Search - American Graffiti [Collector's Edition] on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Language, Sexual Situations, Suitable for Teens Movie Release: 1973 DVD Release: 09/16/1998 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 52 mins Studio: Universal Studios Members Wishing: 49 Genres: Comedy Drama, Americana, Period Film, Teen Movie, Coming-of-Age, Ensemble Film

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, All Movie Guide

Richard Dreyfuss - Curt Henderson
Ron Howard - Steve Bolander
Paul Le Mat - John Milner
Charles Martin Smith - Terry Fields
Cindy Williams - Laurie
Candy Clark - Debbie

While George Lucas missed his first opportunity for a commentary track with this Collector's Edition DVD of American Graffiti, it remains a worthwhile disc. The transfer looks and sounds better than any video release of the film. The anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen transfer is a revelation after years of pan-and-scan video, replacing the old faded print with bright colors and a detailed picture. Always one for digitally tampering with his old films, Lucas went so far as to even enhance the original opening shot of Mel's Diner by removing the dull blue sky of the original with a gorgeous sunset. One of the first films to experiment with layered sound, the new Dolby Digital sound track is also impressive, with only a small amount of imbalance between the dialogue and the rest of the sound towards the beginning. Except for the film's original trailer, the only supplementary feature is an hour-long documentary produced by respected film historian and documentarian Laurent Bouzerau, which provides detailed interviews and rare behind-the-scenes footage including screen tests. While not quite on a par with other "collector's edition" DVDs in terms of supplements, the disc still succeeds in digitally restoring a classic film. ~ Oliver Thornton, All Movie Guide