Hollywood don’t know crap about real life, I lived this movie. It will always be my favorite movie, thank you Mr. Lucas for sharing your life as well as mine. 5 stars…..
and i know im rambling but i see true genius in how the process comes together through these talented people and how they approach how they create their vision! its absolutely mind blowing when you see the final product in the end....
I agree. Hollywood are story tellers and entertainers, the truth at times gets in the road and is dispensed with - a lot. One example, Brave Heart - the battle of Stirling Bridge, totally incorrect the way this battle is shown as it unfolds in the movie. No evidence at all of meeting the Princess of Wales and Wallace in real life. Though I am glad they added her to the movie cos she sure is easy on the eyes.
YES YES, I wish they would of made a directors cut. When I hear about some of my favorite classic Hollywood movies being cut so they can make more money by being able to show it more times, it makes me sick. Just wish directors could make a cut the way they want it. Think of the money they could make on a popular film advertising 30 minutes or more time when they re-release it a few years later. These days I look for directors cuts before I buy film. Ben-Hur being one. I understand there were great scenes that were cut.
I wondered about that because when I was living and working in Sydney 88-2001, many of my friends kept mentioning WJ. Thanks for that. On the North Shore up, there were still remains of the outdoor drive in movie places and it reminded me of AG
Cruising Van Nuys Blvd and hanging out at the Jack in the Box on Wednesday nights and then on Saturday nights/mornings we would meet behind the B of A on Van Nuys for drag racing! Oh those were the days! That was the early 70’s
Yeah probably a big part of why people went to see it, it’s one of the best films ever made . To even have the idea of this movie and manifesting it is unreal
Lucas said Coppola is still bitter that he didn't invest his own money in the movie. He said it would've been worth tens of millions in profits if he had.
Graduated high school in 1965 in Sothern California. Cruised Pasadena Boulevard every weekend and left town 10 days later to join the Army to fly helicopters. When the movie first came out I could not believe how much I related to it. I was flying out of Singapore and was back in the states for a couple weeks. Probably one of the best movies ever made about my youth. Fast hot cars, girls and per drug Sothern California with music you can understand. Those times will never come again.
"American Graffiti" came out at the right time. In 1973, we needed something that took us back to America before Vietnam. Besides a few surf movies, there were not too many films about coming of age in America during the pre-British Invasion period from the late 1950s -- 1963. This movie works so very well. I've often thought it was a bit like "Happy Days" for the big screen. When "American Graffiti" premiered in my hometown, some of the local gear heads and car club people saw this film with me at the local drive-in. Going to the drags and car shows were a big part of my life. "Squeaky," "T-Bird," "LA Leo," and the rest of my pals are all gone. My bandmates are gone. The memories remain. Thanks George Lucas and company!
Richard Dreyfuss "hated that shirt, it was 'gee-ky'." Cut scene to Lucas wearing an identical shirt in modern times. jhahaha I love when editors can sneak lil things like that in
A work of Art, my friend. The FILM doesn't change - WE do. I'm only 46 and wasn't alive in either 1972 or '73 (when the film came out) nor 1962 (when the film takes place) but whenever I pull this film out after having not watched it for a while (or to watch it with someone who's never seen it before) I find yet another, deeper way of appreciating it.
@@NorthernVideos-ev7jv I'm also 46 and I didn't really "get" this movie when I saw it on VHS when I was 10 or so. Watching it again for the anniversary, having now lived through my teenage years, I understand and appreciate it much better. I can also now comprehend where it fits in film history and how it influenced other films I grew up with.
In my honest opinion John Milner was and will always be the star in this movie, literally every hot rodder, car guy or gear head today knows who John Milner is and the ending with him dying in a car wreck kind of resonates because we all know being car guys this is a reality we all face, thank you for such an amazing piece of Americana.
The film didn't actually end with John being killed in a car wreck. Remember that "American Graffiti" was set in 1962 (the film's famous tagline was "Where were you in '62"), but in the epilogue showing what happened to the four main male characters in later life, it was stated that "John Milner was killed by a drunk driver in December of 1964." This line also appears at the end of the movie's sequel, "More American Graffiti" (1979), in which John's segment was set on New Years Eve of 1964, the last day of December of that year, which means that John must have been killed on that very night, although his death isn't actually shown. It just shows John driving his yellow, souped-up, 1932 Ford at night down a dark country road, and then there's a fade-out to black, followed by the epilogue relating his encounter with the "drunk driver," which resulted in his demise.
I was a teen when AG came out, and although it's set in '62, for teens in the mid '70s life was still very much like what's portrayed in the movie. We were into hot rods, we cruised the strip to "see and be seen", and we hung out on the streets and in drive-ins with a radio always playing in the background. Our "social network" was to actually go and physically hang our with friends. Just like in the '60s, kids weren't on an electronic leash in the '70s and there was little to no safety net. When we were out of the house and away from our parents, we were really on our own, for better or for worse. Make bad choices and suffer the consequences. No one was coming to save us. Even we came 10 - 15 years after the characters in the movie, the music from the AG soundtrack reminds me very much of my teen years, in some ways even more so than the contemporary pop music from that time.
I agree one hundred percent! My friends and I identified very much with this movie. I saw this movie in a theatre in Encino back in 1973 with a group of friends and we loved it. I grew up in the San Fernando Valley, we cruised Van Nuys Blvd on Wednesday nights and we listened to oldies and Motown and Wolfman Jack was still on the air in ‘73, well maybe in ‘72 along with Art Laboe and KEarth 101.
The film revolutionized society. Lucas kickstarted a nostalgia craze that went for at least ten more years. I recall this period of Lucas's influence far more than Star Wars, which was another big jump as it revitalized the Star Trek franchise. I even saw "THX 1138" in its first run in 1971. That film didn't really start a fad or a craze.
Exactly, this was our high school lives in the early 70’s. Cruising, drag races, music, relationships, we lived this one night every weekend. I’m so thankful I was able to experience this simpler time
Same here, my friends and I more or less enjoyed a similar atmosphere to the one portrayed in American graffiti, cruising, getting burgers at the local diner late at night, working on cars, going to the drive in. And I graduated in 2021! Just wish the music was the same. I do have to say, it’s because of the internet that we were able to live that way, and able to experience a sliver of what life was like back then. It was a time even before our parents.
George should put on his bucket list to re-release a director's cut with the full 3 hour version. It would make a fortune at the box office. I graduated from San Rafael high school and have lived in Petaluma for the last 45 years. I've done work for Lucas and have dozens of friends that have and some still do work for him. The man is amazing. There are thousands of people who live in the bay area with a personal connection to the art that George has created.
I've met Cindy and MacKenzie at an autograph show in Burbank..very nice ladies...I heard a story of when Graffiti was a big hit,George took one of his percentage points and divided it 10 ways to his cast ....they both verified....in modern dollars,it's the equivalent to $75,000- $200,000 a year for life....wow..
This movie had a tremendous effect on my childhood and teenage years. George said it was an end of an era but not necessarily. I dreamed that when I went to high school it would be all about cruising, drag racing and girls. Everything and then some came true. Used to challenge guys to a drag race then play Green Onions on the way to the spot. This was 1988-1990. Maybe that was the end of that era? I’m 51 now and still hit cruise nights with my wife and grandkids. Thank you George.
I use to cruise around in the late 80's with friends just like AG shows. Not sure if that continued in the 90's for the Generation that followed my Generation, but the AG way of life continued for at least 30 years after 1962. The Movie was very accurate.
I grew up as a total car nut, drivers license in 1972, so American Graffiti was a must see as soon as it came out. Fifty years ago, I remember spying a clapped out looking 1967 Chevy Caprice in a "1962" scene... OOPS! And there it is 50 seconds into this retrospective. Not senile yet!!!
What a masterpiece. Lucas really nailed that time and place. I graduated from a high school in the San Fernando valley in '64. George's story took place in '62, just a few hundred miles north. Our cultures were identical. I knew every character in that film.
This film really got me pumped up about night life, cruising, girls, car friends and the freedom that cars provided in general. I was 15 when it came out and was completely excited to get my drivers license soon. I had a friend 6 months older who had his license and bought a 69 L78 396 4 speed Chevelle. We would go out cruising and street racing around Akron Oh. The only cars we could afford were the gas sucking 1960s muscle cars and there were lots of gatherings at root beer stands and such. The gas gauge was rarely over 1/4 tank. Good times.
Similar! I knew I was growing up when I could fill any of my cars near half a tank. Even today, a full tank freaks me out thinking of what I just spent, and I'm 66! ☺️
I saw American Graffiti as a kid in Southern California when it first came out. It has always been very special to me and is my favorite film. I've had the movie poster in my office for many years. Jump to 43 years later, I moved to Modesto, CA where George Lucas is from, to work for a winery and living here has created new meaning of the film for me. Our community celebrates Graffiti Week every June when streets are shutdown one night for a classic car cruise and American Graffiti is shown at the State Theatre in downtown Modesto. I look forward to this every year.
This sounds great. In my 60s now and planning a final trip to CA next year from Europe so will do so some research on this Graffiti Week and try and tie it all in to a kind of car related tour ataking in museums and the like. Cheers
Lucas made a film set in his teenage years, but it turned out to also be about mine. 1982-84 I was living in Petaluma, a full decade after shooting this film, on the Friday and Saturday night cruise scene on 4th Street and nothing had changed. I didn't see this film until 1989, and was blown away that I had been there. Still blows me away to see aspects of it today.
I was a junior at Petaluma High when the movie was filmed and enjoy watching it so much because it brings back memories of the town and school and how much I loved that place. I live in NC now and get back every couple years as my cousin still lives there but it’s changed more than I like. Being able to see the places in the movie are good memories.
It captured the "feeling" of being a teenager of the 50's and early 60's PERFECTLY. Emotionally, it's one off the most enjoyable and satisfying movie experiences of my youth BECAUSE it was about a bunch of innocent kids before life jaded them. Talk about the good old days!
I was in third grade in 73' so I did not see this movie until it was shown in re-release around 1980 at a local theater. My mom made sure that I tool my sister and girlfriend at the time to see it together. It was eye opening for us young kids of the 70's to witness the kids of the early 60's on screen in a way that made compare ourselves to our parents. Even today I show this DVD to my kids when they turn 13 just to start that conversation about growing up and making something of themselves. George and crew did a fantastic job making this film.
an absolute masterpiece-even though i was a teenager in the 60s in cleve oh there were many similarities. I got the pleasure of meeting most of the cast at car shows the next 30 years. I became good friends with Paul Lemat, in 1998, 2008, and we met him an his manager for dinner everytime we visited southern calif-i cant give you his location other than its " somewhere in the valley" We finally got him to cleve in 2011. 1500 cars showd up when only 500 would fit. We still consider him one of our dearest friends.
It just hit me, how many famous people have a story similar to winning the lottery. It just goes to show that becoming a house hold name, is in fact winning the lottery in a sense.
1:09:35 One more reason to love Coppola. "You should get on your knees and thank this young man for what he's done for your career." He stood up for his friend while telling off an asinine studio executive.
Francis is like George’s older brother like Racer X to Speed Racer , in the background looking out for him, I remember in an interview Francis talking about how part of him wished George hadn’t had so much success with Star Wars because it kept George from making other great films he knew George had in him
I couldn't believe the story til I looked at other making of documentaries . Studio heads didn't understand Animal House and thought it was a lousy movie too . After it became a success ,they asked the director's opinion on Fast Times At Ridgemont High because they thought that was going to be a lousy movie , too . He talked the director and told them not to worry about it .
It was Ned Tanen's attitude that inspired the "Back to the Future" people to name Biff's last name after him... no surprise he did not believe in Lucas and Coppola either.
I was 10 when my mom took me to see this with her date. I loved it so much she let me sit through it again while they went out somewhere. It made me such a fan that when I saw Star Wars a few years later, made by the same guy, I hated it. It seemed dumb and patronizing by comparison. I've been a film snob ever since.
I remember my whole class wagged school to watch this movie. It started out as just a couple of us going but when we turned up at the cinema everyone was there. Yeah it must have been funny when the teacher walked into an empty classroom that day. One of the highlights of my childhood.
" American Graffiti " was THE film for & about, my generation. For the record, in high school, I was--------really was--------Curt Henderson. I was both the intellectual & the hopeless / hapless romantic . I knew politics, religion & history. I also knew the music on AM Top 40 radio, better than any of my friends, or anyone in the high school I attended, Denver South High, Class of '64. So, when I 1st saw " American Graffiti", it didn't take too long before I knew I was the protagonist , Curt Henderson. When did I know ? It was that scene when he's walking down the hallway of the high school, just remembering, as " The Stroll", by The Diamonds, is playing in the background. 3 days after our graduation, I returned to South High, & was allowed to walk the halls to my content. In 1992, the last time I was in Denver, & when I lost my Dad, I once again walked the halls of South High, this time accompanied by a very curious sophomore who's name now escapes ; he was endlessly fascinated as to why I would want to come back & do this, 28 years after graduating. I told him he would answer that himself, as he got older. Returning to South was a bitter-sweet experience. When I was there, we had over 2200 students, & my class had 708 graduates. In '92, South High had just over 800 students in total. And, in walking the halls, the school seemed to have shrunk. It was always such a huge place, & it took most of my sophomore year to find my way, but now ? it all seemed so much smaller. That was of course, because by '92, I'd been in buildings far larger than South High. In short, it was just life. ------I'm a lifetime lover of cinema. On my all-time Top 10 films, " American Graffiti" ranks 4th. In my heart of hearts, it will always be #1. ------------------MJL, 76 y/o
Absolutely my favorite movie of all time.I saw it in the theater 22 times. I bought the videotape when it finally came out but it wasn't the same as seeing it in the theater.
One reason that the big screen is better--the music. It's on pretty loud at times. I hate to say it, but hearing "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry happened for me way back then in 1973...
Shooting it in techniscope was perfect for this film . It not only looked like the music sounded at the time with the tube amps , but it made the film look real. 🎥
They were fortunate to have so many innovative and talented technical people like Haskell Wexler and Walter Murch. Wexler was an experienced documentary cameraman so he knew how to squeeze the most out of little resources. Other experienced DP's might have thrown fits and quit over the same conditions. Walter Murch was an imaginative sound designer and editor. The movie's editors, Verna Fields won an Oscar for editing Jaws, and Marcia Lucas for Star Wars. And, of course, Francis Coppola for shepherding the entire production.
@@aliensoup2420 Wexler was IN the movie. During the scene at the gym, the 'slow dance', when the camera pans down the line of kids waiting to dance, you can see him squatting behind them holding a light. I wonder if he ever knew he was IN the movie?
Harrison Ford was brilliant as Bob Falfa the banter between him an Paul Le mat was just fantastic in that scene when they first meet, the talent there just amazing.
It's hard to believe but this iconic American classic will be FIFTY years old . . .this year. Sadly two more members of the cast have passed away with the losses of Bo Hopkins in May '22 and just recently with Cindy Williams. Paul LeMat is not in good shape while Harrison Ford is now over 80. Time flies. I never tire of watching this incredibly well made movie . George Lucas laments that he "only" had around $80K for music which, according to him, rounded out to about $2K per song yet, I think part of the success of this film is directly related to the sound track. Those '50s rock'n'roll classic songs resonate throughout the movie and underscore the scenes much better than a scored message IMO. Who can forget the power that "Green Onions" leant to the shot where John Milner and Bob Falfa were lining up for their drag race? Anyone who ever wants to go to film school and learn the craft should be required to study George Lucas' American masterpiece. This synopsis is incredible and fun to watch again. Thanks George.
"American Graffiti" did not "give birth to 'Happy Days,' " that's a myth. "Happy Days" was in fact inspired by a segment from "Love, American Style," that was set in the 1950s. I think Ron Howard was in it, but I'm not sure. Anyway, this particular segment was broadcast in 1972, which was the year before A.G. was first shown in the theaters.
@@michaelpalmieri7335 You're telling half the story. That was a pilot with Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham that was rejected. They aired it as an episode of LAS instead. It was only resurrected 6 months after Graffiti debuted to turn into Happy Days. That was almost 2 years after the pilot had been "dumped" as an episode of LAS. So Graffiti didn't inspire the idea for Happy Days, but it absolutely caused the series to be greenlit.
Jedi is 100% correct. The 2nd pilot "All the Way" that became episode 1 was very retooled from the original "Love and the TV Set". In the original it was set in Brooklyn in 1952. It had overtures of Hit Parade middle ager music and a photo of Truman. The diner was a downtown street walkin....I think it is the same diner in Hill Valley BTTF and Twilight Zone and Andy Griffith. ABC realized they had the two characters already very similar to Steve and Curt in that old pilot...except their earlier HS years at 15/16....so Rob Reiner wrote a script set in suburban Milwaukee, in 1955 so they could open with Rock Around the Clock and a drive in burger joint "Arthur's" looking just like Mel's with rock music playing in most scenes. They added a Toad (Ralph) and an overaged teen tough hot rodder Fonzie. They also made Joannie much more if a precocious smartelic. More outdoor shots. The scene where Richie tells Ralph he's going All the Way and the camera lifts up over the parking lot night shot with a classic rock tune playing louder as he walks frightened to his date....that was very George Lucasesque. The series settled down into more studio work and eventually a studio audience sitcom....but the 2nd pilot was basically a prequel to American Grafitti.
I am the only person that was actually hired right off the street to be in the movie just hours before we started shooting. Jim and Chuck used me and my beautiful chevy truck all 28 nights. I am the kid that was cruising Petaluma Blvd. I was 16 and what a summer.
It’s just such a nice thing . All of these actors are my childhood idols. Dreyfus and Ford in life changing movies, Howard and Mackenzie in my tv shows.. and then seeing this on TV on one boring summer night at around age 12 or 13 by chance. And it made such an impression one me. So melancholy . I just got the movie as I understand it now at 57. Such a jewel.
The years of 1960 through 1964 were the best years of my life. I experienced what George Lucas brought to the screen. Cruising and innocent fun was the best fun ever.
"Wolfman Jack",, George mentions he was sort of a mythical character,, we thought he was in LA. I can tell you this about that,, , my high school was over 1000 miles away from Wolfman's studio (Milton-Freewater, Oregon) and on clear nights, there was a hilltop we could go to (a place we took girls,, we called it "going parking") we could hear TH WOLFMAN and it blew our minds. There was rumors about him and YES,, he was a mythical character, and on those nights we could hear his radio show we felt like we were in LA which was Surf City and everything else kids from NW Oregon could imagine it was.
Saw this with mom and dad and my aunt and uncle in OKC, when it debuted in '73. I was 5 yrs old. Loved the music and the cars. I've seen it hundreds of times and still enjoy watching it and turning younger people onto the film.
The 3-hour comment comes at 1:03:43. I would also like to see this director's cut. Or, he could have made it into a triptych like Star Wars with The Cool Kids Strike Back, or something. On the other hand, I watched the 100-minute movie and now an 80-minute "making of", so that's already three hours.
@@texaswunderkind TBH, I can see why the studio cut out the scenes it did. Ford singing was pretty awkward and the used car salesman seemed to come out of nowhere and disappear. I did like the scene where Richie Cunningham mouths off to the teacher, although it could be seen as a little out of character for him, since he didn't seem like that much of a misbehaving punk otherwise.
Martha Braun and I had a lovely time with Wolfman Jack as he entertained us in a restaurant close to the public in downtown Lowell Massachusetts our favorite DJ next to Steve Michaels of course😊
Stupid kids not smoking and asking armed robbers to score alcohol and not robbing arcades for gas money and not having illegal street races downtown. Who banned cruising by the way...the same Baby Boomers doing it in this movie.
My brother saw this movie 7 times when it came out. He then started looking for a 32 Ford and ended up buying a 34 Ford 5 window coupe which he built into a beautiful street rod with a blown 350 which he still has to this day.
Seems like yesterday. I was an extra at the time and had a small part in Bullitt. Dan Caldwell was both my English and Drama teacher at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, California. He had introduced me to Ann Brebner who was a San Francisco Casting Director who lived in Sausalito right across the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County. It was Ann who got me the part in Bullitt. I forget how it happened but I got a call from a friend who knew Kathleen Quinlan and he said that she had a part in this movie being filmed at Tamalpais High School. Anyway, I showed up at my old high school and right away became part of the dance scene. I vividly remember Cindy Williams, Kathleen Quinlan, Scott Beach and Terry McGovern because I was in background scenes with all four but I remember thinking at the time that whatever the movie was about, it wouldn't amount to anything special. Boy, was I wrong. It not only was the beginning of long successful careers for Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss, Kathleen Quinlan, Cindy Williams and Susanne Sommers, from there Ron Howard was cast in Happy Days and of course, George Lucas went on to become a household name. And me? Well, I was torn between acting and concert production so by the end of the 70's I was hired by Bill Graham's BGP Company and did concert work full time and extra work on the side. I had parts in Bullitt, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and Foul Play. TV series including The Streets Of San Francisco, Midnight Caller, Wolf and Nash Bridges. I would actually be on the same location as Kathleen Quinlan in, The Doors, The Promise and the TV Series Wolf but never in the same scene. I have always remained a fan of her work as well as having graduated from the same high school, Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley California. I love looking back to when I was just a young lad with no specific direction in my life but being free to do whatever suited me at the time. American Graffiti will always hold special memories for me at a time when teenagers were free to be teenagers and life moved just a little bit slower than today. It truly was the best times of my life.
My dad was the sleeping cop in the car. I was on set when I was four don't remember a thing about it. Mom was also in the movie too driving the yellow corvette back and forth.
It's been a long time since I saw the film. I was 12 years old and my mom took me and my friend to see the movie at the theater. This was partly for my birthday. My dad was out of town on business and I asked my mom to take my friend and I to see this flick. I agree so much with the idea that it felt like a documentary. I thought using Wolfman was genius, as well as the beautiful blonde who is almost hard to see in the film. I just felt like I was cruising that night away with these kids. Wow, what a film. Just a beautiful piece of movie making. When the movie ended, I felt as if I had just spent a night with the other kids in the film
Wow Jeff you all did yourself! Takes me right back to 1971! Loved every second of it getting ready to watch it again when this finishes! Your number one fan blue Martell
This movie was so great that i would have sat thru the 3 hour movie and wanted more .Its back in the time that was the greatest time in America. The cars the music the laid back times was perfect in my opinion im glad that i lived in that time period
Just an amazing movie. I'm not sure if today's youth and relate, but even though I was born in 1968, I completely relate. I love car culture and have a relationship with my father through our love of music, cars, and my respect for his service in Viet Nam.
When I saw this movie I said finally a movie about my time, I just graduated from high school in 63 and all the music reflected that period. I really loved it and the actors turned out to be superstars.
When it was made in 1972 it was only looking back 10 years, but the youth of America has changed so much in those 10 years it was like looking back 50 years.
So true. Culturally (you can look at anything, social mores, music, whatever you want) the amount of change that occurred between 1962 and 1972 was/is _staggering._ You can look at the difference between 2012 and 2022 and uhmmm not so much. Nothing close to the intense amount of change going on back in the sixties.
Excellent observation. True. Don't mean to take anything away from your comment, but I need to say this. There was a world of difference in teens, society, etc. from 1962 to 1965-66, and especially 1967. "The Pill' (oral contraception) was introduced around 1962. That changed women, and the expectation of young women. The civil rights movement was underway. There were 8 years of Rock and Roll and it wasn't going away (but it would change greatly in the next 3 years). And Vietnam would soon be a big issue with young people, spawning the "Flower Children" and hippies. And one of the big things, the impact of the Baby Boom (1946-1964). So many young adults changing the tone of society. Adults would spoil their kids and had enough money for college as a routine expectation for those that wanted it. The young adults around 1967 were far looser and more realistic about life and world aware than those in 1962.
I like the way Milner runs up over the curb while pulling into the gas station. "You expecting some action?" "Yeah, I think so." What I liked most about this movie? It actually took me back to 62-66 when I'd cruise in downtown San Jose off of the Alameda. A lowly 52 Plymouth 4 door among some awesome machines! Girls? No girls. Just me and a couple of guys looking for some action! A comment on the music: I had older sisters that loved Bill Haley, Chuck Berry and just Rock n Roll in general. I remember one sister dancing while doing her ironing. But those, were the good ole days. Or maybe it was just my runaway adolescent youth wanting to set the world on fire?
American Graffiti and THX 1138 always fascinate me for how they shaped George Lucas’ directing career before Star Wars. Thank you for posting American Graffiti: Making Of. 👍🏻
After seeing this terrific production back story, it's fun to see the movie classic once again. Particularly, for those who came of age during the 50s and early 60s.
My older brothers and myself lived in CA. Cruising was the thing to do. Friday nights was THE night. Guys went out to cruise and girls would go out together and cruise. Saturday was date night. So innocent.
I saw it in the theater. The scene that everybody went crazy for is when they tie the chain to the back bumper of the police car and then speed by the cops. People love a good prank.
I saw this movie in our local theater when the film was released. I was a freshman in high school at that time, and I remember enjoying the movie tremendously. Seeing this video makes me want view this film again!
Thank you for such a great documentary. I was born in 1977, so the setting of American Graffiti pre-dates me. I've watched it many times, and have often thought that I was born in the wrong generation. Really enjoyed watching this. Think I'll watch the movie again, for the umpteenth time. It never gets old. It's a classic that I'll never get tired of.
When I was flying AC-47’s out of Danang in Vietnam, we had to be on airborne alert at night over the South China Sea. To relieve the boredom, we would listen to the Wolfman on our long distance radio. Great memories.
Grew up in Santa Rosa amid the sixties and was blessed to live the AG life...used to attend all the AG shows in Petaluma and pretty much the movie depicted life in the sixties in the North Bay... What a treasure....
AG hit home to a lot of folks because they relate to that era. For teens, 16-17 , even in the early 1970's, they mostly ignored all the news and still cruised streets on the weekends, and did all the stuff in the movie. My hometown of WhiteFish Bay is the village the creator of Happy Days grew up in, and he based the TV show on life in 'The Bay', as it is called. We used to cruise out to a farm house for parties, after football games, and have to drive through a small town to get there, with 1 cop sitting in the gas station like in the movie, watching us drive through the small town. There was even a race or two, on a country road, at times.
Saw it at theater at time it came out. Drove from college (4 hours) to see it. A guy I knew (and still know) called to say..."there's a car movie I read about in "Hot Rod" (magazine) I was amazed at how well "Graffiti" caught culture that was past -- but (really) only about 9 years past. Remember, it takes place end of summer '62 - but script developed about fall of '71. (By time filmed and released it was 1973.) Great - one of my all time favorites to this day. (And so much came from it -- style - actors - etc.) (I'm wearing my "Milner's Speed Shop" T-shirt now, matter of fact!)
I've never seen a movie just look so amazing. Sure, the music was perfect. The characters. The simple storyline. The condensed time frame. I remember it like yesterday. You actually felt like you were there that night. Incredible film.
Hollywood don’t know crap about real life, I lived this movie. It will always be my favorite movie, thank you Mr. Lucas for sharing your life as well as mine. 5 stars…..
and i know im rambling but i see true genius in how the process comes together through these talented people and how they approach how they create their vision! its absolutely mind blowing when you see the final product in the end....
I agree. Hollywood are story tellers and entertainers, the truth at times gets in the road and is dispensed with - a lot. One example, Brave Heart - the battle of Stirling Bridge, totally incorrect the way this battle is shown as it unfolds in the movie. No evidence at all of meeting the Princess of Wales and Wallace in real life. Though I am glad they added her to the movie cos she sure is easy on the eyes.
What is so amazing is how many great careers began with this single film.
This was also the beginning of Lucas working with Harrison Ford. Ended up using him and all his movies.
And they were in the unemployment line when this became a hit .
No matter how many times you watch Graffiti, it always seems fresh, I'd love to see the three hour version...
I would absolutely LOVE to see the three hour version!
Agreed
YES YES, I wish they would of made a directors cut. When I hear about some of my favorite classic Hollywood movies being cut so they can make more money by being able to show it more times, it makes me sick. Just wish directors could make a cut the way they want it. Think of the money they could make on a popular film advertising 30 minutes or more time when they re-release it a few years later. These days I look for directors cuts before I buy film.
Ben-Hur being one. I understand there were great scenes that were cut.
Wolfman Jack was a legend here in Australia as well. I just loved American Graffiti..., one of the best movies ever made.
Todd Rundgren did a song called Wolfman Jack a year before this movie it's really good 👍
I wondered about that because when I was living and working in Sydney 88-2001, many of my friends kept mentioning WJ. Thanks for that. On the North Shore up, there were still remains of the outdoor drive in movie places and it reminded me of AG
"American Graffiti" remains one of my all time favorite movies.
Cruising Van Nuys Blvd and hanging out at the Jack in the Box on Wednesday nights and then on Saturday nights/mornings we would meet behind the B of A on Van Nuys for drag racing! Oh those were the days! That was the early 70’s
Bless Francis's heart for agreeing to produce this. He gave a young guy's dream a chance!
Francis KNOWS talent
George Lucas probably considered it a great honor to be working with the same man who directed "The Godfather" (1972).
Yeah probably a big part of why people went to see it, it’s one of the best films ever made . To even have the idea of this movie and manifesting it is unreal
Lucas said Coppola is still bitter that he didn't invest his own money in the movie. He said it would've been worth tens of millions in profits if he had.
Crazy how many films no one wanted anything to with that have become classics that we enjoy over and over again.
Graduated high school in 1965 in Sothern California. Cruised Pasadena Boulevard every weekend and left town 10 days later to join the Army to fly helicopters. When the movie first came out I could not believe how much I related to it. I was flying out of Singapore and was back in the states for a couple weeks. Probably one of the best movies ever made about my youth. Fast hot cars, girls and per drug Sothern California with music you can understand. Those times will never come again.
*Southern
So cal forever🏄♂️
This has to be one of the 10 best all time movies. What a great time. Mr. Lucas made a masterpiece. 👍
And what do you say to the San Francisco Chronicle that said it was the worst movie ever made? It's amazing that a movie critic could be that stupid.
💯
How did The Sing win best picture? American Graffiti 100x better.
I'm only half way through but the comments on this video are as much a part of the Making of as its resurrecting so much nostalgia...just brilliant
"American Graffiti" came out at the right time. In 1973, we needed something that took us back to America before Vietnam. Besides a few surf movies, there were not too many films about coming of age in America during the pre-British Invasion period from the late 1950s -- 1963. This movie works so very well. I've often thought it was a bit like "Happy Days" for the big screen. When "American Graffiti" premiered in my hometown, some of the local gear heads and car club people saw this film with me at the local drive-in. Going to the drags and car shows were a big part of my life. "Squeaky," "T-Bird," "LA Leo," and the rest of my pals are all gone. My bandmates are gone. The memories remain. Thanks George Lucas and company!
American Graffiti inspired Happy Days.
You nailed it Walter 8080. Was a special time never to be repeated, the comm before the storm. Stars were Aligned 😎
@@55gaser26 Thanks!
Richard Dreyfuss "hated that shirt, it was 'gee-ky'."
Cut scene to Lucas wearing an identical shirt in modern times. jhahaha I love when editors can sneak lil things like that in
This movie hit me in a special way when I was 14 and it still hits in a special but different way now that I’m 63. Truly incomparable, a masterpiece.
I'll be 63 this coming April 3rd.
A work of Art, my friend. The FILM doesn't change - WE do. I'm only 46 and wasn't alive in either 1972 or '73 (when the film came out) nor 1962 (when the film takes place) but whenever I pull this film out after having not watched it for a while (or to watch it with someone who's never seen it before) I find yet another, deeper way of appreciating it.
@@NorthernVideos-ev7jv I'm also 46 and I didn't really "get" this movie when I saw it on VHS when I was 10 or so. Watching it again for the anniversary, having now lived through my teenage years, I understand and appreciate it much better. I can also now comprehend where it fits in film history and how it influenced other films I grew up with.
How did The Sing win best picture? American Graffiti 100x better.
When I was in high school, we lived for cruising. Kids today will never know the fun, excitement and joy of a Friday or Saturday night.
We cruised, and it was mostly out of boredom because there was nothing else to do in town.
In my honest opinion John Milner was and will always be the star in this movie, literally every hot rodder, car guy or gear head today knows who John Milner is and the ending with him dying in a car wreck kind of resonates because we all know being car guys this is a reality we all face, thank you for such an amazing piece of Americana.
The film didn't actually end with John being killed in a car wreck. Remember that "American Graffiti" was set in 1962 (the film's famous tagline was "Where were you in '62"), but in the epilogue showing what happened to the four main male characters in later life, it was stated that "John Milner was killed by a drunk driver in December of 1964." This line also appears at the end of the movie's sequel, "More American Graffiti" (1979), in which John's segment was set on New Years Eve of 1964, the last day of December of that year, which means that John must have been killed on that very night, although his death isn't actually shown. It just shows John driving his yellow, souped-up, 1932 Ford at night down a dark country road, and then there's a fade-out to black, followed by the epilogue relating his encounter with the "drunk driver," which resulted in his demise.
Amen 🙏 ✝️ 🙏
@@michaelpalmieri7335 More American Graffiti was pretty good, but not really close to this. It is worth a look.
Ya we definitely had a John Milner at my high school!
You're 100% right! I'm a big time Ford performance fan and ten speed 5.0 Mustang owner. John Milner is absolute icon for a street racer like myself.
I love these kinds of behind-the-scenes documentaries.
I was a teen when AG came out, and although it's set in '62, for teens in the mid '70s life was still very much like what's portrayed in the movie. We were into hot rods, we cruised the strip to "see and be seen", and we hung out on the streets and in drive-ins with a radio always playing in the background. Our "social network" was to actually go and physically hang our with friends. Just like in the '60s, kids weren't on an electronic leash in the '70s and there was little to no safety net. When we were out of the house and away from our parents, we were really on our own, for better or for worse. Make bad choices and suffer the consequences. No one was coming to save us.
Even we came 10 - 15 years after the characters in the movie, the music from the AG soundtrack reminds me very much of my teen years, in some ways even more so than the contemporary pop music from that time.
I agree one hundred percent! My friends and I identified very much with this movie. I saw this movie in a theatre in Encino back in 1973 with a group of friends and we loved it. I grew up in the San Fernando Valley, we cruised Van Nuys Blvd on Wednesday nights and we listened to oldies and Motown and Wolfman Jack was still on the air in ‘73, well maybe in ‘72 along with Art Laboe and KEarth 101.
The film revolutionized society. Lucas kickstarted a nostalgia craze that went for at least ten more years. I recall this period of Lucas's influence far more than Star Wars, which was another big jump as it revitalized the Star Trek franchise. I even saw "THX 1138" in its first run in 1971. That film didn't really start a fad or a craze.
*out
Exactly, this was our high school lives in the early 70’s. Cruising, drag races, music, relationships, we lived this one night every weekend. I’m so thankful I was able to experience this simpler time
Same here, my friends and I more or less enjoyed a similar atmosphere to the one portrayed in American graffiti, cruising, getting burgers at the local diner late at night, working on cars, going to the drive in. And I graduated in 2021! Just wish the music was the same. I do have to say, it’s because of the internet that we were able to live that way, and able to experience a sliver of what life was like back then. It was a time even before our parents.
George should put on his bucket list to re-release a director's cut with the full 3 hour version. It would make a fortune at the box office. I graduated from San Rafael high school and have lived in Petaluma for the last 45 years. I've done work for Lucas and have dozens of friends that have and some still do work for him. The man is amazing. There are thousands of people who live in the bay area with a personal connection to the art that George has created.
I love how Ron Howard's comments were all about how the movie was made!
He successfully moved on to being a fine director!...Did his hair loss force him to get behind the camera?
They could make a boatload of money if they ever decided to release the 3 hour version of this movie! I'd be one of the first in line.
I've met Cindy and MacKenzie at an autograph show in Burbank..very nice ladies...I heard a story of when Graffiti was a big hit,George took one of his percentage points and divided it 10 ways to his cast ....they both verified....in modern dollars,it's the equivalent to $75,000- $200,000 a year for life....wow..
This movie had a tremendous effect on my childhood and teenage years. George said it was an end of an era but not necessarily. I dreamed that when I went to high school it would be all about cruising, drag racing and girls. Everything and then some came true. Used to challenge guys to a drag race then play Green Onions on the way to the spot. This was 1988-1990. Maybe that was the end of that era? I’m 51 now and still hit cruise nights with my wife and grandkids. Thank you George.
I grew up in the early 70’s in small town Alabama. Saturday night were like this.
@@livingadreamlife1428 that’s so awesome 👍👍
I use to cruise around in the late 80's with friends just like AG shows. Not sure if that continued in the 90's for the Generation that followed my Generation, but the AG way of life continued for at least 30 years after 1962. The Movie was very accurate.
I grew up as a total car nut, drivers license in 1972, so American Graffiti was a must see as soon as it came out. Fifty years ago, I remember spying a clapped out looking 1967 Chevy Caprice in a "1962" scene... OOPS! And there it is 50 seconds into this retrospective. Not senile yet!!!
What a masterpiece. Lucas really nailed that time and place. I graduated from a high school in the San Fernando valley in '64. George's
story took place in '62, just a few hundred miles north. Our cultures were identical. I knew every character in that film.
This film really got me pumped up about night life, cruising, girls, car friends and the freedom that cars provided in general. I was 15 when it came out and was completely excited to get my drivers license soon. I had a friend 6 months older who had his license and bought a 69 L78 396 4 speed Chevelle. We would go out cruising and street racing around Akron Oh. The only cars we could afford were the gas sucking 1960s muscle cars and there were lots of gatherings at root beer stands and such. The gas gauge was rarely over 1/4 tank. Good times.
Similar! I knew I was growing up when I could fill any of my cars near half a tank. Even today, a full tank freaks me out thinking of what I just spent, and I'm 66! ☺️
I saw American Graffiti as a kid in Southern California when it first came out. It has always been very special to me and is my favorite film. I've had the movie poster in my office for many years. Jump to 43 years later, I moved to Modesto, CA where George Lucas is from, to work for a winery and living here has created new meaning of the film for me. Our community celebrates Graffiti Week every June when streets are shutdown one night for a classic car cruise and American Graffiti is shown at the State Theatre in downtown Modesto. I look forward to this every year.
This sounds great. In my 60s now and planning a final trip to CA next year from Europe so will do so some research on this Graffiti Week and try and tie it all in to a kind of car related tour ataking in museums and the like. Cheers
Lucas made a film set in his teenage years, but it turned out to also be about mine. 1982-84 I was living in Petaluma, a full decade after shooting this film, on the Friday and Saturday night cruise scene on 4th Street and nothing had changed. I didn't see this film until 1989, and was blown away that I had been there. Still blows me away to see aspects of it today.
That drag street in Modesto, Henry something, had to have its side streets closed off on weekends!!!
I was a junior at Petaluma High when the movie was filmed and enjoy watching it so much because it brings back memories of the town and school and how much I loved that place. I live in NC now and get back every couple years as my cousin still lives there but it’s changed more than I like. Being able to see the places in the movie are good memories.
It captured the "feeling" of being a teenager of the 50's and early 60's PERFECTLY. Emotionally, it's one off the most enjoyable and satisfying movie experiences of my youth BECAUSE it was about a bunch of innocent kids before life jaded them. Talk about the good old days!
I was in third grade in 73' so I did not see this movie until it was shown in re-release around 1980 at a local theater. My mom made sure that I tool my sister and girlfriend at the time to see it together. It was eye opening for us young kids of the 70's to witness the kids of the early 60's on screen in a way that made compare ourselves to our parents. Even today I show this DVD to my kids when they turn 13 just to start that conversation about growing up and making something of themselves. George and crew did a fantastic job making this film.
*took
There are some very dark implications in that cryptic scene with the creepy teacher, but it was never fleshed out
an absolute masterpiece-even though i was a teenager in the 60s in cleve oh there were many similarities. I got the pleasure of meeting most of the cast at car shows the next 30 years. I became good friends with Paul Lemat, in 1998, 2008, and we met him an his manager for dinner everytime we visited southern calif-i cant give you his location other than its " somewhere in the valley" We finally got him to cleve in 2011. 1500 cars showd up when only 500 would fit. We still consider him one of our dearest friends.
*showed
Lemat should have been a star, on par with Harrison Ford!...but he fell into drugs and alcohol abuse, and blew his opportunity. a shame, really.
It just hit me, how many famous people have a story similar to winning the lottery. It just goes to show that becoming a house hold name, is in fact winning the lottery in a sense.
1:09:35 One more reason to love Coppola. "You should get on your knees and thank this young man for what he's done for your career." He stood up for his friend while telling off an asinine studio executive.
Francis is like George’s older brother like Racer X to Speed Racer , in the background looking out for him, I remember in an interview Francis talking about how part of him wished George hadn’t had so much success with Star Wars because it kept George from making other great films he knew George had in him
I couldn't believe the story til I looked at other making of documentaries . Studio heads didn't understand Animal House and thought it was a lousy movie too . After it became a success ,they asked the director's opinion on Fast Times At Ridgemont High because they thought that was going to be a lousy movie , too . He talked the director and told them not to worry about it .
It was Ned Tanen's attitude that inspired the "Back to the Future" people to name Biff's last name after him... no surprise he did not believe in Lucas and Coppola either.
It blows my mind to think Coppola, Lucas, Spielberg, Scorsese, and De Palma were all close.
@@AndyJay1985Imagine if they all collaborated on a movie together.
This movie connects with me on so many levels, it has a huge impact on me and my love for filmmaking, thank you George Lucas
I was 10 when my mom took me to see this with her date. I loved it so much she let me sit through it again while they went out somewhere. It made me such a fan that when I saw Star Wars a few years later, made by the same guy, I hated it. It seemed dumb and patronizing by comparison. I've been a film snob ever since.
@@carlodave9 thanks
I remember my whole class wagged school to watch this movie. It started out as just a couple of us going but when we turned up at the cinema everyone was there. Yeah it must have been funny when the teacher walked into an empty classroom that day. One of the highlights of my childhood.
One of my all-time favourite films. I even loved the much-maligned 1979 sequel, More American Graffiti.
" American Graffiti " was THE film for & about, my generation. For the record, in high school, I was--------really was--------Curt Henderson. I was both the intellectual & the hopeless / hapless romantic . I knew politics, religion & history. I also knew the music on AM Top 40 radio, better than any of my friends, or anyone in the high school I attended, Denver South High, Class of '64. So, when I 1st saw " American Graffiti", it didn't take too long before I knew I was the protagonist , Curt Henderson. When did I know ? It was that scene when he's walking down the hallway of the high school, just remembering, as " The Stroll", by The Diamonds, is playing in the background. 3 days after our graduation, I returned to South High, & was allowed to walk the halls to my content. In 1992, the last time I was in Denver, & when I lost my Dad, I once again walked the halls of South High, this time accompanied by a very curious sophomore who's name now escapes ; he was endlessly fascinated as to why I would want to come back & do this, 28 years after graduating. I told him he would answer that himself, as he got older. Returning to South was a bitter-sweet experience. When I was there, we had over 2200 students, & my class had 708 graduates. In '92, South High had just over 800 students in total. And, in walking the halls, the school seemed to have shrunk. It was always such a huge place, & it took most of my sophomore year to find my way, but now ? it all seemed so much smaller. That was of course, because by '92, I'd been in buildings far larger than South High. In short, it was just life. ------I'm a lifetime lover of cinema. On my all-time Top 10 films, " American Graffiti" ranks 4th. In my heart of hearts, it will always be #1. ------------------MJL, 76 y/o
Absolutely my favorite movie of all time.I saw it in the theater 22 times. I bought the videotape when it finally came out but it wasn't the same as seeing it in the theater.
im jealous of your theater viewings... I watch it all the time on blu ray but wish i had discovered it im time for theater viewings....
One reason that the big screen is better--the music. It's on pretty loud at times. I hate to say it, but hearing "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry happened for me way back then in 1973...
Shooting it in techniscope was perfect for this film . It not only looked like the music sounded at the time with the tube amps , but it made the film look real. 🎥
george and his team were genuis! the decisions made back then were perfection!
They were fortunate to have so many innovative and talented technical people like Haskell Wexler and Walter Murch. Wexler was an experienced documentary cameraman so he knew how to squeeze the most out of little resources. Other experienced DP's might have thrown fits and quit over the same conditions. Walter Murch was an imaginative sound designer and editor. The movie's editors, Verna Fields won an Oscar for editing Jaws, and Marcia Lucas for Star Wars. And, of course, Francis Coppola for shepherding the entire production.
@@aliensoup2420 Wexler was IN the movie. During the scene at the gym, the 'slow dance', when the camera pans down the line of kids waiting to dance, you can see him squatting behind them holding a light. I wonder if he ever knew he was IN the movie?
@@teksal13 Reminds me of the crew member you can see pushing the Christmas tree down in Gremlins when the gremlin is supposed to be attacking from it.
Harrison Ford was brilliant as Bob Falfa the banter between him an Paul Le mat was just fantastic in that scene when they first meet, the talent there just amazing.
It's hard to believe but this iconic American classic will be FIFTY years old . . .this year. Sadly two more members of the cast have passed away with the losses of Bo Hopkins in May '22 and just recently with Cindy Williams. Paul LeMat is not in good shape while Harrison Ford is now over 80. Time flies. I never tire of watching this incredibly well made movie . George Lucas laments that he "only" had around $80K for music which, according to him, rounded out to about $2K per song yet, I think part of the success of this film is directly related to the sound track. Those '50s rock'n'roll classic songs resonate throughout the movie and underscore the scenes much better than a scored message IMO. Who can forget the power that "Green Onions" leant to the shot where John Milner and Bob Falfa were lining up for their drag race? Anyone who ever wants to go to film school and learn the craft should be required to study George Lucas' American masterpiece. This synopsis is incredible and fun to watch again. Thanks George.
One of the casualties of not having more money for music was that they could not get permission to use any Elvis songs.
The movie that gave birth to both Happy Days , Star Wars and Indiana Jones.
One of the top 5 greatest movies ever made.
Thanks 4 posting this.
"American Graffiti" did not "give birth to 'Happy Days,' " that's a myth. "Happy Days" was in fact inspired by a segment from "Love, American Style," that was set in the 1950s. I think Ron Howard was in it, but I'm not sure. Anyway, this particular segment was broadcast in 1972, which was the year before A.G. was first shown in the theaters.
@@michaelpalmieri7335 Ron Howard must have had to wear a hair piece in the movie !
@@michaelpalmieri7335 You're telling half the story. That was a pilot with Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham that was rejected. They aired it as an episode of LAS instead. It was only resurrected 6 months after Graffiti debuted to turn into Happy Days. That was almost 2 years after the pilot had been "dumped" as an episode of LAS. So Graffiti didn't inspire the idea for Happy Days, but it absolutely caused the series to be greenlit.
Jedi is 100% correct. The 2nd pilot "All the Way" that became episode 1 was very retooled from the original "Love and the TV Set".
In the original it was set in Brooklyn in 1952. It had overtures of Hit Parade middle ager music and a photo of Truman. The diner was a downtown street walkin....I think it is the same diner in Hill Valley BTTF and Twilight Zone and Andy Griffith.
ABC realized they had the two characters already very similar to Steve and Curt in that old pilot...except their earlier HS years at 15/16....so
Rob Reiner wrote a script set in suburban Milwaukee, in 1955 so they could open with Rock Around the Clock and a drive in burger joint "Arthur's" looking just like Mel's with rock music playing in most scenes.
They added a Toad (Ralph) and an overaged teen tough hot rodder Fonzie. They also made Joannie much more if a precocious smartelic.
More outdoor shots. The scene where Richie tells Ralph he's going All the Way and the camera lifts up over the parking lot night shot with a classic rock tune playing louder as he walks frightened to his date....that was very George Lucasesque.
The series settled down into more studio work and eventually a studio audience sitcom....but the 2nd pilot was basically a prequel to American Grafitti.
Harrison Ford is a legend but he had nothing on Paul la Matt in this movie. John milner was awesome
This is true Old Gregg, this is true
I have a shirt with Paul Lemat on it, but I've never had a shirt with Harrison Ford on it.
Milner is basically the Han Solo of this film, and Carol is the Leia of the piece, given their bantering.
Absolutely Paul Le Matt
Paul Le Mat’s John Milner made American Graffiti. Harrison Ford is just a celebrity and I’ll leave it at that.
This 50ies culture is still alive in Sweden, the cars, the music and the clothes.
I love this movie! I remember the end of the cruising culture. What a fun time.
I am the only person that was actually hired right off the street to be in the movie just hours before we started shooting. Jim and Chuck used me and my beautiful chevy truck all 28 nights.
I am the kid that was cruising Petaluma Blvd. I was 16 and what a summer.
It’s just such a nice thing . All of these actors are my childhood idols. Dreyfus and Ford in life changing movies, Howard and Mackenzie in my tv shows.. and then seeing this on TV on one boring summer night at around age 12 or 13 by chance. And it made such an impression one me. So melancholy . I just got the movie as I understand it now at 57. Such a jewel.
The years of 1960 through 1964 were the best years of my life. I experienced what George Lucas brought to the screen. Cruising and innocent fun was the best fun ever.
Terry the Toad would crash the Vespa so it was perfect that they kept that in. It introduced the character in the way he should be introduced.
"Wolfman Jack",, George mentions he was sort of a mythical character,, we thought he was in LA. I can tell you this about that,, , my high school was over 1000 miles away from Wolfman's studio (Milton-Freewater, Oregon) and on clear nights, there was a hilltop we could go to (a place we took girls,, we called it "going parking") we could hear TH WOLFMAN and it blew our minds. There was rumors about him and YES,, he was a mythical character, and on those nights we could hear his radio show we felt like we were in LA which was Surf City and everything else kids from NW Oregon could imagine it was.
So cal was a special place back than
Saw this with mom and dad and my aunt and uncle in OKC, when it debuted in '73. I was 5 yrs old. Loved the music and the cars. I've seen it hundreds of times and still enjoy watching it and turning younger people onto the film.
saw this movie on Okinawa in 1973, it was an excellent escape from the reality of the military
I’ve seen this film countless times, but I’ve never seen this. No words; it’s just great. Wonderful. Thanks for the post!
Would love to see the 3 hr version, this was my high school days, absolurtely nailed it.!
*absolutely
The 3-hour comment comes at 1:03:43. I would also like to see this director's cut. Or, he could have made it into a triptych like Star Wars with The Cool Kids Strike Back, or something. On the other hand, I watched the 100-minute movie and now an 80-minute "making of", so that's already three hours.
@@danaxtell2367 The less Lucas has to do with any extended version, the better. He'd put CGI dancing monkeys in it or something.
@@texaswunderkind TBH, I can see why the studio cut out the scenes it did. Ford singing was pretty awkward and the used car salesman seemed to come out of nowhere and disappear. I did like the scene where Richie Cunningham mouths off to the teacher, although it could be seen as a little out of character for him, since he didn't seem like that much of a misbehaving punk otherwise.
Martha Braun and I had a lovely time with Wolfman Jack as he entertained us in a restaurant close to the public in downtown Lowell Massachusetts our favorite DJ next to Steve Michaels of course😊
RIP Cindy Williams
A rare gem, ingenious casting, fulfilment of a vision.
this is perfect just perfect depiction of those times, i can watch it a million times and still enjoy
I loved the movie and I still watch it from time to time! It’s a little of what’s missing in kids today!
Stupid kids not smoking and asking armed robbers to score alcohol and not robbing arcades for gas money and not having illegal street races downtown. Who banned cruising by the way...the same Baby Boomers doing it in this movie.
My brother saw this movie 7 times when it came out. He then started looking for a 32 Ford and ended up buying a 34 Ford 5 window coupe which he built into a beautiful street rod with a blown 350 which he still has to this day.
I WANT THE THREE HOUR VERSION!!!!
George, as a mechanic of 50 years, I can tell you unequivocally, you made the right choice.
Seems like yesterday. I was an extra at the time and had a small part in Bullitt. Dan Caldwell was both my English and Drama teacher at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, California. He had introduced me to Ann Brebner who was a San Francisco Casting Director who lived in Sausalito right across the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County. It was Ann who got me the part in Bullitt. I forget how it happened but I got a call from a friend who knew Kathleen Quinlan and he said that she had a part in this movie being filmed at Tamalpais High School. Anyway, I showed up at my old high school and right away became part of the dance scene. I vividly remember Cindy Williams, Kathleen Quinlan, Scott Beach and Terry McGovern because I was in background scenes with all four but I remember thinking at the time that whatever the movie was about, it wouldn't amount to anything special. Boy, was I wrong. It not only was the beginning of long successful careers for Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss, Kathleen Quinlan, Cindy Williams and Susanne Sommers, from there Ron Howard was cast in Happy Days and of course, George Lucas went on to become a household name. And me? Well, I was torn between acting and concert production so by the end of the 70's I was hired by Bill Graham's BGP Company and did concert work full time and extra work on the side. I had parts in Bullitt, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and Foul Play. TV series including The Streets Of San Francisco, Midnight Caller, Wolf and Nash Bridges. I would actually be on the same location as Kathleen Quinlan in, The Doors, The Promise and the TV Series Wolf but never in the same scene. I have always remained a fan of her work as well as having graduated from the same high school, Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley California. I love looking back to when I was just a young lad with no specific direction in my life but being free to do whatever suited me at the time. American Graffiti will always hold special memories for me at a time when teenagers were free to be teenagers and life moved just a little bit slower than today. It truly was the best times of my life.
Hi
Love this film!❤️ child of the 70’s
this is one of he most amazing films Ever....a real triumph
The "Smoke gets in your eyes" dance scene is simply sublime, what a beautiful film one of my favorites.
I think that George was purposely trying to capture the awkwardness of young people without telling the actors that’s what he was after.
My dad was the sleeping cop in the car. I was on set when I was four don't remember a thing about it. Mom was also in the movie too driving the yellow corvette back and forth.
It's been a long time since I saw the film. I was 12 years old and my mom took me and my friend to see the movie at the theater. This was partly for my birthday. My dad was out of town on business and I asked my mom to take my friend and I to see this flick. I agree so much with the idea that it felt like a documentary. I thought using Wolfman was genius, as well as the beautiful blonde who is almost hard to see in the film. I just felt like I was cruising that night away with these kids. Wow, what a film. Just a beautiful piece of movie making. When the movie ended, I felt as if I had just spent a night with the other kids in the film
One of my favorite movies of all time.
Agreed
Sadly the sequel was So Bad..
I would love to see the three hour version, I would absolutely buy that DVD.
Wow Jeff you all did yourself! Takes me right back to 1971! Loved every second of it getting ready to watch it again when this finishes! Your number one fan blue Martell
American Graffiti was an immediate classic in my community. It was as beloved as 'High Noon' the week it hit our theaters
This movie was so great that i would have sat thru the 3 hour movie and wanted more .Its back in the time that was the greatest time in America. The cars the music the laid back times was perfect in my opinion im glad that i lived in that time period
Wonderful movie and soundtrack.
FANTASTIC MOVIE !!!!!!! I was a trainee cinema projectionist at the time and had the pleasure to screen it.
One of the first movies I ever saw in a theater when I was a kid when it first came out. Still great today.
This is the 1st film I can remember seeing...I was almost 6 years old...
Just an amazing movie. I'm not sure if today's youth and relate, but even though I was born in 1968, I completely relate. I love car culture and have a relationship with my father through our love of music, cars, and my respect for his service in Viet Nam.
When I saw this movie I said finally a movie about my time, I just graduated from high school in 63 and all the music reflected that period. I really loved it and the actors turned out to be superstars.
i wanna make movies after seeing this. such a cool process back then.
When it was made in 1972 it was only looking back 10 years, but the youth of America has changed so much in those 10 years it was like looking back 50 years.
So true. Culturally (you can look at anything, social mores, music, whatever you want) the amount of change that occurred between 1962 and 1972 was/is _staggering._ You can look at the difference between 2012 and 2022 and uhmmm not so much. Nothing close to the intense amount of change going on back in the sixties.
Excellent observation. True. Don't mean to take anything away from your comment, but I need to say this. There was a world of difference in teens, society, etc. from 1962 to 1965-66, and especially 1967. "The Pill' (oral contraception) was introduced around 1962. That changed women, and the expectation of young women. The civil rights movement was underway. There were 8 years of Rock and Roll and it wasn't going away (but it would change greatly in the next 3 years). And Vietnam would soon be a big issue with young people, spawning the "Flower Children" and hippies. And one of the big things, the impact of the Baby Boom (1946-1964). So many young adults changing the tone of society. Adults would spoil their kids and had enough money for college as a routine expectation for those that wanted it. The young adults around 1967 were far looser and more realistic about life and world aware than those in 1962.
I like the way Milner runs up over the curb while pulling into the gas station. "You expecting some action?"
"Yeah, I think so."
What I liked most about this movie? It actually took me back to 62-66 when I'd cruise in downtown San Jose off of the Alameda. A lowly 52 Plymouth 4 door among some awesome machines!
Girls? No girls. Just me and a couple of guys looking for some action!
A comment on the music: I had older sisters that loved Bill Haley, Chuck Berry and just Rock n Roll in general. I remember one sister dancing while doing her ironing.
But those, were the good ole days. Or maybe it was just my runaway adolescent youth wanting to set the world on fire?
American Graffiti and THX 1138 always fascinate me for how they shaped George Lucas’ directing career before Star Wars. Thank you for posting American Graffiti: Making Of. 👍🏻
License plate on Milner's car was THX 138
@@punmasterflash Thanks.
After seeing this terrific production back story, it's fun to see the movie classic once again. Particularly, for those who came of age during the 50s and early 60s.
My older brothers and myself lived in CA. Cruising was the thing to do. Friday nights was THE night. Guys went out to cruise and girls would go out together and cruise. Saturday was date night. So innocent.
I saw it in the theater. The scene that everybody went crazy for is when they tie the chain to the back bumper of the police car and then speed by the cops. People love a good prank.
I saw this movie in our local theater when the film was released. I was a freshman in high school at that time, and I remember enjoying the movie tremendously. Seeing this video makes me want view this film again!
I would love to see a Directors Cut 3 hour version
Thank you for such a great documentary. I was born in 1977, so the setting of American Graffiti pre-dates me. I've watched it many times, and have often thought that I was born in the wrong generation. Really enjoyed watching this. Think I'll watch the movie again, for the umpteenth time. It never gets old. It's a classic that I'll never get tired of.
Legendary Film. Copolla and George's confidence as artists is inspiring.
Rest in Peace My Dear Friend "Joe Pharoah"...
Once in a lifetime experience. Love everyone of the stories.
That is one of my favorite movies of all time .That's what got me into hot rods.
Although this behind-the-scenes was filmed almost 20 years ago, what truly is amazing is that most of these people are still alive in 2021! Wow!!!
That's cause they were all in their early to mid 20s at the time.
@@lynnturman8157 So? The movie was done 50 years ago! The cast & crew are mostly septuagenarians now!
We lost Cindy Williams tonight jan.2023 . ... She was a very nice talented actress
"You just CAN'T stay seventeen forever! You wanna end up like John?" Yes please. American Graffiti in a nutshell.
When I was flying AC-47’s out of Danang in Vietnam, we had to be on airborne alert at night over the South China Sea. To relieve the boredom, we would listen to the Wolfman on our long distance radio. Great memories.
Grew up in Santa Rosa amid the sixties and was blessed to live the AG life...used to attend all the AG shows in Petaluma and pretty much the movie depicted life in the sixties in the North Bay...
What a treasure....
AG hit home to a lot of folks because they relate to that era. For teens, 16-17 , even in the early 1970's, they mostly ignored all the news and still cruised streets on the weekends, and did all the stuff in the movie. My hometown of WhiteFish Bay is the village the creator of Happy Days grew up in, and he based the TV show on life in 'The Bay', as it is called. We used to cruise out to a farm house for parties, after football games, and have to drive through a small town to get there, with 1 cop sitting in the gas station like in the movie, watching us drive through the small town. There was even a race or two, on a country road, at times.
Saw it at theater at time it came out. Drove from college (4 hours) to see it. A guy I knew (and still know) called to say..."there's a car movie I read about in "Hot Rod" (magazine) I was amazed at how well "Graffiti" caught culture that was past -- but (really) only about 9 years past. Remember, it takes place end of summer '62 - but script developed about fall of '71. (By time filmed and released it was 1973.)
Great - one of my all time favorites to this day. (And so much came from it -- style - actors - etc.) (I'm wearing my "Milner's Speed Shop" T-shirt now, matter of fact!)
I've never seen a movie just look so amazing. Sure, the music was perfect. The characters. The simple storyline. The condensed time frame. I remember it like yesterday. You actually felt like you were there that night. Incredible film.