| | |  | Action & Adventure | Home » » American Graffiti (Collector's Edition) (High School Reunion Collection) | | | | | | | Product Promotions: | | | | | Description: | | A look at one hectic night in the life of a group of high school friends just before they go off to college, jobs, or the army. | | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams | | Format:
| Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC | | Language:
| English, French | | Subtitle:
| English, Spanish | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| Universal Studios | | Run Time:
| 110 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| September 16, 1998 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 179 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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 A Nice But Disappointing FilmSep 03, 2010
Just before purchasing this film, I saw it on TV and apparently what I saw was a "Director's Cut" version. It was very good. Then after seeing the "Collector's Edition" on DVD, I was left disappointed due to the deletion of certain scenes, which in my opinion were necessary for the fluidity of the film. This version, has also has a couple of scenes that are so dark that it's hard to make out the actors' faces. At the end during the credits a very thin white edge can be seen on the right side, which makes me wonder if I bought a pirate copy or not.
The good part about this version is that the music, which is what really makes this film along with all the nostalgia of the early 60s, is clearly recorded and without the obnoxious bass over-boost that is so prevalent in so many re-makes of old films.
For a film that costs just a couple of bucks, I can recommend it, but for higher quality, I would have to recommend a different version.
 cute movie, good musicAug 30, 2010
Bought this movie for my parents; they loved it. Crazy to see the actors so young.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 In The Great Teen Night, Circa 1962Aug 27, 2010
Well, let me run through the plot line for those who are not familiar with idea behind the film, or are too young to have a clue as to such goings-on but might want to know what the old fogies, their parents or (ouch) grandparents were up to (or thought they were up to) back in the days, or are the peers of those 1960s baby-boomers enshrined in the film, but have forgotten a thing or two since they watched the thing in 1973 (another ouch).
The opening scene sets the whole film up. A very spiffy, well-dressed, well-scrubbed, well-mannered (mostly), middle class crew of 1962-era Southern California suburban valley kids with plenty of disposable income at hands, are gathering for one last tribal meeting before they go their separate ways in the great adult grind-it-out, eyes-straight-forward, shoulder-to-the-wheel, little boxes world at their main club house, Mel's fast food drive-in (already I have lost the younger set on that last point, on the non-mall food court, drive-in thing, right?). How did they get to said gathering spot, you might ask? Come on now, this is wide open-spaced California suburban valley how else would they get there other that in their own personal "teen mobiles." Jesus, do I have to tell you everything.
They come in one and twos, mainly, in some of the best-looking "boss" car (excuse my reversion to an old-time term for excellence, automobile division) that you will see these days outside of an automobile museum. And besides that, many of them, the cars that is, are "souped-up" (look that one up yourself), especially valley hot-rod-king of the hill, John (played by Paul LeMat), and his yellow (mustard yellow, wow, can you believe that?) little deuce coup (ditto on the look up). Here is the point though, the main point even in this pre-1960s rebellion period, none of the cars look anything like any parent would drive, or could drive (except the few dweeby cars borrowed for the evening from some plaint, or beaten-down, beaten down by teen argument parent). Yes indeed, this is a gathering of the California branch of "youth nation" in all their tribal finery.
As is to be expected of a teen-centered (amazingly teen-centered, adults get merely cameo appearances in this one, and that seems about right) drama the plot line thins out considerably after the flash at Mel's. Mainly, it is about a single night's search for the 1962 version of the California blue-pink night (more on this below). And what drives that search? Cruising, natch. Why spend the time and expense involved in a "boss" car (you know that word now, right?) if you don't create a stir up and down the main drag boulevard looking for.... , you can easily fill in that blank yourself. The rest of the plot centers on such eternal questions as the young leaving home and hearth to face the great wide world (here to be or not to be a college freshman by stars Ron Howard, as Steve, and Richard Dreyfus, as Curt), the usual boy looking for girl thing (including by oldster hot-rod king, Johnny) that I have endlessly reported on elsewhere in this space and that is not worthy of comment in a teen film. What else could such a film be about? Teen break-ups (Howard and Cindy Williams, as Laurie), cruising, stopping at Mel's for some car-hopped fast food, cruising, a little hot- rod duel ( between Johnny and, ah, one Harrison Ford) on those open California highways (what else are they for?), and then daylight and the rude old work-a-day world intrudes, even on sanctified teen life.
This is one time though that I do not do justice to a film with a summary because this thing is well-directed, well-produced, and well-acted by a crew of then very young unknowns (mostly) that would go on to all kinds of other cinematic successes (including hot-rod runner-up, ah, Ford). The sense of déjà vu for this Eastern U.S.-born baby-boomer, including a great high school dance segment and a soundtrack that reads out of every classic "Oldies But Goodies" compilation that I have ever reviewed, was palpable, without being maudlin. Kudos
American GraffitiAug 16, 2010
Received the product on time and in excellent condition. Very good movie, and I would do business with this seller again.
spot-on subtle sociology (before the deluge) - but weak film processingJun 10, 2010
AG is a narrative masterfully poised (late summer, 1962) at the brink of a big culture shift, that is BEFORE: the Viet Nam War got more consuming; the civil rights movement expanded (& produced its accompanying legislation); the womens' rights movement began to bud; the Beatles and the counterculture changed American rock and roll; and safety and mileage standards were mandated for automobiles, changing this industry.
The enduring success of this film is largely owed to the writers' letting the 6 protagonists' own lives suggest what was to follow by the decade's end. They are allowed to be themselves in a time and place and we watch with trepidation and irony, wondering how the future will interrupt them. It was no small achievement to resist spelling things out via screenwriter's hindsight. Lucas was also wise NOT to place his story in a major urban center like the affluent northeastern suburbs or, more likely, Southern California. Fresno was the ideal choice for AG's mise-en-scene -- part rural, mid-size, provincial and more like middle America than the left and right coasts. But it DID have the California car culture that provided the leitmotif for (literally) moving its characters through the story.
It was also the right touch to have disc jockey Wolfman Jack as a sort of Greek chorus - the choice of rock songs and ballads complements the unfolding narrative. On a second level, Wolfman Jack stands for the larger world, and perhaps a bit too literally, when he counsels Curt in the radio station - though this is an effective scene. WJ's broadcasts from the remote desert southwest were said to reach much of the lower half of the US, and at night the right sort of atmospheric conditions extended his signal to the Canadian border. This reach projected the new youth culture across the continent, challenging local traditions. With a few notable exceptions, nearly all of the new "youth music" was produced in LA, Philadelphia and New York and mass-marketed to the rest of the country and Canada.
The major problem I have with AG, when I saw it in its theatrical release and on the DVD I recently saw, was that it was underlit and appeared murky. This is a serious hindrance to a film that relies on the nuances of facial expression and gesture, especially when the action takes place in darkened car interiors.
Finally, the mysterious (and beset with "urban legends") blonde cruising in the white T-Bird that initially enraptures the indecisive Curt was a clever symbol for the power of local provinciality to keep its kids at home. We know she is a fantasy type that never will balance out the equation of personal fulfillment for those who invest in her.
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