American Graffiti (1973)
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97% of critics liked it
(37 reviews) -
79% of users liked it
(61,584 ratings)
It's the last night of summer 1962, and the teenagers of Modesto, California, want to have some fun before adult responsibilities close in. Among them are Steve (Ron Howard) and Curt (Richard Dreyfuss), college-bound with mixed feelings about leaving home; nerdy Terry "The Toad"… More It's the last night of summer 1962, and the teenagers of Modesto, California, want to have some fun before adult responsibilities close in. Among them are Steve (Ron Howard) and Curt (Richard Dreyfuss), college-bound with mixed feelings about leaving home; nerdy Terry "The Toad" (Charles Martin Smith), who scores a dream date with blonde Debbie (Candy Clark); and John (Paul Le Mat ), a 22-year-old drag racer who wonders how much longer he can stay champion and how he got stuck with 13-year-old Carol (Mackenzie Phillips) in his deuce coupe. As D. J. Wolfman Jack spins 41 vintage tunes on the radio throughout the night, Steve ponders a future with girlfriend Laurie (Cindy Williams), Curt chases a mystery blonde, Terry tries to act cool, and Paul prepares for a race against Bob Falfa (Harrison Ford), but nothing can stop the next day from coming, and with it the vastly different future ushered in by the 1960s. Fresh off The Godfather (1972), producer Francis Ford Coppola had the clout to get his friend George Lucas's project made, but only for $750,000 on a 28-day shooting schedule. Despite technical obstacles, and having to shoot at night, cinematographer Haskell Wexler gave the film the neon-lit aura that Lucas wanted, evoking the authentic look of a suburban strip to go with the authentic sound of rock-n-roll. Universal, which wanted to call the film Another Slow Night in Modesto, thought it was unreleasable. But Lucas' period detail, co-writers Willard Huyck's and Gloria Katz's realistic dialogue, and the film's nostalgia for the pre-Vietnam years apparently appealed to a 1973 audience embroiled in cultural chaos: American Graffiti became the third most popular movie of 1973 (after The Exorcist and The Sting), establishing the reputations of Lucas (whose next film would be Star Wars) and his young cast, and furthering the onset of soundtrack-driven, youth-oriented movies. Although the film helped spark 1970s nostalgia for the 1950s, nothing else would capture the flavor of the era with the same humorous candor and latent sense of foreboding. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
- Directed By
- George Lucas
- Written By
- George Lucas, Gloria Katz, Willard Huyck
- Genres
- Drama, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Aug 1, 1973 Wide
- Studio
- Universal Pictures
Critic Reviews
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A.D. Murphy, Variety
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.
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
A brilliant work of popular art, it redefined nostalgia as a marketable commodity and established a new narrative style, with locale replacing plot, that has since been imitated to the point of ineffectiveness.
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Geoff Andrew, Time Out
The film that launched a thousand careers.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
American Graffiti acts almost as a milestone to show us how far (and in many cases how tragically) we have come.
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Roger Greenspun, New York Times
It is a very good movie, funny, tough, unsentimental.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Richard Dreyfuss
as Curt Henderson
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Ron Howard
as Steve Bolander
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Paul Le Mat
as John Milner
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Charles Martin Smith
as Terry Fields
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Cindy Williams
as Laurie
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Candy Clark
as Debbie
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Scott Beach
as Mr. Gordon
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John Brent
as Car Salesman
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Del Close
as Man at Bar
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Tim Crowley
as Eddie
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Charles Dorsett
as Man at Accident
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Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids
as Rock Band
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Harrison Ford
as Bob Falfa
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Beau Gentry
as Ants
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Herby and the Heartbeats
as Rock Band
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Wolfman Jack
as Disc Jockey - Himself
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Terry McGovern
as Mr. Wolfe
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Al Nalbandian
as Hank
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Manuel Padilla
as Carlos
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Mackenzie Phillips
as Carol
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Kathleen Quinlan
as Peg
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Debra Scott
as Falfa's Girl
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Suzanne Somers
as Blonde in Thunderbird
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Joe Spano
as Vic
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Lynne Marie Stewart
as Bobbie
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Ron Vincent
as Jeff Pazzuto
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Ed Greenberg
as Kip Pullman
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Susan Richardson
as Judy
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Jana Bellan
as Budda
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Jim Bohan
as Policeman Holstein
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John Bracci
as Gas Station Attendant
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James Cranna
as Thief
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Joseph Miksak
as Man
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George Meyer
as Bum at Liquor Store
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Christopher Pray
as Al
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Charles A. Murphy
as Old Man
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Bo Hopkins
as Joe
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Jan Dunn
as Old Woman
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Johnny Weissmuller Jr.
as Badass
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Debbie Celiz
as Wendy
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William M. Niven
as Clerk
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Jan Wilson
as Girl



