American Graffiti (1973, Director’s Cut)

· by · in 1973. ·

Synopsis:

In 1962, a group of teenagers spends the last night of their summer vacation “cruising” the streets of their small town in Modesto, California. The youngsters, most of them on the verge of adulthood, ponder their future during one long and eventful night.

Reaction & Thoughts:

“Where were you in ’62?” — movie tagline

E.L. Doctorow meets John Hughes. George Lucas’s piece of Americana has lost its edge, but it’s still an immensely entertaining movie. Lucas based the film on his experiences as a teenager in Modesto, California. Most of the events in the movie happened, and the characters were inspired by real people. Writers Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck shaped Lucas’s experiences into a workable screenplay.

After the commercial failure of Lucas’s dystopian drama THX 1138, the filmmaker was eager to prove that he could make a mainstream film. Universal agreed to finance American Graffiti on one condition: Lucas had to make the film on a tight budget. The restrictions placed on the production were a blessing in disguise — the unassuming quality of American Graffiti is part of its enduring charm.

The film is an eye-opener for moviegoers familiar only with Lucas’s big budget sci-fi extravaganzas. Who would have thought? Before he got too preoccupied with gimmicks and gadgets, Lucas was an imaginative young filmmaker. Not only does Lucas demonstrate here that he knows a thing or two about camera placement, narrative structure, and pacing, but he also knows good acting when he sees it — Lucas gets wonderful performances out of what was a cast of mostly unknown actors.

Richard Dreyfuss (The Goodbye Girl) is a teen obsessed with a bombshell in a T-Bird, played by Suzanne Somers (TV’s Three’s Company). High school sweethearts, played by Ron Howard (The Music Man) and Cindy Williams (TV’s Laverne & Shirley), discuss ending their relationship. A nerd (Charles Martin Smith, Never Cry Wolf) hooks up with a quirky blonde (Candy Clark, The Man Who Fell to Earth).

There is also a funny subplot about a popular drag racer (Paul Le Mat, Melvin and Howard) who can’t get rid of an annoying twelve-year-old girl (Mackenzie Phillips, TV’s One Day at a Time). They are all terrific, but Clark stands out — she received a well-deserved Oscar-nomination. Also, with Harrison Ford (Raiders of the Lots Ark), Bo Hopkins (Midnight Express), Kathleen Quinlan (Twilight Zone: The Movie), Kay Lenz (White Line Fever) and legendary disc jockey “Wolfman” Jack as himself.

Editors Verna Fields (The Sugarland Express and Jaws) and Marcia Lucas (Star Wars) are the unsung heroes here. They had the difficult task of giving shape and meaning to endless hours of footage. And one can’t underestimate Walter Murch’s help in creating the film’s fantastic soundtrack, a great collection of memorable tunes. Beautifully photographed by Jan D’Alquen and Ron Eveslage.

Conclusions & Final Thoughts:

American Graffiti made a fortune (George Lucas used the money to help finance Star Wars), received endless accolades, and launched the careers of many people. The movie also inspired a slew of copycats, a sequel, and the popular ’70s TV show Happy Days. Pretty good for a movie about a group of aimless teens. Produced by Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather). Highly recommended! Color, 113 minutes, Rated PG.

Followed by More American Graffiti (1979)

Theatrical Trailer:

22 responses to “American Graffiti (1973, Director’s Cut)”

      • Between THX 1138 and Star Wars, George Lucas with American Graffiti made his mark for showing us all how the cinema would most significantly change for the 70s.

        Liked by 2 people

        • I think the success of Star Wars ruined Lucas. In all fairness, he did help create PIXAR and Industrial Light & Magic, so he never stopped contributing to cinema. But Lucas the Director kinda died with Star Wars. It’s sad because THX-1138 and American Graffiti are pretty awesome movies.

          Liked by 1 person

          • Indeed they were. So was the original 1967 short film by Lucas that was the basis for THX 1138. It received even more due acclaim that the feature length version. It was called Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB and can thankfully be found on YouTube.

            Liked by 2 people

          • I agree with that. Lucas just well became a franchise. He also allowed idotic revisions of his films (like James Cameron). One can hardly even see the original versions of THX, American Graffiti, and Star Wars. This is absurd. I really like ‘Graffiti’ and have it in Blu. Apparently the 4K was destroyed by Lucas (like Cameron did with his films). They have no respect for their own film history.

            Liked by 2 people

            • “They have no respect for their own film history.” Amen! And they remain unrepentant sinners! At least Spielberg apologized for altering E.T. Anyhow, I particularly hate the whole title-change thing: Star Wars is now called “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope”, and Raiders of the Los Ark became “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Why?

              Liked by 1 person

              • So many recuts for our most favorite films over the decades. Sometimes it may finally work out for fans as it did with Blade Runner. But films like Star Wars and E.T. can be most vulnerable even if the reasons for their recuts, indeed E.T.’s added scene with Elliot, may still shine through.

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                • Some do end up working out. Some. I like the longer versions of ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, ‘Nixon’, ‘Alexander’, ‘Gettysburg’, and ‘Gods and Generals’. I like the longer ‘Dances with Wolves’ too but it is more of a push with the theatrical. I think though a movie when put on Blu/4k discs should always include the originat untampered theatrical version AND when possible the original soundtrack. Then have your ‘fixed’ versions if you need to.

                  Liked by 2 people

                • Agreed. Some revisions are welcomed. The extended edition of Kingdom of Heaven is indeed much better than the theatrical version. Dances with Wolves is another movie that benefits from the extra footage.

                  I’m also happy that Ridley Scott was allowed to re-cut Blade Runner (Scott’s “Final Cut” is great). My favorite is perhaps Star Trek; The Motion Picture. Director Robert Wise re-edited the movie and fixed some FXs, and the end result is fantastic. The director’s cut is longer than the theatrical version, but shorter than the longer edition.

                  However, I hated the longer version of David Lynch’s Dune (the director disowned it). I’m not a fan of the Apocalypse Now extended cuts either (I think the theatrical version is pure perfection). Other director’s cuts that I disliked: Alien, The Exorcist, The Warriors, Donnie Darko, Cinema Paradiso, etc.

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                • The original Alien and Warriors, certainly in retrospect for how they originally influenced me as a kid, I would certainly agree are the much more preferable versions.

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                • Interestingly, Walter Hill was involved in both productions. Anyhow, I didn’t care for the comic-book-like panels added to Warriors (director’s cut). Alien has unnecessary additions as well. In my opinion, the theatrical versions were perfect and didn’t need the revisions.

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                • I could understand the reasons for the comic-book-like panels. But it did take something away from the original cut that I preferably enjoyed. Certainly the atmosphere for such a film at that time it was made.

                  Liked by 2 people

                • The panels don’t ruin the movie. It’s a wonderful movie, panels or no panels. But they do make the film feel less edgy. Apparently, Hill always wanted to give the movie a comic book vibe, so who am I to argue with the director of the film?

                  Liked by 1 person

                • Two more extended/theatrical I thought of was ‘That thing you do’ and ‘Almost Famous’. I really find the extended versions fascinating. I know the theatrical are leaner and meaner but in the longer versions I like being in that world some more.

                  Liked by 1 person

              • Excellent posts. I could not agree more with the likes and dislikes of the theatrical/extended cuts. What do you think of the different versions of ‘The Town’, ‘Gladiator’, ‘Troy’ and ‘Das Boot’? Just curious.

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                • I haven’t seen the longer versions of Troy, Gladiator and The Town.

                  Das Boot is an interesting case. I’ve seen three versions: theatrical cut (149 min.), director’s Cut (208 min.), and TV version (300 min.). Director Wolfgang Petersen prefers the 208 min. cut, and I agree with him. The theatrical version lacks character development, and the TV miniseries has way too many unnecessary details. The 208 min. cut is perfect, in my opinion.

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                • Another fascinating longer version of a film is Fuller’s WWII film ‘The Big Red One’. The longer version is very interesting.

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