American Graffiti is a Night TO REMEMBER | *First Time Watching* Movie Reaction & Commentary
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ย. 2024
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My first time watching American Graffiti (1973) A night to remember! I really enjoyed watching how this night marked each of these characters! I had no idea it was inspired by George Lucas' personal experiences prior to watching. Great film. I hope you enjoy my movie reaction and commentary for American Graffiti.
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wolfman jack was a real disc jockey of the era, and continued to appear on radio and tv well into the 90s.
and EVERYBODY listened to him.
I saw this film in 1973 when it was released. I was twelve years old and and even though the era they were depicting was only eleven years earlier it seemed like ancient history to me things had changed so much. Now 1973 is almost 50 years ago - time does fly.
Time really doesn’t stop. Truly something.
A whole lot changed between 1962 and 1973 (I'm 3 years older than you and fell the same way as you on this)
I just wrote the same thing. The cultural shift just between 1962 and 1967 was gigantic! 1967 sure didn't look like 1962.
I'm a few years younger - I was six in '73 - when I firs saw American Graffiti as a kid (I guess it must have been on network TV?) it definitely felt like it was depicting "the old days". I was shocked when I did the math and realized it took place only about ten years earlier. That is still so strange to me. It's the equivalent of a movie coming out today taking place in 2011 - but to me 2011 seems so recent.
The other fun thing about my first viewing of American Graffiti was seeing Ron Howard and Cindy Williams together. When I saw it, I knew them from Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley. And then there was Mackenzie Philips from One Day At A Time and Suzanne Summers from Three's Company (not to mention Harrison Ford from that space movie).
[EDIT: Now that I think about it, it must have been several years after 1973 when it aired on network TV. I have a vague memory of TV promos saying something like "from the creator of Star Wars" which came out in 1977.]
@@victorsixtythree Even twenty years ago wasn't as different. Even THIRTY years ago....1991...was not as culturally different, other than tech stuff, but not people's social mores, and definitely not music or movies.
Almost every actor in this movie was an unknown before American Graffiti. Most of the actors ended up being very well known in TV and movies! The only one who was well known at the time of this movie was Ron Howard because he was a child star.
By the way, the mystery girl that Richard Dreyfus' character keeps on chasing is Suzanne Sommers who became a big star in TV and an exercise queen. Even the girl with Harrison Ford became well known on TV. As for the 13 year old, well her dad, John Phillips was very famous. Then she ended up staring for many years in the very popular TV series One Day at a Time. I could go on...
It's really funny seeing all these actors before they were known!
It's the movie that launched 100 people's careers!
Ron Howard wasn't an unknown. He was on the Andy Griffith Show for years before this movie.
you win the prize for the most original selection of films among reactors.
Oh thanks! I do try to have variety, because it helps me stay engaged and the polls are a huge help even when I get on a binge like I have coming up (predator and zombies! The poll chosen films will help balance that out :)
6:38 Girl in the pink shirt is Kathleen Quinlan, she would star in several Sci-fi Horror films, Twilight Zone The Movie, Warning Sign, The Hills Have Eyes in 2006 and EVENT HORIZON. She would even star alongside Tom Hanks in APOLLO 13, with Ron Howard directing!
And Lifeguard with Sam Elliot I think
Also Never Promised You a Rose Garden.
Nominated for 5 Oscars:
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Original Screenplay
Best Supporting Actress, Candy Clark
Best Film Editing.
It didn't win either, having lost the first 3 to The Sting.
It won the Golden Globe for Best Picture, Musical or comedy
It made $140 million dollars at the box office against a $777,000 budget.
The Best Picture race was quite odd that year, with three comedies (Graffiti, The Sting, and A Touch of Class), a horror film (The Exorcist) and only one typical "Oscar bait" movie (Cries and Whispers).
Should have won Best Picture, in retrospect.
The Sting is far better
This movie made enough money to make Star Wars.
George Lucas based this on his teen years in Modesto, California. He was big into the car culture and had a yellow hotrod that he raced at sportscar rallies. He nearly died in a car accident (not his fault) and it made him rethink what he wanted to do.
So many of the stars in this went on to star in some of the biggest 70s sitcoms. Ron Howard, of course, went on to star in Happy Days, which was inspired by this movie. Cindy Williams starred in the Happy Days spin-off Laverne and Shirley. The girl in the white Thunderbird, Suzanne Somers, went on to star in Three's Company.
I've seen this a bunch of times and it's the first time I noticed that Dementia 13 was playing at the theater. That was one of Francis Ford Coppola's first films. Coppola was Lucas' mentor and produced his first film. Also, the license plate on the yellow hotrod is THX 138, a reference to Lucas' first film, THX 1138.
The little sister riding around with Milner was played by McKenzie Phillips, who was in One Day at a Time.
Actually Love and the Happy Days from Love American Style, the pilot, was made before American Graffiti.
Suppose Lucas hadn't survived that accident. Now imagine a world that knew no one by the name of Luke Skywalker - or of "Indiana" Jones.
Go ahead, I'll wait.
🤔
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How about the movies, with no *Industrial Light & Magic* to help with the sense of wonder?
🤨
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I know, I couldn't do it either. 😕
This was pretty true to the 60's thru the 70's when I graduated in 75. We fixed up our cars and would cruise the main street in our town or in the large city an hour north. We used to listen to Wolfman on XPRS "the soul express" out of Baja California at night. I took my son to a car show when he was about 10 and he got autographs and a picture taken with Paul LeMat (John Milner), Candy Clarke (Debbie) and Bo Hopkins (Joe of the Pharaohs) and John's 32 Deuce Coupe.
This movie is wonderful. So is the soundtrack.
I seem to recall that Cindy Williams was about four years older than Ron Howard, and it was a little awkward for them to do the make-out scene. Apparently in rehearsals they simply avoided actually kissing, until eventually they were forced to practice it legitimately. Incidentally, Richard Dreyfus played a college student in The Graduate (excellent movie, would be great if you could do it) which came out about six years earlier.
When Laverne & Shirley (Penny Marshall & Cindy Williams) were introduced on an episode of Happy Days, Shirley was set up as the blind date for Richie (Ron Howard). It was funny because they had already played girlfriend and boyfriend in American Graffiti.
Wolfman Jack was a real disc jockey& hosted a variety show The Midnight Special, FYI a lot of bands in the 70's made their first tv performances.
Wow I haven't watched this movie in years. But I always loved all the old classic cars in the film plus all the actors in it and omgosh the music
It was definitely a good time!
Modesto, Fresno, Bakersfield, are all big cites in California's Central Valley and most are surrounded by agriculture and are very flat with not a lot to do but go to the diner, cruise around. My mom and her HS friends would each pitch in a quarter and get three gallons of gas and a pack of cigarettes and cruise around Bakersfield on a Friday night. So yeah, kids want to get out of there and go to LA or SF or anywhere but there.
Back then, yes. Not now
One more comment, Chris. You handled the music in this so well, I know you'd be able to handle the soundtrack to "Stand By Me." It's based on a Stephen King story about 4 young boys in the late fifties going on a hunt to find a dead body. The man "telling" the story is Richard Dreyfuss. Another plus.
Oh yes! That’s one I want to watch for sure.
1:17, Richard Dreyfuss, Charles Martin Smith and Ron Howard went into have excellent careers, as Dreyfuss would star in Jaws, The Goodbye Girl, Stand By Me, Stakeout, and The American President
Smith would star in The Buddy Holly Story, Deep Cover, Deep Impact, Never Cry Wolf, The Untouchables, and Starman.
Howard would direct hit films like, Apollo 13, Ransom, Willow, Cocoon, A Beautiful Mind, and The Davinci Code
Never cry Wolf “ is so good, more people need to see it , thanks
Not to mention Happy Days
"Hop" is short for "sock hop," which is what these dances were called; because they would usually have them in school gyms, and people would be required to take their shoes off so as to not ruin the wax on the floor
First off, THANK YOU for being one of the very few people to react to this masterpiece. I wish I saw this sooner so that I could make this comment.
1.) 4:10-4:30 "What's really going on there? Is he sad everyone's leaving? Does he wanna go to college?"
It's very impressive that you picked up on the subtext of John Milner's words because NOBODY does. Yes, indeed, Milner is depressed that life is changing and that everyone's leaving and going on to bigger and better things and he isn't. He wants to be 17 forever but he knows deep down he's getting too old (he's 20) to keep up the racer/greaser act, especially when he realizes he was actually losing the race to Harrison Ford before he lost control of his car.
2.) An interesting fact about this film is that it changed film editing forever. The movie has 4 subplots and cuts back-and-forth between them. No film had ever been edited this way prior-- in fact, the studio didn't want to release the film because of it. But after the film's success, countless movies borrowed this exact narrative structure. In fact, if you watch any episode of a TV show, it's edited this exact way with a few minutes of the "A-story", then a few minutes of the "B-story", then a few minutes of the "C-story" (if one exists), then back to more of the "A-story", then back to the "B-story" etc. They do this in "The Simpsons", "Family Guy", "Seinfeld", "Breaking Bad", "Games of Thrones" etc. Another cool piece of trivia at 12:53, John Milner's license plate is "THX 138", a reference to George Lucas's student film at USC which he later adapted into his first feature film "THX-1138" (1971).
3.) Lastly, the film isn't JUST about George Lucas's teenage years. Surface-wise, it seems like a simple fun teen movie, but it's actually an incredibly layered story about American history from 1962-1972. Believe it or not, the depressing end title cards (that throws everyone for a loop) were actually the ENTIRE point of the film-- as it shapes the context of when the movie was set (1962) and when the movie was made (produced in 1972, released in '73). It's been more than a month since you watched this (so you might have forgotten certain details) and you may never even see this comment, but I hope you do read this because it's fascinating and well worth reading:
THE ANALYSIS
George Lucas based the script on his teen years growing up in the 1950s and early 1960s-- known as the '50s "Americana" years. This time period in American history was considered the years of America's "innocence". The '50s was the first decade following America's victory in World War II. The Second World War and all the businesses on the home front that created supplies for the war effort is what pulled America out of the poverty of the Great Depression. All the servicemen came home from the war to start families, which led to the baby boom, the housing boom, and the economic boom of the 1950s. It was a time period of great economic prosperity in America, and thus a very optimistic time period to grow up in, hence America's "innocence".
The story takes place in 1962 for a reason, as it was the last year of America's innocence due to John F. Kennedy being assassinated the following year (Nov 1963). And the suspicion that it may have been a government conspiracy had shaken many Americans' trust in authority overall. And it was all downhill from there. The Vietnam War escalated heavily and America entered the war not long after (1964). The war divided America right down the middle with half supporting it, half opposing it. After '62, America also saw the rises of the Civil Rights movement, the counterculture movement, the experimental drug culture, the feminist movement, the gay rights movement, the sexual revolution, the hippie culture, the anti-war movement, the environmental movement etc. It was a time period of great division and a lot of violence surrounded that division. And also, the economic boom of the '50s led to a major recession in America in the 1970s-- it was a very pessimistic time period in America when the film was made. The ENTIRE culture of America had shifted in just 10 short years (1962 to 1972). It went from a period of optimism (1962) to a period of pessimism (1972).
The whole movie of "American Graffiti" was about change. It wasn't just about the coming-of-age of the young characters-- the film was also a microcosm of the coming-of-age of America as a whole. John Milner (the greaser with the Model-T Ford) was the oldest character of the group (age 20) who only wanted to have fun and didn't want to grow up, but he slowly started to realize that he was getting too old to still be a greaser cruising the strip. Curt Henderson (Richard Dreyfuss) was very hesitant about leaving for college the next day because it meant leaving his childhood and his high school years behind. When Curt is at "The Hop" dance, he wanders the halls and tries to open up his old high school locker-- the reason it didn't open was because back then school lockers had their combo locks changed at the end of every school year to prevent theft by the lockers' previous owners. The locker was symbolism representing Curt's childhood and his high school years. By not being able to open his locker, Curt was being symbolically "locked out" of his childhood with life forcing him to grow up and to get on that plane for the next stage of his life (college). John Milner complains about listening to a Beach Boys song on the radio, saying "I hate that surfer shhhh. Rock 'n' roll has been going downhill since Buddy Holly died." This marked the beginning of the end of the '50s Americana era and its music and marked the transition of American culture to the next era (late '60s/'70s). Also, at 11:48, Curt's ex says "Curt's greatest ambition is to shake hands with President Kennedy." This line represented America's fleeting innocence in 1962, as they had no idea he'd be assassinated the following year. There's a lot of symbolism like this throughout the movie, the script has a LOT of subtext on the themes of change. Knowing this context, it's a whole new movie if you ever decide to rewatch it.
But yea, soon after '62, the cruising and car culture had disappeared, upbeat '50s rock and roll was replaced by '60s counterculture music, '50s and early '60s optimism was replaced by late '60s and '70s pessimism. That's why we see the "depressing" title cards at the end of the film with John Milner being killed in a car crash, Terry the Toad (the nerd) becomes missing in action while fighting in Vietnam, and Curt living in Canada as a writer-- like many young people, he moved to Canada to avoid being drafted into Vietnam. That depressing ending contextualizes the whole movie, as the themes and subtext of the film was actually about America's drastic change and radical shift in culture. This is why it's considered one of the best screenplays ever written and one of the best movies in American cinema.
Lots of great details! Thanks.
My parents grew up in the area this was filmed, and my aunt/uncle/cousins still live there. I went to visit over the summer, and the whole town was setting up to celebrate this movie. The dealership my cousin works at had similar refurbished cars on display, and there were signs all over town advertising a car show where they would drive vintage cars up and down the main road (the one they cruise on in the movie)
i grew up in santa rosa, ca graduated from high school in 1978
I like when he finally meets the Wolfman and it's like, pay no attention to that man behind the microphone.
In an interview with George Lucas, he said Spielberg bet him he couldn’t make just a fun goofy teen movie. So this was produced. It did so well that George was able to go back to 20th Century Fox and negotiate more pay for Star Wars.
Harrison Ford’s role in this movie kept George from considering him for Star Wars, but brought him in to read lines to the other actors. Harrison did so well as Han, George finally gave in and castes him.
It was Francis Ford Coppola, not Spielberg. Coppola was Lucas' mentor and produced Graffiti and his first feature THX 1138, based on his award winning student film. It bombed and Coppola told Lucas people think he's a cold fish and that he should make something more warm. Lucas did it to prove how easy it was to emotionally engage the audience.
@@Mokkari77 ah yes
@@Mokkari77 And note the license plate number of Milners car - THX 138 as a nod to that film.
Wolfman Jack, I love when Kurt meets him, kinda like Wizard of Oz moment 😍, " pay no attention to that man behind the microphone. "
My favorite is the relationship between Carol and Bender. Kinda like a big brother. And it really meant a lot to her.
Bender?
The Wolfman is THE WOLFMAN. He also looks like he's just stepped off from the 1950s Caribbean and he looks great!
Thanks for reacting to this classic. You are 💯 on your comment. It absolutely feels like a snapshot of their lives that captured their youth as they head into adulthood. This also has one of the best soundtracks in film history. Great job!
The hop refers to something called the sock hop, which back in the late 50s early 60s was a dance where you kicked off your shoes 👞 and danced in your socks 🤔.
This was George Lucas' Second Film, his first being THX 1138, and his third film was taking place in a Galaxy Far Far away....
STAR WARS!
And the licence plate of John’s yellow hot rod is THX 138 in tribute to Lucas’s first film.
Great job on the reaction and editing. Harrison Ford played a short role the next year in a Francis Ford Coppola film called The Conversation with Gene Hackman and Cindy Williams. A great movie worth delving into. American Graffiti has a lot of great young, up and coming stars in it.
"The Conversation" is definitely one of the great movies of the 70s (or any other time period), absolutely agree. One-of-a-kind. It's great (and interesting) seeing Cindy Williams in a movie like that, she's great. She could have easily been one of the 70s great film actresses like Diane Keaton or Teri Garr instead of being on a hit sitcom playing pretty much a version of Laurie for the whole decade!
GREAT! I saw this when it first came out in 1973. I was 14 years old. Excellent film and true to 1950s culture, fashion, style, music and vernacular. Forget the rubbish like “Grease” in which they got everything wrong.
Ok… I’m just about to sit down and watch this with you.
👍🏻😎👍🏻
I agree with your opinion on Grease. It was terrible, lots of actors in their 30’s pretending to be teens.
@@mrwomby5007
Yeah, but not just that… the styles, clothes, fashions, music, culture etc were just not 1950s. For example, girls NEVER wore stockings AND bobby-sox together… it was one or the other, depending on age. That’s just one example of many. The film (Grease) was a load of crap.
@@mrwomby5007
Another good (similar) one to check out is: “THE WANDERERS” (1979). Set in 1963. Pretty good.
Gee I thought Grease was a historical document. Bet people didn't just burst into song all the time, too!
You were right… “hop” = “sock hop” a gymnasium dance.
you might have recognized a young Kathleen Quinlan (Laurie's friend at the dance). she played Tom Hanks' wife in Apollo 13.
Lucas couldn't resist even changing this movie...he replaced the sunset sky over Mel's during the opening credits.
“the hop” or Sock Hop is a school dance.
they were in Socks to help protect the surface of the gym floor for basketball season
AMERICAN GRAFFITI is my favorite George Lucas movie. It has a naturalism and believability that he never recaptured. These characters were on the verge of their world being upended, starting with the the JFK assassination in 1963. I think that's the point of the comment about My Lai. They don't know that of course--although I like to think several comments by John Milner (of all people) indicate that he senses their days are numbered.
I really enjoyed your reaction to this film! What really facinated me was you hardly recognized anyone( or seemed )? You really are young enough not to have experienced these stars growing up but only now knowing them as old famous people( Harrison Ford ). LOL! You virtually had a genuine first time experience! The film is really is an enjoyable period piece. Glad you liked it. Thank you. 😚👍
The radio DJ was Wolfman Jack, the most famous DJ of the 60's and 70's. His voice was known all over the country.
The elusive blonde in the T-Bird was Susanne Sommers, before Three's Company.
A "hop" is a dance. Many were "sock hops". Held in the high school gym, and everyone danced in their sock feet to not scratch up the gym floor.
11:10, that was great! He was gonna suspend him, but remembers he graduated last semester! Lol!
One of my favorite parts of the film!!!
A great timeless classic, saw it as a date movie in high school in the 70s. Absolutely loved it.
Such a huge class of actors just getting started.
Ron Howard, Happy Days and more
Richard Dryfess, Jaws, Close Encounters
John Travolta, Sat night fever and more
Stella Steven's, Posiden Adventure and more.
Harrison Ford, Star Wars, Raiders lost ark, and more.
Just to name a few
Yes. This cast really went places. Incredible group of kids they got here.
This movie was a throwback that "scraped" common themes from 1950s drive-in flicks like "The Blob" and "Invasion of the Saucer Men." The only thing "new" here was the big budget and removing any vestige of a plot. It spawed the series "Happy Days" which was a story about nothing well before "Seinfeld" reprised the concept.
Great job on your reaction to the highly acclaimed movie American Graffiti, particularly your editing. I will try to answer certain questions you raised. Yes, what you saw was fairly accurate to what teenagers of the 60's did for fun. We were very fortunate. We weren't STUCK with smartphones/video games & connecting with girls over "social media" like you & the youngsters of today. Cruising, hanging out, drinking, smoking, picking up/interacting with girls IN PERSON was all innocent fun & quite common for that era. Lucas did a fantastic job creating this movie that captured the life of typical teenagers in the 60's (at least in California). Sorry, you all missed out.
This movie was filmed in the SF Bay Area where I grew up & where Lucas lived & built his workplace/movie ranch (includes Lucasfilm) that he appropriately named Skywalker Ranch in Marin County. Thank you for your review.
8:00, yeah he was 30 years old at the time this movie was released. He would play Han Solo in the Star Wars Saga and Indiana Jones.
This film is so unique, just a little slice of life from a time gone bye.
Thanks for reacting to this one!
Slice of life is the perfect way to describe this one. I love just being dropped in for this single night.
It was great seeing you react to this one, because you're the first one I've seen choose it. I like that about a lot of your reactions. You often pick movies that aren't on anybody's radar, and shar the wonderment. We were still cruising in the 70s so this film always makes me nostalgic for those Saturday nights.
8:02 - This won't mean much to the young-uns out there but I just realized the girl with Harrison Ford played Rosalie "Hotsy" Totsy on 'Welcome Back, Kotter'. (Her name is Debralee Scott.) I never knew she was in 'American Graffiti'!)
(I remember there was an episode of Welcome Back Kotter that came with a "for mature viewers" warning because in the episode "Hotsy" Totsy claimed she was pregnant and that one of "the sweathogs" was the father. But it was a trick to get them all to admit that none of them had actually slept with her. She had a reputation for sleeping around but wanted to prove she actually hadn't. When I saw the episode as a kid I had NO IDEA what was actually happening in the episode. LOL.)
Filmed in real time in locations near SF that were supposed to represent Modesto over a weekend, apparently. The first movie to do something like that. I saw it a few years after it came out as a revival the summer I was nine and I identified so strongly with it, that I gelled my hair in what I thought was the way they must have done it; with petroleum jelly. You can imagine. It took a week to get out and I finally had to use baking soda to do so! But I've loved the movie ever since and I always mist up at the end when the Beach Boys' song starts. Oh, and about the ending titles; don't forget, Vietnam had just ended and Watergate was just unfolding as the movie came out. It was making an obvious link between the choices we make when we're young and the reality we'll face when older. And the biggest fools in the movie never learn wisdom and die early and violently at least partly due to this factor.
Racing in loud cars as you call it brings mates together. My best friends are car people & our friendships span 40 years. If it wasn't for racing & cars we probably wouldn't have such a strong connection.
🎯 The movie is set in 1962 which was the time between the end of one era and the beginning of another. The "Happy Days" of pre-1962 was about to head into the turbulent 60s where assassinations, war, and cultural upheaval awaits. The teens in the movie are between two eras in their own life: The "Happy Days" of teenage and the cruel realities of adulthood. American Graffiti is an artistic personal expression intended to leave a mark on this world by depicting an era when American innocence gave way to the dark realities of the 1960s: From "Happy Days" to Helter Skelter.
Milner's license plate "THX138" is a nod to George Lucas' first feature film "THX 1138".
The story take s place in 1962. That's 60 damn years ago!!! You probably have no idea that all the songs being played during the movie as the soundtrack are iconic songs of the 1950's and early 1960's or how iconic they are, including the dance crazes like the Stroll, The Twist [the Peppermint Twist song], and what groups or solo artists sang them.. Other future stars: Cindy Williams plays Ron Howard's girlfriend. She went on to be known for the TV series Lavern and Shirley in the 1970's, early 80's. Suzanne Somers plays the blond in the T-Bird....she was on Three's Company from about 1977-80, then left the show. She became quite a celebrity, had a another sitcom and exercise videos etc. Bo Hopkins, the gang leader, played in many movies and TV appearances his whole career. Paul Le Mat did TV movies but sort of disappeared from acting after awhile. Wolfman Jack played himself, was a famous disc jokey with his own radio show, and TV host. Mackenzie Phillips, daughter of Joh Phillips of the famous singing group of the 1960's The Mamas and the Papas became a TV star on One Day at a Time sitcom, etc. She had a very difficult life. Charles Martin Smith, the Nerd Terri...did several movies and became a director. Candy Clark/ played the Blonde hanging out with the Nerd, Debbie... maintained her acting career. Kathleen Quinlan had quite successful acting career. When the cop car lost the back axle...I remember in the theater that got the biggest laugh at the time.
Made only about 10 years after the time period of the movie, it felt as removed as ancient Rome.
That’s so wild. Things change fast, but I’m not sure they ever changed faster than from decade to decade in the last half century.
The scenes where you hear Wolfman Jack on the air could have been taken from that actual era and his old broadcasts. Or he could have done it, himself later for the movie. He really was the guy in the radio station scene with Dreyfuss. Wolfman was an icon back in those days on the radio- and he was at the heart and soul of the whole music scene, as well as a large part of the late-night party and cruising atmosphere. He didn't just embrace it- he helped create it.
The Guess Who wrote a tribute song to him, called 'Clap For the Wolfman.'
I love that you are delving into classics and older movies. This is good stuff!
Chris....the teaser line on all the posters when this came out was "Where were you in '62?" I'm interested to see how you handle editing all the music. Oh, and the "dream girl" was a very young Suzanne Somers.
Oh wow all around! I know where I was… lol. I was very strategic with this one, most of the clips are under five seconds without an edit of some kind. I passed copyright on the first try, so far haha 🤞
@@CasualNerdReactions You did a great job with this, as usual. And YES, Wolfman Jack was a real person. Back in the early 60's he was on "Pirate Radio" broadcasting out of Mexico. The reason his voice was echoing in the street scenes is because everyone listened to him.
A "hop" was a sock hop, or a hs dance, usually held in the school gym, so you couldn't wear black soled shoes so you danced in your socks!
I really enjoyed this so much. Your reactions and commentary were very insightful and thoughtful for American Graffiti.... this movie is a favorite of mine and Ilike that your channel was the first I have ever seen do a reaction and commentary for . A couple of facts : Carol real name is Mackenzie Philips she was 12yrs. during the filming of this movie and her mother was a very famous singer that preformed at Woodstock in 1969 ( Mamas and The Papas ) was the name of the group ,. The D.J. was in fact a legendary D.J. named "Wolfman Jack" .
Actually, she was only the daughter of _John_ Phillips; of all his 3 daughters, Michelle was only mother to Chynna.
Lucas was into fast cars, so maybe Milner was a composite of Lucas and maybe some one else, too.
Back in the day a sock hop was a school dance 💃 where the kids took off their shoes and 🕺 danced.
My favorite movie of all time ,I have so many connections to this movie of how I felt after graduation a few years ago ,and what I wanted to do after .Its crazy that I live not that far from Modesto where the movie takes place and some of the towns referenced in the movie are near me .Also my dad grew up around this time in the late 50s and early 60s and told me of how he was cruising down mainstreet in his car
So glad someone finally reacted to this!
There’s one or two more, but I am glad to be among the first :)
Oh, well first I am a subscriber to. 👍
@@namelessjedi2242 Just to let you know where you can find them, because they happen to be two excellent reactions/reactors: Shanelle Riccio was one, and Alexa Chipman was the other. Alexa also did the sequel, and she even drove to Petaluma and did a vlog of her visiting some of the original filming locations! Shanelle did "American Graffiti" and then "Dazed And Confused", back-to-back. Just in case you're interested! You can keep 'em in your back pocket for that rainy day! :)
Thank you!
I watched this movie the year before I went to college. It was depicting the early 60's but was made in the 70's, and teenagers acted about the same way then. In my home city we had a strip that kids would cruise, and there were actually people who street raced, though I never saw one and people were way more trusting back then. Wolfman Jack was an awesome nationally known DJ and host of a rock and roll show called The Midnight Special, very popular in the 70's.
this movie is a great snapshot of the teen culture of the late '50s and early '60s - Rock 'n' Roll music, classic cars, drive-in restaurants, drive-in movies, cruising for chicks, pulling pranks, drag racing, and trying to score (both sexually and with booze).
After the preceding comments I was surprised to hear that you know what an axle is - an axel sure, but not an axle.
🤣 I can’t explain what I know and what I don’t know. I can say that I was driving a friends car when it got weird and there were sparks behind us. The axle split and was dragging on the road. Fun time.
Upon further examination I’m pretty sure what was dragging was the drive shaft, not the axle. Still.
I love it. It's not the Pharaoh's, it's the Fay Roaohs.
I was in high school in the 1970s and we "cruised" main street, especially after a home football game. Just to see who was out and what they were doing. My mom "cruised" in the 1950s. In fact, the drive in restaurant that they all went to is still open, but the car hops do not roller skate anymore.
Yes. We had 'sock-hop' dances because you had to take your shoes off to go onto the gym's basketball floor.
Take your shoes off? That’s kinda wild! I’m learning a lot today. Haha
@@CasualNerdReactions yep. The souls of you're best dress shoes leave black marks all over the court.
This is a film about my generation and was filmed in the general area where I was raised (Northern California). I was 12 years old in 1962, the same age as Carol, the young girl in the film. Car culture was very much a thing in California at the time. Wolfman Jack was omnipresent in the airwaves. Many of the scenes were shot in Petaluma, California, which is 20 miles from where I live. This film is a deeply personal experience for me and, as such, I regard it as Lucas’s best work (much as I love Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back).
i grew up in santa rosa, ca. graduated from high school in 1978
Some interesting info for you:
• Paul Le Mat (“John” in the “piss yellow” hot rod) who you figured to be 17 years old was actually 28 at the release of this film in 1973.
• Mackenzie Phillips (the young girl “Carol” who jumps into the yellow hot rod with John) is 14 years old here. She was born in 1959 (same year as me! 👍🏻😎👍🏻)
• Ron Howard (“Steve”) found later fame in “Happy Days” and went on to become a big director, directing such movies as “Da Vinci Code” in which I was an extra and shook hand and spoke to Tom Hanks. I can be seen fleetingly later in the film inside the chapel.
• Richard Dreyfuss… well, ‘nuff said!
• Harrison Ford plays ‘The Cowboy’ “Bob Falfa”.
• The leader of “The Pharoahs” was played by Johnny Weissmuller jnr. His dad played Tarzan in a shack load of Hollywood movies in the 1930s/40s and was a multiple times Olympic swimming champion.
Paul Le Mat was the star of Melvin and Howard, a very under rated movie about a random guy and his encounter with Howard Hughes. That and this are really the only things I know him from.
Suzanne Somers was in the t-bird.
Actually, the leader of "The Pharaohs" was Bo Hopkins. Johnny Weissmuller Jr. was billed as "Badass #1". I'm kind of surprised he didn't get more of a role.
@@lisathuban8969
Oops… my mistake. I thought the Bo Hopkins part was ‘Badass #1’. Thanks. 👍🏻
Badass #1 is the tall skinny guy beating up Terry. He also plays one of the robot police officers in THX1138
5:03, That is Suzanne Somers from Three's Company in a cameo.
It was in fact, Lucas's second film 🎥, the first being, "THX1138 ".
They released a sequel in 1978, called More American Graffiti, that recieved mixed reviews by Critics.
Ooh really? I can’t say I’m even tempted by this information.
@@CasualNerdReactions It is well worth a watch.
This movie triggered my love of 50s music. 🎵🎵🎵
The girl playing Carol WAS 12 years old. The guy in the yellow car was in his 20's. She also went on to become a star.
i grew up about 20 miles from where this was filmed.
This is a classic that plays on themes of today much more tastefully than movies that come out seem to do. Very wholesome
6:11, Mackenzie Phillips, she was in the Disney Channel Movie So Weird and the Sitcom One Day At A Time.
Oh my gosh!! I remember her in so weird- that is in fact so weird. 😳
Al Nalbandian (Hank Anderson) says the line “This place is for fun”
he says the same line in the film “Jack”
The blonde in the white T-bird went on to star on ABC's Three's Company (Suzanne Somers). George Lucas saw the 1972 pilot for Happy Days on ABC's Love, American Style starring Ron Howard, and decided to write his script for this 1973 film (the success of which led the network to green-light Happy Days) and cast Howard as a lead. Spielberg directed about 70% of the film for Lucas but took no credit from his friend, and soon cast Dreyfuss in Jaws. Cindy Williams went on to guest on ABC's Happy Days as Shirley Feeney, then to star on its spinoff Laverne & Shirley. The young girl with the ponytail (Mackenzie Phillips, daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas) later starred on CBS' One Day at a Time. The head of the Pharaohs starred as Sheriff Buford T. Pusser in Walking Tall 2 and 3 and on the NBC TV series. (Someone else below has already let you know about Howard's and Smith's and Dreyfuss' careers.) I hope you will watch More American Graffiti (1979), which was the last film Ron Howard appeared in as an actor with a named character role before moving exclusively behind the camera.
12:51, she was 13-14 years old when she was in this movie.
A'G' has been one of my favorite movies, since I saw it in 1978, I was 10 years old. this got me into Early Rock music, rather than Disco, that was current. My parent's had seen A'G' on original cinema run in 1973, and as I was a Star Wars 'geek', I asked to see this earlier G.Lucas film when it was re-relased after SW success. The studio, which did not like how Lucas had directed, or obtained the 40 music tracks, or some of the actors, meddled with A'G' by cutting 5 mins' of character scenes, to show they were the studio. Francis Ford Coppola, mentor and friend to George, who had helped finance Lucas' "THX-1138" and A'G', forced the studio to release this film (his clout, from The Godfather) -and A'G' was a success. The 1978 release, had Lucas restore the 5 mins' of deleted scenes, and this film has been the same ever since.
When disgruntled "fans" of the Lucas-approved Star Wars era, moan that "the prequels" are souls, or that "Lucas can't write or direct"...they have not seen American Graffiti, or even THX-1138, I believe.
A sequel, "More American Graffiti" should be viewed, if you can find (it's been on vhs, dvd, even a region-free Blu). That was released in 1979, and Lucas did not direct, too busy with the first production of SW sequel (ESB) -the same writers returned, a fired of Lucas' from film-school directed, and 90% of the cast returned. The Coda, that told the fate of main characters is depicted, and expended upon. M'A'G' is set on four subsequent New Years' Eve, from 1964-'68. Some character cross between stories, some fun cameo's appear. Each segment is filmed different, in film stock, or aspect-ratio. Milner is a pro-racer. Terry, and one of the Pharoh's are in Vietnam. Debbie and two other characters are in San Francisco' Hippie realm during 1967. Steve and Laurie are married, but get involved in a college War protest in '68. A number of great tunes are featured (I still have the original 33LP; a few songs replaces due to rights issues). M'A'G' is not perfect, but it adds to the characters. It was not a success in cinemas in 1979,...yet, only filmed ten years on from some of the actual events, films depicting the Vietnam conflict, were not popular. And, like A'G' it was easier in the '70's to get accurate cars, clothes, buildings, helicopters, uniforms closer to the 60's than it is now (no digital!)
Bo Hopkins played Joe the leader of the Pharaohs he’s always been a favorite of mine in movies , thanks for reacting to this classic, I seen at the theater several times, thanks again
Now you need to check out "Dazed and Confused" (1993), if you haven't seen it. It's basically a '70s "American Graffiti" -- except it takes place on the _first_ night of summer break rather than the last. It also features quite a few 'before-they-were-big' stars.
The characters are fictional. In fact, Lucas has said that John, Curtis and Teddy are all based off of him at different points of his life. The epilogues about each character at the end are thematic. They're there to emphasize how that era has passed, especially the ones concerning John and Teddy. The film is set in 62, a year before Kennedy was assassinated, before the Vietnam War, and all the cultural upheaval of the 60s that followed. And Lucas wrote this in the early 70s. So the film is him looking back on the culture surrounding his high school years but with the knowledge of how quickly everything changed afterwards.
I probably cannot express fully what American Graffiti has been to me. I was 12 when this was released in 1973. I was on the verge of teendom the way the characters were on the verge of an unforeseen countercultural earthquake. All the more poignant because we know what is coming. Here in Canada we had the same basic teen/junior and high school/car culture at that time. One of the most brilliant, beloved reference films ever made. It almost perfectly captures the attitudes and spirit of those times. Full of brilliant ideas like the two main characters switching their choices to leave to Wolfman Jack being a sort of mysterious radio ringmaster or MC to the teens who build their own urban legends about him. Also Curt's equally mysterious inspirational angelic muse the blonde in the white T-Bird. The brilliance of the testosterone and gasoline fueled character of John Milner who discovers that he makes a great big brother and friend to Carol. Not the night he was looking for but perhaps a night that was far more meaningful to him. The bios at the end add a whole new level of poignancy - a snapshot of real human lives in the context of the mid-20th century. There was a lesser sequel - More American Graffiti which was an enjoyable exploration of what happened to the main characters later in the 1960's. Another good film about what happened two years after the events of American Graffiti is - I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978) about teens reacting to the Beatles first U.S. appearance.
George Lucas commented that AMERICAN GRAFFITI and THX 1138 and STAR WARS all share a common theme--to wit--leaving home and going out into the larger world.
This is about the innocence of a time before JFK was murdered, and all the madness of the mid-to-late 1960s. Teens had money, time on their hands and nothing better to do than cruise the main drag.
This was the film that put Lucas on the map and set him on the path towards “Star Wars”.
However he did one other sci-fi film prior to this that you might want to add to your watch list - “THX 1138”. It’s very dystopian and very experimental - very much the opposite of “Star Wars”, which is probably why very few people are aware of it’s existence. Incidentally, part of Lucas’ production empire is a sound encoding technology that he dubbed ‘THX’.
Another film from this era that’s tangentially related to this is a comedy called “The First Nudie Musical”. It stars Cindy Williams and has a cameo by Ron Howard.
Many fans of “Laverne and Shirley” (a spin-off of “Happy Days” starring Howard) were scandalized that the wholesome Williams would be attached to what everyone assumed was a porno. Although it does deal somewhat with the porn industry, it’s a rather benign and hilarious romp. And no, Cindy Williams does NOT take her clothes off.
Not sure how you would edit such a movie (not only does it have nudity, but a whole lotta music as well), but I think you would be the first to attempt a reaction of it.
As always, great reaction. You continue to take the reaction path less travelled.
I remember seeing this in late 1978 as a young teen, when universal reissued it on a double bill with sgt pepper's lonely hearts club band, a misguided and ill advised attempt to create a narrative out of the iconic beatles album, along with other songs from the band's catalog. it was an attempt by universal to recoup some of the losses incurred when the film (rightly) bombed at the box office after it opened earlier that year.
That is hilarious! I saw "Sgt. Pepper" in the theater, too. It was so bad, my Mom took us directly to another theater afterwards and we saw "The End" with Burt Reynolds! :P I had seen "American Graffiti" in the theater in '74, first "grown up" movie I had ever seen (at an indoor theater; had seen "Sleeper" and "Silent Running" in drive-ins), I was completely dazzled, both with the movie and, by extension, movies themselves! I had already memorized the entire soundtrack by the time I saw the movie, so it was a big party, hearing all this great rock and roll blasting away. Good times!
@@TTM9691 I recall thinking at the time that the film was ok (particularly enjoying steve martin's goofy take on maxwell's silver hammer and aerosmith's driven rendition of come together), but it was before I had a real appreciation for the beatles and understood what a travesty it was. but I loved american graffiti, and by 1978, many members of the film's cast, like harrison ford and cindy williams, were established stars.
She and Terry do become boyfriend and girlfriend, according to the sequel! The sequel (which isn't bad) follows each character during a different year. John is '64, Toad is in Vietnam in '66, Debbie is a hippie in Haight Ashbury in '67, and Steve & Laurie are married in '68./Oh man, I'm so happy you finally got to put this under your hat, especially since it's a movie that's been on your own to-watch list for a while. I love this movie because it's like they just sliced a random night out of history and put it onscreen. It's so vivid. The end is the best, you thought you were watching a comedy.....turned out it was something else! George Lucas, you genius you! :D I could talk about this movie forever...and in fact, I just did! I just wrote a million paragraphs, which I just deleted! This would be all much better in conversation! :P Anyways, great reaction, thanks to your great Patreon members who voted for this!!! Not only are you a great reactor, you have great subscribers!
That’s actually an interesting approach to a sequel. Part of why this is so great is that it has such a unique structure taking place on one night. It makes sense to give the sequel a different unique structure. Thanks for the info and insights. I am grateful for all my subscribers, including you!
Pay no attention to the man behind the microphone! Wizard of Oz moment or what?
Sad news, Cindy Williams died Jan 25, 2023 R.I.P.
Yay! This hit film was spun off into a TV series called "Happy Days", which went on for 8 years and made Henry Winkler a star.
Happy Days was a spin-off of an episode of the TV show "Love, American Style" and has exactly zero to do with this movie other than that they both star Ron Howard. They are completely unrelated.
Actually Happy Days was made first, but it was rejected, but the popularity of this film brought it to television.
@@visaman Not sure what you mean by "rejected", since Happy Days was originally an episode of Love, American Style.
@@Serai3 the original pilot was titled The New Family On The Block. ABC put it on the shelf, then retitled it, Love And The TV Set, and inserted into Love American Style, as a filler episode. When Happy Days took off, the original pilot, not the Happy Days pilot (I know it's confusing) was retitled once again, as Love And The Happy Day. This is how we know it today. The pilot had a different actors play Mr. Cunningham, and Joanie. Fonzie was not in the pilot. Portions of the original pilot were used as a flashback in another episode with Arlene, Ritchie's love interest in the episode.
I saw American Graffiti in the theatre in 1973 when I was 9. Even at 9 I had seen a lot of movies in the theatre and this was the first movie to have a major effect on me. When the movie ended I felt like I knew those guys, like real people, like friends. At the ended of the movie when they tell us what happened to the guys, time stood still for me. I didn't know then that the next 17 years of movies would bring that to me many times. Jaws, Star Wars, Close Encounters, Superman, Alien, Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Thing, Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Aliens, and many more. It was great going to the movies in the 70s and 80s. The year before American Graffiti came out Bruce Lee's movies came to were I lived in Canada. I was obsessed and saw all of them. It was very upsetting back then when he died suddenly.
Wow, Tommy, I totally had the same experience regarding the ending. "Time stood still for me" is what you wrote, I know exactly what you mean, I got goosebumps....I had never seen an ending like that. Like Chris says in this reaction: "That's life" and that's the lesson this movie literally taught me at an early age.
This was the movie that harkened back to my "OLD DAYS " in the mid 50s .......STILL RUNNING THE STORM !!!!! 1943 old guy ... BUT NOT DONE YET ... having fun watching all the " young idiots" learn life the hard way ... it is amusing for us "old" guys in our 70s who can still get it up and get the job done ... TAKE THAT HOWEVER YOU MAY !!!!
Hopefully some of these will help you.
1. Pantsing and mooning were big all the way into the late 70's.
2. Going steady just mean dating exclusively each other.
3. My 1979 prom had live band covering the current top music.
4. We used to do the Chinese fire drills too. Late 70s
5. Cruising was HUGE.
6. The hot blonde is Susanne Summers.
7. I haven't seen this for awhile so thanks for bringing me back.
8. Another coming of age (kinda) for a first time share is Porky's.
My husband and I saw this movie on our first date. Great movie. Music is amazing. Funny as heck.
this is an early entry to the “Teen Film” genre
Sad news. Bo Hopkins has passed away 😢. Rest in peace, leader of the Fay roahs.
the scene when he looses control of his vespa was not scripted. when charles martin smith (toad) does this you can see he’s standing there awkwardly while waiting for Lucas to call cut which never happens and he just lets the show go on
Haha I love that! I need to rewatch the scene now.
Poor Laurie, she was expecting a marriage proposal 😢 and instead he says, do you mind if I screw around 😜 🤔. I wouldn't be too happy either.
Nope. Not happy at all.