary, and in fact it ruined the whole movie. A more realistic finale would have made this a much better movie. I give it a 6.

Having flicked through one of those '1001 films to watch before you die' books, I set off to find a few 'classics' that had previously passed me by. 'The Graduate' was one of these and I was fairly unimpressed by it.
I found it watchable, and enjoyable in places, but I certainly won't be watching it again. The best bits of the film are its more comic moments, which Hoffman pulls off in a fantastically dead-pan way (while sounding a fair bit like his character in 'Rain Man').
Maybe my viewing pleasure loses something in my not being a child of the 60's, but if a film is a 'classic' it shouldn't matter if the viewer was around in that era or not.
As for mid-life and 20-something crises: I'd take American Beauty over this.
As for a couple of other 'classics' that I unearthed, they included 'Grease' and 'One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest', which I would give 1 and 4 stars, respectively.

Not a bad film whatsoever, but very overrated. Yes, there's some fairly good actors, but it honestly still didn't help prevent this film from the 'dated' bug. It's such a film of it's time.

It only just got itself on the IMDb 250, but only just, and I'm pretty certain in a few years, it'll be off there for good. I think, in order to enjoy this more than I did, I think it would take me to 'like' these types of films, and, to be adapted to these times. I think after a while, you'll come to learn that it's not a brilliant film, and in parts is boring. Don't be afraid to say you don't like it or that it's overrated. Because it truly is. I think this is a prime example of people only saying they like this film, because it's a classic.

I think this film is aimed more at older couples, say 50 or over, not that it's a bad thing, but I think if a film is in the IMDb 250, I believe it should appeal to a variety of people. This film, doesn't accomplish that. It's not a film I'd watch again.

I'm giving it a 6, for now, but as time goes by, it might even drop to a 5.

I would probably say that The Graduate probably is the most famous romantic-comedy of all time and it deserves to be. I have seen a few things that have ripped off a few bits from this film especially the relationship between Finch and Stifler?s mum in the American Pie trilogy. The Graduate is filled with a lot of hilarious comedy, drama and romance. I think that most romantic comedies have drama in it as well as romance and comedy. Even though this film was made in 1967, I was quite surprised that a film like this hadnt been made before then. This film was nominated for Best Picture of the year but it didnt win. It is rare of a romantic comedy to earn Best Picture nominations of even wins.


Dustin Hoffmans proper on-screen debut was absolutely phenomenal! Dustin was only 29-30 years old at the time of this film. Hoffman as The Graduate caught not only the Academys attention but all film fans as well because he was then and still is one of the best actors of all time. He is very famous for this film but I believe that he is more famous in his two Oscar winning performances in Kramer Vs. Kramer and particularly Rain Man. What I think is so perfect about Dustin playing Benjamin is that he seems really innocent when with Mrs. Robinson. He feels like he is controlled by her and like she bullies him into sleeping with her because he is so shy. Benjamin is in love with Mrs. Robinsons daughter and Mrs. Robinson tries to seperate them. Anne Bancroft was amazing as Mrs. Robinson. Yes, Anne was hot as Mrs. Robinson but Mrs. Robinson is an absolute bitch to do this to Benjamin. Then again Benjamin should have the sense to not go through it because of how irresistable he finds her. Mrs. Robinson realises that this affair could effect Benjamins life but she doesnt care. I dont know what Mrs. Robinson true intention was with Benjamin. I?m unsure whether it was out of boredom, wanting control or to cheat on her husband purposely.


Mike Nichols amazing direction of The Graduate won him an Academy Award for Best Director. The camera angles in the romantic scenes with Benjamin and Mrs. Robinson were awesome especially the angle of the poster where you see Mrs. Robinsons leg and Benjamin standing there staring. This film was brilliantly written. The plot is very original but the way the layout of the script showed that it was thought-up very hard.


Overall, The Graduate is an absolutely fantastic and unforgettable classic that is an absolute masterpiece which makes it one of the best romantic comedies as well as one of the best classics ever!