Reacting to AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973) | Movie Reaction
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- čas přidán 24. 07. 2024
- Thank you for joining me as I react to American Graffiti for the first time. I hope you enjoy the video and my reaction!
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Video Contents
0:00 Intro
0:42 Reaction
24:52 Review/Outro
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#americangraffiti #firsttimewatching #moviereaction
*Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. All rights belong to their respective owners.
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Reacting to AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973) | Movie Reaction - Zábava
Wolfman Jack was a radio DJ that came to mega fame broadcasting out of mega pirate radio stations in Mexico that could be heard all over the US. The dude was a legend.
And he was so cool in this movie!
I saw this movie at 13, living on a farm in Canada. I've been to Hollywood, I've been to Hong Kong. Thx to Wolfman!
@@BudhagRizzo czcams.com/video/S7RH8ohQfdI/video.html
Met him in Las Vegas in 1974… that I iconic voice..
He was also the host of "The Midnight Special" a TV show that was on every Friday night in the 70's. The show always had a wide variety of musical artists. As a kid in the 70's I couldn't wait until Friday night my parents always let me stay up late to watch it.
Bo Hopkins was a friend of mine, Bo passed in 2022. This was one of his early acting jobs. Bo, Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed were all friends. When I was in college Bo talked Burt and Jerry into buying a lake house on our local lake. I used to go to the parties they had at the lake house. I loved those parties because of all the young ladies (groupies) and because when things wound down we would sit on the deck and Jerry Reed would play the guitar. Jerry was a first rate picker. Some have put him in the top 10 of his era. Jerry and Chet Atkins used to perform together regularly.
Cool. Bo was one of my favorite Sam Peckinpah stock actors.
Karen Quinlan stayed a t a hotel I worked at for a few weeks and would stop by the desk and chat at night REALLY nice person
loved Bo Hopkins in the Rockford Files, he had a great presence about him. And yeah, Jerry Reed and Chet Atkins, wow, two giants!
I wonder how Bo Hopkins, John Huston and Henry Fonda agreed to do that film Tentacles. The film is a complete crap.
Bo and Jerry kind of resembled each other.They should have done some kind of project together playing brothers.
"I don't like that yellow car", the exact opposite of almost every guy that watched this movie and wanted that car so bad :)
Although I liked Milner’s car, I really wanted Steve’s car. Both cars are badass.
@@JohnnyUtah15 true that was a sweet car
Yup. I dreamed of getting rich and buying that car no matter what it cost!
@@Zebred2001Notably missing are any Elvis Presley recordings -- RCA wouldn't agree to the flat fee the producers negotiated with the other record labels.
@Zebred2001 I believe Paul Le Mat still owns it.
This was the movie that put George Lucas on the map as a talented writer and director. If it wasn't for the surprise success of this movie, Star Wars probably wouldn't exist.
@anthonyvasquezactor It also help launch the careers of a host of young actors who would go on to have long careers like
Ron Howard [Happy Days
Richard Dreyfuss [JAWS]
Cindy Williams [Laverne & Shirley ]
And Harrison Ford [Star Wars & Indiana Jones ]
it remains the only non Sci Fi movie George Lucas ever directed .
and i love it
have a great Summer evening ! 😃
@@harveylee51 Suzanne Somers [Threes Company]
Mackenzie Phillips [One Day at a Time]
Joe Spano [Hill Street Blues]
You are 100% correct, anthony.
20th Century Fox would NOT get behind SW until American Graffiti was made and was at least somewhat successful.
@@fnu_mnu_lnu3849 Yes three more great stars from my childhood !
RIP Suzanne Somers and Cindy Williams .
@@harveylee51 Williams also appeared with Ron Howard again on an episode of Happy Days. Fonzie had set up a double date with Laverne and Shirley.
Cindy also auditioned to play Princess Leia on Star Wars. An audition video is on youtube.
Its important to note that this took place in 1962, which was meant to be depicted as a sort of last year of innocence for the United States, as President Kennedy would be assassinated the following year with his brother Robert, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King also assassinated before the end of the '60s. The Vietnam War would rage through the decade with the youth counterculture also instigating a prominent generation gap that would deeply affect the dynamic of the American household. These things were meant to be evoked by the ending with the short blurbs on what became of the characters.
Last year of innocence for the American Silent Gen and older Boomers. The WWII generation most certainly lost their innocence pretty young, if they even had any, having to live through both the Depression and the war. 9/11 was the end of the innocence for us Millennials, and possibly even younger Gen Xers.
American Graffiti is a snapshot of my teenage years. Nostalgia is exactly what the movie represents.
Notably missing are any Elvis Presley recordings -- RCA wouldn't agree to the flat fee the producers negotiated with the other record labels.
Lol that is what we did back then, drive up and down main street all night. Kids today don't know what they are missing.
All that stuff happened, it just didn't happen on one night like the movie.
there's another film witrh a similar theme to this, that also takes place overnight, called "dazed and confused" (1993) about american high school teenagers in the 1970s. it too has a great ensemble cast. its very much like i remember growing up in the 70s. but the music we listened to was better than the soundtrack of the film.
He's showing his badass engine, in that yellow car. It's powerful and it's gorgeous. So the panels are taken off.
The kid with the glasses that picked up the blonde is the treasury agent from the untouchables
and director of Air Bud
And he was the scientist looking for Starman.
During filming Never Cry Wolf (1983), he fell in love with the Canadian Northwest region and moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he has resided since the mid-1980s.
@@jackprescott9652 and in Buddy Holly's band in "The Buddy Holly Story" and a potential buyer of Greg's crappy car in an episode of "The Brady Bunch".
Charles Martin Smith
the red hair guy is Ron Howard, director of ""Apollo 13", Cocoon" "Willow" "Solo: A Star Wars Story" "Cinderella man" and much more....
Star of the SNL skit "Opie's Back!"
@rollmops7948 Actually Robert Zemeckis directed Forrest Gump ... but yes Ron Howard did direct Apollo 13 , Backdraft and Ransom he is a very good director indeed .
Cheers .
And he's Richie Cunningham from the best tv show ever. A show that never would have been on, if it wasn't for the success of this movie.
Was actually Opie in the Andy Griffith Show
Ron Howard was an actor before he became a director. He played young Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show & later in his teens onward l, he played Richie Cunningham on Happy Days (for those who are unaware)...
There are barn dances in the USA, many of us grew up beyond the suburbs. America is a BIG place.
My Brit wife was shocked to learn Missouri is larger than England.
the clock doesn't say 11:25 it says 4:55am.
Lucas chose this year because JFK is assassinated right after this and "everything changes" in America.
and some boys from liverpool came to america soon after
Dawn's quote "Ah, those were the days..." is the whole point of this movie.
5:02
That's Kathleen Quinlan in red. Ron Howard (also in the shot) directed her as Marilyn Lovell in Apollo 13.
1:38 Here in the U.S. that was called "cruzin". And I also did my share of it back in the early 1970's. You must have watched some kind of edited version because there was a whole scene showing the car Terry was driving get stolen. Speaking of which. The actor playing Terry is the same guy that played the accountant in "The Untouchables". 22:28 Nope ... it's five minutes to 5 in the morning.
Charles Martin Smith was also in Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid, which came out the same year AG did.
@@Madbandit77 - Never Cry Wolf (1983), A MUST!
Forward to the MID 70S, ADD CB RADIOS... The social media of the day...
The searchlights back then were used to promote events, new businesses, movie theaters etc.
The reason that they were there in the first place is that during World War II (twenty years or so before the time frame of this movie), there were thousands of them all along the west coast in case of a Japanese attack. The government sold them cheap after the war so folks were able to rent them for the events as you mention.
And car dealerships!
I remember those. It seemed like they were everywhere back in the 60's.
Now Dawn you have to see DAZED AND CONFUSED, FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, THE STOND AGE and THE HOLLYWOOD KNIGHTS
and "Can't Hardly Wait" for something a little more recent.Also the movies from the "Porky's" triology.
Such great movies!
and The Wedding Singer!
The adventures of Toad are so good, such a great character, Charles Martin Smith knocked it out of the park.
After I was an adult and saw American Graffiti, I realized that I had been the Toad of our class. Things weren't quite as drastic for me as they were for Toad, but I could definitely identify with every single emotion and event that he had and did. When I recognized the resemblance, I had a bit of a worry that maybe as a grownup, I was still Toad.
@@eurofritz4617 CMS really had the Vespa accident on screen. You can see him pause, but no one called cut so he kept going.
Charles Martin Smith is also really good in the sequel More American Graffiti as well
"I want to be in a club with names on the jackets"
Time for Dawn to watch The Warriors!
T Birds
Come out to playay!
And they filmed the scenes in the order they appeared in the film, and as the actors got tired they appeared more haggard, so it made it look like people having a long night out.
the "accident" with the scooter in the beginning was not in the script. They let it in the movie.
The car wreck at the end was done in one take. Sounds easy but it isn't. Make it look real without hurting anybody. The car was from Two Lane Blacktop.
He said he had the scooter in high gear and he expected it to stall when he revved the motor and popped the clutch at that speed, and bump to an awkward stop. Little sucker had more torque than he expected and took off instead! They had to pay extra for the damage to the vending machines, but they got that great shot!
but it worked out for the best though,because it fit the tone of Toad's awkwardness.
@@wilburross9709 He was supposed to pull up in 3rd gear, pop the clutch and the Vespa was supposed to lurch and die, Charles Martin Smith couldn't get the thing out of 1st gear, popped the clutch and it took off on him, crashing into the vending machines.
He thought he screwed up the scene and waited for Lucas to yell cut, but he never did.
You can see how disappointed Charles Martin Smith is as he walks away from the crashed Vespa.
Lucas left a lot of "screw-ups" in the final cut of the movie because he wanted to have a more realistic feel to it, like the scene where the guy robs the liquor store and tosses the bottle at Charles Martin Smith, they did that scene multiple times, but Lucas wasn't happy with any of them until that final take where he almost drops the bottle as he catches it.
Also, in that same scene, where he walks up to the car to ask Debbie for money to get the booze, Candy Clark flubs her lines where she asks, "Did you get it? Did you get it?", Lucas liked that take better because again, it felt more realistic.
The scene where the girl throws the water balloon at Milner and Carol, the balloon was supposed to hit the door frame and burst, with only the water hitting Milner and Carol, but instead the balloon hit Mackenzie Phillips square in the face! The look of astonishment and shock is real as is the laughter from both actors.
Dawn, you're right, a few years later Curt would go on to be a shark expert. He became involved in an incident at a resort town called Amity that made all the papers. According to the mayor a few bathers were injured by a squid or a clam or something.... it certainly wasn't a shark.
Wolfman Jack was playing himself, he was a real DJ and well known
American cars called HotRod's were stripped down and lightened vehicles from the 1920's thru the 1950's that had large and heavily modified engines to compete against each other on the street or the Drag Strip. The GI's from WWII came home from the war and needed fast action and had the knowledge to build cars and motorcycles to give them the thrills they wanted as young men. It was a fun time and the music and fast cars made for an exciting period in the USA. There was never a better period in America. Good times
What helped get NASCAR into the mainstream, was the fact that the moonshiners had to soup up the engines, to outrun the law. Those guys started racing one another, and that's how stock car racing came to be.
There was never a better period in America*
*If you were white.
If a movie studio ever needed an evil villain laugh they could hire dawn Marie her laugh is a perfect villain laugh
the guy who played the gang leader, Bo Hopkins, was a major character actor, seen in movies and on TV, he even worked with John Wayne. Candy Clark, who played "Debbie" was also a major character actor. Paul Le Mat who plays John in the yellow hot rod, this was his biggest movie after a while he dropped out of acting. Terry the Toad played by Charles Martin Smith did quite a few major movies, became a director and screenwriter.
The younger girl (Carole) is Mackenzie Phillips (The Daughter or John Phillips of The Mama's and the Papa's). She's probably best known as the older sister in the TV series, "One Day at a Time," where she co-stars with Valerie Bertinelli/Eddie Van Halen's wife.
Fun fact: The black 55 Chevy Harrison Ford is driving is the same car from the movie Two Lane Blacktop starring the singer James Taylor and Dennis Wilson from the Beach Boys. There were 3 cars built pretty much as stripped down straight axle race cars for the film, one was sold after filming but 2 stayed with Universal. The other two were converted back to street cars for American Graffiti. As iconic as Milner's '32 Ford became, the black '55 was equally as cool and still influences people to build similar cars.
And the one that rolls was the unused stunt car from TLB.
American teenage life in the mid 1950s to the early 1960s. This is really more of a documentary of how it really was, and the real music we listened to when Rock and Roll was still young. So many young strs in this movie, that went on to achieve Hollywood superstardom Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws) Ron Howard, Cindy Williams Lavern and Shirley, and so many others in this movie. Such a classic on American life back in those days. So much fun.
The yellow car was known as a "Deuce coupe"; a two seated car. The reason for no bodyparts on the front was for better engine cooling from being modified for performance, and also to be able to show off the parts of the engine that had been chrome plated for looks. Anybody that had/has a show /performance car tries to emulate this look. when he changed from stock exhaust to headers, it was for performance. Stock was used as needed to be street legal. When he changed to headers, it was for better air/ exhaust flow through the engine for racing; plus headers sound loud and exciting. This aspect of cars has been taken away from car guys by the government anf computer geeks. Good luck ever getting modern cars to ever be this COOL.
So much nostalgia for me associated with the soundtrack of this film. Granted I wasn't born until 1970, but my dad had a classic 1960 Corvette that he restored in the 80s and we used to cruise around on Sundays in the summer listening to the American Graffiti Soundtrack.
You don't like that yellow car. That's a deuce coupe, it's a classic. The Beach Boys sang a song about it.
I'm not a fan of 'Rods, either. I always liked this scene from Gumball Rally:
Smith: [watching "The Rabbit" drive off in his Hot Rod] That's the ugliest looking car I ever saw. Bannon: Looks like a jukebox.
There's a movie Dawn should react to.
@@ilionreactor1079 Can't say I've seen Gumball Rally. I'll have to check it out.
@@Anon54387 Best (Car) Movie Ever! Starring a Shelby AC Cobra 427 to die for.
Suzanne Sommers, the girl in the white T-bird was at a function my band played at right before "Three's Company" became a huge TV hit. I got to meet her. I am certain she did not remember.
Growing up in the SF Bay Area in the 70s , cruising the El Camino strip between San Jose and Mtn View was what we did on Friday nights. Gas was 88 cents. Fun times. Modesto where this was filmed was a 1 hour drive.
Bay Area grown here too but east bay…we used to cruise the strip on E. 14th Street in San Leandro. After they (the city) shut it down we moved it to Castro Valley. Those were the days, as they say ☺️
In 1964, two years after the time frame of this movie (1962), a friend and I drove out to Los Angeles from New Mexico. We started our trip sometime after dark and listened to KOMA out of Oklahoma City until the signal was too weak to enjoy. As we searched through the stations, we happened to hit on Wolfman Jack. What a hoot! From that point on, for the following two weeks until we left California, if he was on, we had the "dial" set to his station. He was a great entertainer who played hit after hit after hit. It was while listening to Wolfman Jack that I first heard Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda and House of the Rising Sun. I'm not sure that I can recall when or where I first heard any other songs. RIP, Wolfman.
And The Midnight Special! czcams.com/play/PLbUO2VZSWRimFPKillOm1A6xdE7CBDvHd.html
They guy who played Milner was a boxer in real life, it shows in that scene where he is saving Toad. BTW, the actor who played Toad played a role in The Untouchables with Kevin Costner, Robert DeNiro and Sean Connery.
The reason John's car is like that is to expose the engine which hot-rodders like him liked to show-off (it's bad-ass). The 2 dudes in black t-shirts stole Terry's (Steve's) car. Yes it's nearly 5am when Curt sees the Wolfman. This is George Lucas' best film (you heard me). This is one of the best coming of age films defining a generation (the 50s/60s) - others would be DAZED AND CONFUSED (for the '70s) and FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH (for the '80s). The film's coda - while not a real-life story depiction - is to show indeed what can happen to people after school - death, living abroad, being an insurance agent. A fantastic cast of future stars and a helluva soundtrack (true story - they couldn't get any Elvis songs because it was way too expensive for the rights). This was one of my dad's fave films and he introduced it to me when it came out (I was about 8 so I had no clue what was going on - naturally later on I re-watched it and fell in love with it; one of my faves too). Terry's haircut wasn't a mullet but a flat-top crew cut called a D.A. (duck's ass because the back of the head looks like the tail of a duck - feathered ). Glad you got to this & enjoyed it Dawn :D xoxo
Removing the bonnet keeps the engine(which is larger than the cars original engine) in the hot rod cooler and just a wee bit faster 🚗
Also shows off your engine
Modesto, California! American Graffiti kicked off the wave of fifties nostalgia that began in the seventies, epitomized in TV shows like Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley and movies like Grease, The Lords of Flatbush, The Buddy Holly Story, and Deadman's Curve. The teenagers depicted in the film represent my parents generation. My mother graduated from high school in 1962, the same year as the character played by Cindy Williams, with "'62" on her sweater. The yellow car is a 1932 Ford Coupe that has been chopped down and turned into a hot rod. My father owns a 1934 Ford Hot Rod, similar to the yellow car in the film, except his is painted gray and black. But it was yellow when he first bought it.
That yellow car is a 1932 Ford Deuce Coupe. It was a popular American "Hot Rod" of the 1950s/60s. It's hard to find one of these cars today that are in original condition or that are ready to be "Hot Rodded." It's the car that practically started the craze of hot rodding.
This movie came out of nowhere and just exploded in the summer of 1973. A couple years down the road the director made another movie. I think it was called Star Wars.
This is my all time favorite movie, because it reminds me of my youth where I also cruised/dragged in Modesto, CA where this movie takes place. George Lucas was born and raised in Modesto, I actually live 2 blocks away from his parents house and 1 block away from where he almost died in a car crash driving to his parents house.
We still have a yearly event called Graffiti Night, where we cruise old cars and have car shows celebrating the movie.
❤
My favorite Aunt and Uncle lived on River Rd. in Ceres. Thier orchard had about a hundred feet of river bank on the Tuolumne River. When I think back to those days, summers '71 - '74, I believe those were the last stress free days of my life. Started High school in '73 in Salinas.
I love this movie, which I saw as a 13 year old in 1973. I really like your reactions.
I was in High School in Orange County California in the early 60's,That is the way it was,and it was GREAT !!
In the time setting in this movie, September 1962, my mom was carrying me and about to pop. In Orange, CA mind you. Did you ever know a guy named Lewy Brindle? He lived down the street from my family on Devon Rd. Always had a hot car that was nicely turned out.
Damn this movie is great. Popsicle? (Half of it is missing because it's a 32 Coupe Hot Rod. That's how they look)
the 12 y old with glasses, who try to buy the liquor, was Mr Wolf, who discovered the Wolf-Biederman comet in the movie "Deep Impact" (with Frodo Baggins)
12 year old?
We had barn dances also which led to me having bands in my big garage later. My two girls grew up thinking it was normal to have 50 t0 60 people over to listen and and the beer trucks come clean my tap.
This was the movie that not only launched George Lucas’ career as a director; but it launched the careers of the cast:
- Ron Howard (Steve) was already known to TV audiences from The Andy Griffith Show, but would be more well known for playing Richie Cunningham on Happy Days, and for later to have an excellent career as a director with films like Splash, Backdraft, Cinderella Man, and A Beautiful Mind
Richard Dreyfus (Curt) would be known for movies like Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Stakeout, and Mr. Holland’s Opus.
Cindy Williams (Laurie) would reunite with Ron Howard in an episode of Happy Days. Her appearance there led to her getting Laverne & Shirley; a spin-off of Happy Days.
Harrison Ford (Bob Falfa) after American Graffiti did George Lucas a favor by helping other actors to read for a new film Lucas was going to direct; a science-fiction/space fantasy adventure called Star Wars…we know what happens next for him.
Suzanne Somers (The Blonde) after her short appearance here worked on other TV shows of the 1970’s before gaining fame for her role of Chrissy Snow on Three’s Company; as well as other shows like Step By Step.
Mackenzie Phillips (Carol) is the daughter of John Phillips; who was a member of the 60’s group The Mammas and The Papas. She would go on to appear in One Day At A Time, and guest starred on episodes like The Incredible Hulk and Beverly Hills, 90210.
Charles Martin Smith ("Toad") Has had a long career in movies and TV. Best remembered for movies like "The Untouchables", "Starman" and "The Budy Holly Story".
Paul Le Mat (John Milner yellow car) Best remembered for this, "Melvin and Howard" and "Strange Invaders".
Bo Hopkins (Joe gang leader) Had a long career in TV and movies, like "Midnight Express.
Candy Clark (Debbie "Toad's" friend) Long career in TV and movies, like "The Man Who Fell to Earth).
She was also in Orange is the New Black
@@creech54 Hopkins already worked with Sam Peckinpah on "The Wild Bunch" and "The Getaway".
Smith directed the first Buffy The Vampire Slayer episode.
Clark earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for AG.
@creech54 - Candy Clark was also in Blue Thunder (with Roy Scheider, Daniel Stern & Malcolm McDowell), the notorious Amityville 3-D (with Meg Ryan, Lori Loughlin, Tony Robins & Robert Joy), Stephen King's Cat's Eye (with James Woods, Robert Hays & Drew Barrymore) and Buffy The Vampire Slayer 1992 film (with Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Paul Reubens, Hilary Swank, David Arquette, Ben Affleck, Stephen Root, Thomas Jane, Ricki Lake, Seth Green, Alexis Arquette Rutger Hauer & Luke Perry).
Ron will always be remembered, acting-wise, as Opie. He was SO good at such a young age and was one of the main stars of the show from the beginning. Happy Days was great but he quickly became second banana to The Fonz.
~ Ron Howard was actually in my favorite Twilight Zone episode, Walking Distance, when he was about 4 years old or so, before Andy Griffith ~
Dawn, always like your reactions and love your voice. The time on the clock was 4:55 am.
Richard Dreyfus sure aged a lot in 2 years for JAWS
"Dazed and Confused" (1993) and "Kids" (1995) are the only other era specific movies I can think of that are as good/better than "American Graffiti".
"Dazed and Confused" is set in the 1970s, "Kids" in the 1990s.
Both are great films.
Dazed and Confused is basically the same as American Graffiti just set 13 years later.
"Dazed and Confused" is a "feel good move" like American Graffiti. "Kids" is a dystopian nightmare and incredibly depressing movie.
What happened? He went on the left turn green arrow when the straight light was still red. He was trying to drag race the guy in the slow lane, but he jumped the gun by going on the wrong light.
Then he forgot and left it in reverse after he lined his car back up, pops the clutch and slams into the car behind him! Poor Toad. Who would have thought drag racing could be so complicated?
From another time, and another country, and you completely, completely got it.
John was an absolute gentleman with young carol. He was a tough guy with a heart of gold.
Treated her a helluva lot better than her own real-life father. ☹️
This movie was set in my hometown of Modesto, CA.
Yeah all the street references were spot on. As a truck driver, I knew where they were lol
This movie single handedly started a nostalgia wave in the 1970s.
In case you're wondering, the driver of the yellow hot rod is Paul LeMat. He's one of the most reclusive actors in Hollywood.
I saw this film when it opened in 1973, before I could drive, and thought it was great that we no longer had to pointlessly drive around to hang out and meet friends all night on the road. In about two years there I was....driving around all night to hang out with various friends.
I hope "Before Sunset" makes your list of 24 hour movies. A few other good comedies worth watching are "10", "What's Up Doc?" and "Radio Days".
Another comedy from a similar genre is The Hollywood Knights. It would suit your sense of humor.
$30.00 in 1962 would be like $300.00 today
The time on the clock in the radio station is 4:55am. The theme of this movie is this is the last night this group of people will all be together before going their separate ways, after high school. I'm about to be rather nostalgic, but the one thing no one prepares you for, during those years, is how fast it changes. How people can just lose touch in just a short time.
Another move that does a great job of capturing teenage years is "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." Several members of the cast of that movie went on to win Oscars, most notably Sean Penn.
It was this movie that Harrison Ford unknowingly gave the idea for the Droid R2D2. Harrison said R2D2 (short for) meaning Reel 2 Dialog track 2
So glad some reactors are watching this film, one of my all time favs. It was up for best picture that year. Just reminds me of my teenage years cruzin, always looking for the car filled with girls.
This movie is pure Americana. Some of the activities and innuendos would possibly get lost on folks who didnt grow up in the States in the 50s, 60s and 70s.
The girl in the White T-Bird was Susanne Sommers, of Three's Company fame.
The great streets of Petaluma, California were used for the cruisin' scenes. The road used for the drag race was Frakes, southeast of Petaluma. Several of the cars were owned by locals. There has been a car show festival for years celebrating the movie with Candy Clark and Bo Svenson as special guests at times. I enjoyed the few years living there to enjoy the car show.👍
That's just a hill or two down US101 from where Lucas built his studio Skywalker Ranch. Beautiful area.
We would cruise Main Street Friday nights after the game. And yes we would let our buddies take our cars with no way of knowing when you would see it again. If they were a good friend they wouldn't leave us stranded. No cell phones.
The young girl "Carol" riding with "John" is actress Mackenzie Phillips the daughter of John Phillips a singer in the 60's-70's group "The Mamas & the Papas". She also was on the TV show "One day at a Time" in the 70's-80's. She had major issues with drug abuse for several years, but got clean and returned to acting as well as working as a drug rehab counselor.
I graduated from high school in PA in1963 and have lived in Modesto, CA since 1977. Lucas graduated from Downey High School in Modesto in 1962. I can relate to everything in the movie and know a half dozen people who were in his class and know the names and histories of the real life models for the film's characters. They all agree that this was pretty much factual with some major exceptions. Everything was filmed in the Modesto area and some locations north of SF and shot on a very limited budget.
It's great that even though you weren't around for this era, it still brought back nostalgic feelings for you!
"American Graffiti" was the first truly successful film directed by Mr. George Lucas, who, of course, went on to do "Star Wars". His previous effort "THX 1138", was based on a student film project he made at the USC Film School. "THX 1138" stared Robert Duvall, Tom Hagen in "The Godfather", and is very, very different from anything else he has done.
Saw " THX 1138 " as a 2nd feature at the drive in. I don't even remember what movie we went to see because this George Lucas gem was so interesting.
Also, THX138 was the license plate on John Milner's yellow 32 Deuce Coupe.
I would like to recommend a underrated movie. That is a romantic comedy, but it is rated R. But the movie is called mischief and it's from the year 1985. It is a ranchy comedy that takes place in the 1950s.❤
The young girl in the white t shirt is Mckenzie Phillips. She was on the sitcom One Day At A Time working opposite a young Valerie Bertinelli who was also once married to Eddie Van Halen.
Mckenzies father is John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas.
I'm so glad you liked this! And bless you again for doing the great movies that most reactors overlook. This has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. It's so beautifully done and so evocative that it makes me feel nostalgic for a time I never lived through.
The soundtrack is actually very innovative, there's no score only source music. All the oldie rock and roll tunes are piped through different speakers so it sounds like it is coming out of car radios, juke boxes etc, with differing amounts of clarity, volume and quality. The music is in the scene not just on top of it...
So true and awesome use of the music and more importantly they got the rights for the songs long term, so unlike the TV show WKRP in Cincinnati they did not have to later replace the songs or re-negotiate the rights. The soundtrack to the movie is great.
That's how all early movies were made. The studios didn't think the public would understand music coming from nowhere. That's why, for example, Marx Brothers movies were usually set at a big party or the Opera: any excuse to have an orchestra sitting around to provide a visible source for the soundtrack.
I used to commute down the road of the drag race for years. Did deliveries on the streets where they were cruisin.
American Graffiti was one of the great films showcasing numerous future stars: Ron Howard, Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss, Kathy Quinlan, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips, and Charles Martin Smith. Other films that are also famous for showcasing future stars are "The Outsiders", "Diner", and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High".
The little guy with the glasses and the vespa that you thought you recognised is from The Untouchables (the accounts guy that joined Elliot Ness's team)
It was 10 til 5 (4:50am) at the radio station.
Toad, Charles Martin Smith,,,, During filming Never Cry Wolf (1983), he fell in love with the Canadian Northwest region and moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he has resided since the mid-1980s. Never cry Wolf, is a MUST! - "Charles Martin Smith is an American film actor, writer, and director. Born in Van Nuys, California, Smith was discovered by a talent agent while acting in a school play. After a few years of working in film, he landed the role of Terry "Toad" Fields in George Lucas' 1973 film, American Graffiti (1973). The sequel, More American Graffiti (1979), did not have the success of the original, but he gained additional notice in "The Buddy Holly Story" (1978), Carroll Ballard's "Never Cry Wolf" (1983) and John Carpenter's "Starman" with Jeff Bridges (1984).
Smith's acting career continued mainly in supporting roles. He received excellent reviews for his work in "The Untouchables" (1987). At the same time Smith launched his career as a writer and director, and in 1987 directed the cult classic horror comedy "Trick or Treat" for Dino DeLaurentiis. In the 1990s, Smith appeared as an actor in films, such as "Speechless" (1994) and "I Love Trouble" (1994). He had a leading role in the HBO Miniseries, "And The Band Played On", about the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic, a role of which he was very proud. Smith also turned in a well-regarded performance in the TV miniseries Larry McMurtry's "Streets of Laredo" with James Garner and Sam Shepard, (1995) and a minor role in the big budget "Deep Impact"(1998). He was also one of the directors of the TV series "Space: Above and Beyond" (1995), as well as the director of the initial episode ("Welcome to the Hellmouth") that launched the hit TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997). From the mid-1990s, Smith increasingly focused on his work behind the camera. He directed the feature film "Air Bud" (1997) (Disney), which was an international success, and two TV miniseries for Hallmark Entertainment, "Roughing It" (2002) and "Icon" (2005). He also wrote and directed the feature film, "The Snow Walker" (2003), for Lion's Gate Films, based on a story by Farley Mowat (who had also written Never Cry Wolf (1983)), which marked a return to the Arctic for Smith. The film was nominated for 9 Genie awards, including Best Director, Writer, and Best Picture He then wrote and directed the feature film "Stone of Destiny" (2008), for Infinity Features and Odeon Sky, the true story of four young Scottish students who broke into Westminster Abbey in London to take back a sacred Scottish relic. The film stars Charlie Cox, Kate Mara and Robert Carlyle, and was nominated for Best Picture by the Scottish BAFTAS.
His next film, "Dolphin Tale" (2011), for Alcon Entertainment (The Blind Side (2009)) and Warner Brothers, stars Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, and Winter, the dolphin with a prosthetic tail, who plays herself in the film. The film was a great success, rising to number 1 at the domestic North American box office in its second week of release. Smith next wrote and directed the sequel, "Dolphin Tale 2", also for Alcon and Warner Brothers, which brought back the original cast, and was also very successful. Following this, Smith directed "A Dog's Way Home" for Sony Pictures/Coumbia, based on the book by Bruce Cameron, with Ashley Judd and with Jonah Hauer-King. Then in 2019 he relocated to London to direct "A Gift From Bob", the sequel to "A Streetcat Named Bob". As COVID slowed production in the industry, Smith relocated to Palm Desert and he divides his time between there and Vancouver. In 2023, he acted in the Canadian production "This Time", produced and directed by Robert G. Vaughn. It marked Smith's first time back in front of the camera for many years."
The dance they are attending is called a Sock Hop. The dance was held in the school gym and they didn't allow them to wear the hard sole shoes that were worn at the time, so they would dance in their socks.
I actually recommend "More American Graffiti" 1979.
You can add "The Hollywood Knights" to your list of movies that take place in less than 24 hours. 1980.
"25 after 11" LOL! Back in the day (in the 60's & 70's) that would get you called a "Dizzyheaded blonde" or a "Ditzy headed Blonde".
The clock at the radio station was five minutes to five.
I remember these songs from the olden days.
The reason for the missing “bonnet” is that the guy wants to show off his motor. The engine was the most expensive part of a street rod.
I grew up in the 70's, not quite the same but similar enough. In our town, you'd drive about a mile to the Bronco Drive-In, circle though the parking lot to see who was there, then drive back to the main part of town. Some weekends it was almost a parade of cars going back and forth.
The girl in the yellow coupe Mackenzie Phillips was only twelve years old. The yellow car was a 1932 Ford deuce coupe, with detachable hood.
Best movie by George Lucas, and a real classic! And this yellow Hotrod is damn sexy.
Many years ago I lived south of Modesto in California. We used to go driving there quite a bit.
If you like movies that take place in the same place, watch Dial M for Murder, a Hitchcock movie from the 1950s. The whole movie takes place in one room.
Definitely one of the greats! Good soundtrack, cool cars, and shenanigans! High school was great! Then we graduate and it's all a blur. Thanks Dawn Marie for the memories.
I'm so glad you loved this movie, Dawn! I grew up in the San Francisco Bay area where much of this movie was filmed. In high school (69-73) my friends and I used to cruise our "hot rods" during the evenings on weekend trying to pick up girls. We almost always cruised Main St in Walnut Creek, California but we did actually make the drive a few times to Modesto where much of the cruising scenes in the movie were filmed. The airport scene at the end was at Buchanan Air Field in Concord, California where I lived, in fact it was just down the road about a half mile from my high school. Thanks Dawn, for another great movie reaction. Your loyal subscriber, Steven (Go Clan Gunn!!!!!)
They sometimes used big lights like that as grand openings for businesses, just a way to attract attention.
The reason that they were there in the first place is that during World War II (twenty years or so before the time frame of this movie), there were thousands of them all along the west coast in case of a Japanese attack. The government sold them cheap after the war so folks were able to rent them for the events as you mention.
@@ytorwoodyElvis Presley songs are absent on the soundtrack. To mitigate the cost of licensing so many songs, Universal offered a flat rate to all of the labels involved. Everyone went along with it except for RCA.
@@Noel-ji8nm That's a neat factoid. Thanks for taking the time to put it here.
"Why don't you go kiss a duck" is a euphemism. The expression is "go f**k a duck." It doesn't make any more sense, but at least it rhymes.
The yellow car was a hot rod: 1932 Ford that was lowered, and it's engine replaced with a newer V8. The hood (bonnet) was taken off to make room for the bigger engine, and also to show it off (sort of like a guy parading around shirtless).
It's not a true story. The titles telling what happened to the different characters was as fictional as the rest of the movie. When it said Curt is a writer living in Canada, it implied that he went there to avoid the draft and risk being killed in Vietnam, like Terry was.
I'd definitely recommend watching The Wanderers. Set in the same Era, superb music and all about the Gangs.
The yellow car, a 1932 Ford 5 window Coupe, is a classic Hot-Rod Style with the engine on full display, because of all the chrome (bling) it needs to be seen without the hood (bonnet) on.
Not sure if you watched "Dazed and Confused" yet but it should have been on the poll and it's very much like a set in the 70s version of this.
When he made the request with wolf man jack, the clock said 5 minutes till 5 in the morning.
CLAP FOR THE WOLFMAN by The Guess Who was a catchy song hailing that famous Radio D.J., Wolf Man Jack. The cast members look like children here! The Blonde in the T-Bird was Suzanne Somers. The Fifties in the USA were considered America's Teen Era by many sociologists - the wakeup call to 'adulthood' being JFK's assassination. This film takes place in the summer of '62. Small town 'cruising' on Main St. remained a fad in many areas thru the seventies and eighties. Local cops often found it was easier to keep an eye on juveniles when they were all herded together interacting amongst themselves on a weekend evening, only infrequently 'prodded' by the Law.