American Graffiti
Take a look back at Harrison Ford's movie career in photos.,Due to the low budget, George Lucas was unable to pay all of the crew members. He offered to give many of them a screen credit in lieu of payment, and they accepted. Traditionally, only department heads received screen credit. Giving screen credit to so many crew members has now become a tradition, which is why closing credits last so long now.,The movie is set in 1962, but a cinema marquee advertises Dementia 13 (1963) (released in 1963). This was done on purpose by George Lucas, because Dementia 13 was Producer Francis Ford Coppola's first movie.,Curt Henderson: You're the most beautiful, exciting thing I've ever seen in my life and I don't know anything about you.,Worded epilogues prior to the credits shows what happen to the characters following the movie. While this has since become commonplace in films, it was considered innovative at the time.,Originally released at 110 minutes; re-edited and re-released in a slightly longer version (112 minutes) in 1978 when many of its then-unknown stars became famous.,Featured in Airport 1975 (1974),At The Hop
Written by John Madara, Artie Singer and Dave White (uncredited)
Performed by Flash Cadillac (as Flash Cadillac and The Continental Kids)
Produced by Kim Fowley
Courtesy of Roulette Records:,Whether you love this movie or not, you have to admire this movie for two reasons. First, its return on the dollar was among the best ever for any film. While the budget was a very modest $777,777.111 (no kidding), it returned $115,000,000 in the United States alone! No wonder this film made George Lucas famous. Second, it was very innovative. While I was not a huge fan of the film's style, it was unique and sure had an impact on the world as well as future films. No one had made a film like this before--chock full of one song after another blaring across the soundtrack and its odd semi-structureless plot was also quite unique.

The film concerns a bunch of young adults just hanging out and cruising. There really isn't a lot more to it than that. Sure, their stories all reveal a bit about them through the course of the film, but most of the characters have no great depth. It's more like you are a voyeur watching some likable and not especially likable kids doing...well...nothing. Now if you grew up in the early 60s and remember all this, then it's a great stroll down memory lane. If you didn't, I think the movie will be more of a tough sell, as the nostalgia angle is non-existent. As for me, I wasn't even born until 1964, so the nostalgia aspect was less--but I loved the music and great cars. My daughter, while less impressed about EVERYTHING did grudgingly say that the music was great. She also said that she pretty much ignored the plot and just listened to the songs! And, perhaps, this is pretty typical of a person from her generation. As for me, the film was mildly interesting and I respect it--though I did not love it. This isn't really meant as a criticism--just a statement about how this film appealed to this 47 year-old guy. For the right audience, it's the perfect film. Otherwise, you might feels it's all a bit overrated.

Aside from the nostalgia for the early 60s, the movie also is quite interesting when seen today because so many future stars and super-stars are in it--mostly when they were young unknowns. Ron Howard (a child star but not all that popular yet as an adult), Cindy Williams, Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfus, Charles Martin Smith, Mackenzie Phillips and Suzanne Somers all appear in the film.,