#479) Night of the Living Dead (1968)

#479) Night of the Living Dead (1968)

OR “Brains Supreme”

Directed by George Romero

Written by Romero & John Russo

Class of 1999

Thanks to my friend Ryan for sharing his zombie knowledge with me. Go check out his art!

The Plot: While visiting their father’s grave, siblings Barbra and Johnny (Judith O’Dea and Russell Streiner) are attacked by a stranger. Barbra escapes, and takes refuge in a seemingly abandoned house. Also hiding there is Ben (Duane Jones), recently attacked by people who, like Barbra’s assailant, feast on human flesh. Ben and Barbra discover another group (Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman, Keith Wayne, Judith Ridley, and Kyra Schon) hiding in the cellar, and together they try to fight off these “ghouls” – revealed to be the recently deceased, returning to life to eat the living. And from this little movie from Pittsburgh stems one of the most successful horror genres of all time.

Why It Matters: The NFR praises the film for “usher[ing] in an entire entertainment industry – the zombie film.” The write-up goes on to praise the film’s “tight editing”, its “unapologetically matter-of-fact approach” to the gore, and its “sociopolitical commentary”. There’s also an essay by horror expert/former “Miami Vice” writer Jim Trombetta.

But Does It Really?: I’m not a horror movie person, but I respect “Night of the Living Dead” for its effective presentation and its contributions to popular culture. Like many a classic low budget fare, “Night” makes up for its lack of funds with plenty of creativity, with Romero and his team using inventive cinematography and practical effects to sell their vision. With an endless cycle of zombie movies still being made today, “Night of the Living Dead” has more than proven its legacy and impact on American films.

Everybody Gets One: A lifelong film fanatic, George Romero got his start making industrial films and TV commercials with his production company The Latent Image. Yearning to do something more creative, Romero, along with his partners John Russo and Russell Streiner, came up with the idea of a low-budget horror film about “flesh-eaters”. The team pitched the idea to producer Karl Hardman, and together they raised $114,000 for the film’s budget.

Wow, That’s Dated: Radio as a primary news source, and TVs with “rabbit ears”. Also, a zombie attack would play out very differently in the age of smart phones and cable news.

Title Track: Originally produced as “Night of the Flesh Eaters”, Romero et al were having difficulty finding a distributor who wouldn’t demand a neutering of the film’s carnage. The Walter Reade Organization agreed to distribute the film as is, on the condition the title be changed to “Night of the Living Dead”. While making a new title card for the opening, the film’s copyright notice was accidentally removed. Under copyright laws of the day, “Night” inadvertently fell into the public domain.

Other notes 

  • Everyone in this movie pulls double duty. Producer Karl Hardman played Harry Cooper, and also helped with the film’s makeup and still photography. In addition to playing Helen Cooper, Marilyn Eastman was the film’s makeup supervisor, and plays the zombie who eats a bug off a tree. Producer Russell Streiner also plays Johnny, and delivers the classic line “They’re coming to get you, Barbra.”
  • Also aiding in the film’s budget: the film’s main setting was an abandoned house set to be demolished, giving the filmmakers carte blanche to destroy it however they needed to.
  • The first zombie attack is exciting, although Barbra does trip over her own heels, proving once and for all that heels are the worst invention ever.
  • The role of Ben was not written to be African-American, but Romero cast Duane Jones because he gave the best audition. Although Ben’s racial background is never explicitly stated or addressed in the film, Duane Jones was able to change Ben’s dialogue and overall characterization to make him a more positive, intellectual depiction of an African-American.
  • Barbra’s near catatonic shock may be realistic, but it does make her one of the less active female leads of any major movie.
  • My god, stop the incessant cricket noises! This is worse than the zombies.
  • Romero was also the film’s cinematographer, and his unconventional camera work lends itself well to the film’s unfamiliar, off-putting presentation.
  • A national emergency with no government strategy? And everyone needs to stay inside? When did this movie become so prescient?
  • The good news about all these TV reports: this is all before the removal of the FCC fairness doctrine. You can actually trust the news!
  • There’s a lot of inertia with these characters standing around the house talking about possible escape plans, but the eventual attacks made me tense, so this movie is doing something right.
  • The dead are being reanimated because of nuclear radiation? When did the zombies become Godzilla?
  • Wow, kids are the worst. The scene of Karen killing Helen with a garden trowel is one of filmdom’s watershed moments in terms of gore, despite being incredibly tame by today’s standards.
  • After completing the final cut of the film, George Romero and John Russo immediately took the finished reels and drove to New York in the hopes of a screening. During their drive, the two heard the news of Martin Luther King’s assassination, giving their film’s ending – in which Ben is mistaken for a zombie and shot by the police – a level of unintentional social commentary that continues to stay with the film.
  • Let this be a reminder: Always cremate your dead.

Legacy 

  • “Night of the Living Dead” opened in October 1968, one of the last unrated films before the MPAA rating system took effect. Despite initial controversy over its graphic violence, the film was a hit, earning more than a 100 times its budget at the box office (though it was the distributors, not the filmmakers, who took in most of that profit). The film’s accidental public domain status helped the film find a cult following on television and home video long after its theatrical release.
  • After a dispute between George Romero and John Russo over the direction of the sequels, the two agreed to make their own sequel franchises, both dealing with the aftermath of the first film’s events. Romero’s “…of the Dead” series has had five entries, with first sequel “Dawn of the Dead” achieving a cult status on par with the original film. Russo’s “Return of the Living Dead” series also consists of five films, and is overall more heightened and less grounded in reality than its Romero counterparts.
  • There have been countless remakes of the original film, most notably Tom Savini’s 1990 version, which amps up the bloodshed and makes Barbra a more active protagonist. These remakes also come with their share of unofficial sequels, prequels, spin-offs and rip-offs. If only they had remembered the copyright notice.
  • George A. Romero’s son – George C. Romero – has written a prequel to his father’s original film called “Rise of the Living Dead”. There was a successful Indiegogo campaign in 2014, but the film has yet to be made.
  • “Night of the Living Dead” has not only been a major influence on the horror genre, but also helped usher in the zombie subgenre that’s still going strong 50 years later. Zombie movies aren’t really my thing, but I did enjoy “Shaun of the Dead”.

#478) The Lost World (1925)

#478) The Lost World (1925)

OR “The Land During Time”

Directed by Harry O. Hoyt

Written by Marion Fairfax. Based on the novel by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Class of 1998

There are multiple cuts of “Lost World” out there on the internet, and this post is based on my viewing of the 2016 restoration by Lobster Films.

The Plot: Reporter Edward Malone (Lloyd Hughes) wants to prove to his fiancée Gladys (Alma Bennett) that he can be adventurous. After attending a lecture by controversial Professor George Challenger (Wallace Beery), Edward volunteers to join the explorer on an expedition to South America in search of living dinosaurs. Joined by hunter Sir John Roxton (Lewis Stone), and Paula White (Bessie Love), the daughter of a missing explorer, the team arrive in the Amazon, and find stop-motion dinosaurs roaming the earth. Their discovery is tremendous, but can they survive the perils of the jungle and get their findings back to London?

Why It Matters: Sometimes the NFR hands me a freebie in their write-up: “The Lost World” is historically significant in that it was one of the first full-length feature films to include stop motion model animation. Thanks! There’s also an essay by film and science-fiction expert Brian Taves.

But Does It Really?: “Lost World” is what I would call a “stepping stone” movie. It’s by no means a revered classic, but it paved the way for science-fiction in film, as well as the evolution of stop-motion animation. The film can be a bit stilted and dated, but the effects by Willis H. O’Brien are worth the trip out. No argument for NFR inclusion.

Everybody Gets One: Like many early movie screenwriters, Marion Fairfax was an established Broadway playwright that heeded Hollywood’s call. Deemed “always a winner” by one of her studio bosses, Fairfax cranked out hit script after hit script, including a 1922 adaptation of another Arthur Conan Doyle classic, “Sherlock Holmes” with John Barrymore. At the height of her Hollywood career, Fairfax operated her own studio and was working on up to five projects simultaneously. Information on Marion Fairfax is scarce after 1926, when she retired from screenwriting (possibly due to ongoing health issues) and disappeared from the public eye.

Wow, That’s Dated: BLACKFACE WARNING: One of the expedition team’s guides is played by a white actor in blackface. To make matters worse, the intertitles make him sound like Stepin Fetchit.

Other notes 

  • Shoutout to the team behind the 2016 restoration, which brings the film back to its original runtime for the first time in almost 90 years. The final results look terrific.
  • Arthur Conan Doyle is one of those authors whose timeline I always associate with the pre-film era. Not only was Doyle alive for this film adaptation of “The Lost World”, he actually appears in it! In fact, it was Doyle’s endorsement of Willis O’Brien’s early stop-motion tests that spurred this movie’s development.
  • Wallace Beery IS Emile Zola. And while we’re talking about Professor Challenger: a controversial public figure who makes unsupported claims and is antagonistic towards the press; where have I seen this before?
  • There is no love interest in the original Doyle novel, but practically every major film adaptation has added one. This version gives us Paula, as played by future Oscar nominee Bessie Love.
  • Lewis Stone was not on my radar before starting this blog, and between this movie, “Grand Hotel“, and “Love Finds Andy Hardy“, he has a diverse group of classics on his resume.
  • Once we get to the Amazon, this movie picks up and makes room for the real star: the special effects. Sure it’s all primitive by today’s standards, but when you’ve watched as many silent films as I have you recognize what an innovative step forward this movie was.
  • Also revolutionary was the film’s use of split screen technology, allowing the live actors to appear on screen alongside the dinosaurs.
  • Excuse me, but you cannot wear a deerstalker cap in a Doyle adaptation without some obvious comparisons being made.
  • 37 minutes in and we finally have our first dinosaur, an unfriendly pterodactyl. This is followed up by Gertie the Dinosaur in her first dramatic role.
  • Once the dinosaurs show up, the plot takes a backseat to the spectacle, but the magic of practical effects are so impressive you don’t care, especially once the Allosaurus starts attacking the Triceratops. Take that, “Rite of Spring“!
  • Speaking of, most of these dinosaur set pieces look like I’m going through the Primeval World exhibit at Disneyland.
  • In addition to recreating the color tinting effect common in most silent films, the restored version of “Lost World” includes the Handschiegel process, which added color to specific elements of a shot. In the case of “Lost World”, Handschiegel is used to highlight the fire, adding a wonderful sense of danger you don’t get in a standard black-and-white outing.
  • All I want during these dinosaur attacks is one intertitle that says “Roar!”
  • Wasn’t that apeman in the Laurel & Hardy “Babes in Toyland”?
  • Edward uses the old “out of continent” excuse to cheat on his fiancée. But then again, no one in this movie cares about Gladys. She’s not even in every cut of this movie!
  • My favorite attention to detail; the movement of the brontosaurus’ stomach to indicate breathing.
  • Once we get to the finale, the film turns into a precursor to the Godzilla movies, with the escaped Brontosaurus on a rampage through London. My favorite moment is when the Brontosaurus knocks down a statue, which by 2020 standards is very progressive. Damn Gertie, you’re woke AF.

Legacy 

  • “The Lost World” was one of the biggest hits of the year, and helped revive public interest in dinosaurs and science-fiction films. Perhaps the film’s biggest influence was its depiction of dinosaurs as cunning predators, rather than simple-minded evolutionary mistakes, as was the common theory of the time.
  • Willis O’Brien would further perfect his stop-motion creatures with his landmark work in “King Kong“.
  • Surprisingly, Arthur Conan Doyle deemed Professor Challenger his favorite character, not Sherlock. In fact, short stories about Challenger’s further discoveries were among the final pieces Doyle wrote before his death in 1930.
  • “The Lost World” has been adapted to the screen multiple times over the years, and while the first “Jurassic Park” sequel is not a direct remake, it shares a subtitle, as well as a few story points.
  • For many years the only available version of “The Lost World” was an hour-long cut made after the film lapsed into public domain. As more of the lost “Lost” footage has resurfaced over the years, there have been at least five different restorations of the film to incorporate the latest discoveries.

#477) Republic Steel Strike Riot Newsreel Footage (1937)

#477) Republic Steel Strike Riot Newsreel Footage (1937)

by Paramount News

Class of 1997

Trailer 

There are lots of different YouTube videos out there with this footage, and I’ll always recommend the raw footage, as some of these clips include the actual audio from the day. I also recommend this film by the Illinois Labor History Society featuring commentary by Sam Evett, a union organizer and witness to the riot.

On May 26th, 1937, after failing to make a negotiation with Republic Steel for better working conditions, the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) went on strike. Organized by the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), the strike also included workers at Inland Steel and Youngstown Sheet and Tube (known collectively with Republic as “Little Steel”), amounting to 67,000 total steel workers on strike.

On the morning of Memorial Day (May 30th), a crowd of striking workers and sympathizers gathered in the field in front of Republic Steel in Chicago. They were met by a large group of Chicago policemen, armed and prepared to break up any protests. After a few minutes, things escalated into a riot, with the police firing shots at the crowd, as well as throwing tear gas and beating strikers with their clubs. When the dust settled, four civilians were immediately dead, six more died of complications in the ensuing days, and at least 67 were wounded or suffered head injuries. This event would become known as the “Memorial Day Massacre“, and its show of violence was one of many the strikers would face in the next few months.

Tipped off about the protest, Paramount News was at the scene documenting the entire event with their cameras. The Chicago police initially banned Paramount from releasing the footage publicly, fearing “mass hysteria”. The footage did, however, make an appearance in a 1938 Senate investigation, in which it was used to prove that the policemen had incited the riot, and that their gear was provided to them by Republic Steel. Despite this evidence, no police arrests were ever made.

Like much of the historical films on this list, the Memorial Day massacre newsreel footage is indeed worthy of NFR preservation. In addition to its sudden, unsettling view of the day, the film’s historical significance lies in its documentation as well as its role in the subsequent investigation. Sadly, with the rise in police brutality that we see in our modern, deeply-divided world, the Republic Steel Strike footage has proven just how little we have evolved as a nation.

Legacy

  • While the strike ended five months later in a sound defeat for SWOC, these events led to the creation of the United Steel Workers of America (now United Steel Workers), and a contract with Little Steel in 1942.
  • Republic Steel saw a slow decline, and by the 1980s had been bought and merged with other companies, though it would regain its Republic Steel name in 2011.
  • United Steel Workers is still going, 860,000 members strong. The USW’s former union hall in Chicago now features a plaque memorializing the Memorial Day massacre, and the 10 union members who were killed.

#476) Broken Blossoms (1919)

#476) Broken Blossoms (1919)

OR “I Love Lucy”

Directed & Written by D.W. Griffith. Based on a short story by Thomas Burke.

Class of 1996

The Plot: In London’s seedy Limehouse district, Chinese immigrant Cheng Huan (Richard Barthelmess) arrives to teach the word of Buddha, but becomes increasingly disillusioned with the world and ends up as a curio store proprietor and opium addict. His faith is restored when he crosses paths with Lucy (Lillian Gish), a young lady escaping from her abusive father, the boxer Battling Burrows (Donald Crisp). Having admired her from afar, Cheng Huan takes Lucy in and keeps her safe. When Battling Burrows gets word of Lucy’s hideout, things take a tragic turn. It’s a story of racial tolerance from…the director of “Birth of a Nation“!? Oh dear.

Why It Matters: The NFR cites “Broken Blossoms” as an example of Griffiths’ “smaller films that struck a chord with silent era audiences.” The write-up also states that the film “entreats audiences to denounce racism and poverty”. …Huh. Also on hand is an essay by film critic/Slant Magazine co-founder Ed Gonzalez.

But Does It Really?: Call me Ingrid Bergman, because someone’s gaslighting me. Everything I’ve read about “Broken Blossoms” talks about its intimate beauty and its message of racial tolerance. You know, that movie starring a white man in yellowface from the director who helped revive the Klan. Have we all gone insane? Maybe I’m watching this too soon after “Birth” to be totally objective, but I really can’t cut this movie any slack. I’ll be nice and designate “Broken Blossoms” as “historically significant” (it was the first movie released by United Artists), but anyone who says this plodding, insensitive story is one of the greatest films ever made needs to get their head examined.

Wow, That’s Dated: Once again, we have a massive YELLOWFACE WARNING front and center. White actor Richard Barthelmess plays Cheng Huan, allegedly with a tight rubber band under his hat to stretch his facial features. Not exactly “The Joy Luck Club”, is it?

Other notes 

  • According to the credits, Richard Barthelmess appears “courtesy of Dorothy Gish”. Anyone know what that’s in reference to? Obviously she’s Lillian’s sister, but I can’t find any evidence that Dorothy and Richard worked together, at least not in the capacity that these credits imply.
  • Right from the start, Griffith uses the intertitles to preach racial tolerance, asking us to be aware of our own “unkind words and deeds”. Well Mr. Pot, how would you describe Ms. Kettle?
  • Yellowface aside, Griffith goes out of his way to make Cheng Huan (and the other Chinese characters) stereotypes in the opposite direction of “Birth of a Nation”. Cheng et al are wise, kind, and practice tolerance to all around them. Nowhere near as derogatory as the African-Americans of “Birth”, but still an extreme.
  • At least because it’s a silent film we don’t have to sit through anyone’s atrocious or offensive accents.
  • And if this movie didn’t have enough problems, let’s throw in some child abuse for good measure. The film never condones these actions, but I still have to witness it.
  • Donald Crisp kinda looks like James Cromwell. It should be noted that Crisp was also a director, and filmed his scenes for “Blossoms” at night because he was directing during the day (most likely either “Something to Do” or “Putting It Over”).
  • All I knew about “Broken Blossoms” before this viewing is the iconic moment where Lillian Gish pushes her lips up with two fingers to evoke a smile. I did not realize this was in the context of appeasing her abusive father. So much for Precious Images. While we’re on the subject, the two finger move can definitely be misconstrued today.
  • Once Lucy escapes from Battling and stays with Cheng, things are still uncomfortable. Cheng basically lusts after her from a distance; never taking advantage of her, but definitely creeping me out over here. I know that this is all supposed to be a charming respite from her father, but this movie is so slow these scenes are mainly boring.
  • It was around this point that I wondered if the movie’s source material was a short story. Turns out I was right. If your short story doesn’t lend itself to a full-length feature, why not pull a “Big Sleep” or “Short Cuts” and combine a few? Thomas Burke had plenty of material to draw from, much of it also set in the Limehouse district.
  • My other gripe with this picture: No one calls Cheng Huan by name, resorting to certain epithets I’d rather not mention.
  • I always find it amusing when a silent movie’s story hinders on someone hearing something, in this case Lucy breaking a teapot in the back room. I guess I’ll take your word for it, movie.
  • Griffith’s movies can be quite problematic but I have to hand it to him, the man knew the power of the close-up.
  • For me “Broken Blossoms” is best summed up by Griffith himself. According to Richard Schickel’s biography, Griffith had difficulty editing “Blossoms”, stating, “I can’t look at the damn thing; it depresses me so.” Well said.

Legacy 

  • “Broken Blossoms” was originally produced by Famous Players-Lasky (now Paramount), but producer Adolph Zukor hated the final film. Griffith bought the film from Zukor for $250,000 and released it through his newly formed studio United Artists. “Broken Blossoms” was a hit, and made over $600,000 at the box office.
  • “Broken Blossoms” was the first film released by United Artists (though the first one actually produced by them was Douglas Fairbanks’ “His Majesty, the American”). Over the years United Artists has risen and fallen, been bought and sold, merged and rebranded. The United Artists name still exists, though it is primarily a distribution company (they release the Bond movies), with its last co-production being 2015’s “Creed”.
  • Although D.W. Griffith was a founding member of United Artists, and “Broken Blossoms” was a hit for the studio, his next few films faltered, and in 1924 Griffith left the studio after the failure of “Isn’t Life Wonderful”. I guess the answer was no. Griffith made a few early talkies, but following his departure from United Artists, his film career was essentially over.
  • The Brits made their own film version of “Broken Blossoms” in 1936. Despite the technological advancements made in the previous 17 years, this version also stars a white man in yellowface.
  • Films with nuanced, respectful depictions of Asians and Asian-Americans (played by actual Asians and Asian-Americans) have been around for decades, but this country is just now embracing them on a large scale with recent films like “Crazy Rich Asians”, “The Farewell”, and “Parasite”.

#475) American Graffiti (1973)

#475) American Graffiti (1973)

OR “Boomers in Cars Getting Comfy”

Directed by George Lucas

Written by Lucas and Gloria Katz & Willard Huyck

Class of 1995

The Plot: In 1962 Modesto, high school graduates Steve Bolander and Curt Henderson (Ron Howard and Richard Dreyfuss) have one last night of fun and cruising before leaving town and going to college. Steve gets in a fight with his girlfriend Laurie (Cindy Williams), who still has a year left of high school. Curt attempts to reconnect with a mysterious blonde woman (Suzanne Somers) in a Thunderbird. John Milner (Paul Le Mat) gets stuck cruising with obnoxious 12-year-old Carol (Mackenzie Phillips) and ends up in a drag race with local hot-rodder Bob Falfa (Harrison Ford). Terry “The Toad” Fields (Charles Martin Smith) gets Steve’s car and picks up Connie Francis lookalike Debbie Dunham (Candy Clark). It’s a love letter to the early 1960s, with a soundtrack courtesy of Wolfman Jack!

Why It Matters: The NFR gives a rundown of the film’s production and legacy, praising Lucas, the script, the film’s “ironic candor”, and visual consultant Haskell Wexler.

But Does It Really?: “American Graffiti” is definitely in the “minor classic” category. Its nostalgic value may be reserved solely for those who were actually there, but the film is still an enjoyable coming-of-age tale that comes straight from the heart. To call this movie George Lucas’ stepping stone to “Star Wars” is to deny this film its own important place in ’70s filmdom as one of the decade’s biggest hits, the epicenter of ’50s nostalgia, and the launching pad for many promising careers. No argument here for “American Graffiti” making the NFR cut.

Shout Outs: John’s license plate reads “THX 138”. So close.

Everybody Gets One: “Graffiti” is the breakout film/sole NFR representation for pretty much every young ’70s actor who wasn’t in “The Last Picture Show“. Among them: Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips, Suzanne Somers, and Lynne Marie Stewart, aka Miss Yvonne from “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse”!

Wow, That’s Dated: The opening credits say it all: “Ronnie” Howard gets top billing, while Harrison Ford is tenth!

Title Track: No one has ever been able to explain this title to me. Apparently Universal execs didn’t get it either, and alternates like “Rock Around the Block” and “Another Quiet Night in Modesto” were considered before Lucas finally won out.

Seriously, Oscars?: An unexpected hit for Universal, “American Graffiti” received five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Director, and Original Screenplay. Unfortunately “Graffiti” was the only Best Picture nominee to go home empty-handed that year, losing in four categories to Universal’s other big contender, “The Sting“.

Other notes 

  • After making the feature film version of “THX 1138”, George Lucas was challenged by his friend and mentor Francis Ford Coppola to write a movie that would appeal to mainstream audiences. Lucas turned to his own teen years for inspiration. Like the characters in “Graffiti”, George was a high school senior in 1962 Modesto who spent his nights cruising the main streets.
  • Although set in Modesto, Lucas felt that the town had changed too much in the previous decade to play itself. “Graffti” began production in San Rafael, California, but the city withdrew their support after two nights of filming. The rest of the shoot was covered in nearby Petaluma. The Mel’s Drive-In featured throughout the film was the original diner on South Van Ness Street in San Francisco. Sadly, it was demolished a few years later and is now condos.
  • That’s two NFR movies that open with “Rock Around the Clock”. Any teen-induced riots during screenings of this one?
  • It should be noted that while Ron Howard the actor is on the NFR (this and “The Music Man“), Ron Howard the director is conspicuously absent. Where’s “Apollo 13”? “Splash”? “The Grinch”? [2023 Update: Hey, there’s “Apollo 13”!]
  • This entire post could be me dissecting the film’s soundtrack, one of the first to consist solely of preexisting hits. Each one is expertly chosen to comment on or underscore the scene it’s featured in. Shoutout to attorney Tom Pollack for his Herculean achievement with rights clearance, and sound editor Walter Murch for weaving it all together. Where’s his Oscar nod?
  • The sock-hop is one of the movie’s highlights, with the snowball dance between Steve and Laurie a particularly great moment. I’ve always felt an inexplicable connection to Cindy Williams, probably because we share a birthday. Regardless, she’s the emotional core of the movie, and conveys the intelligence and awkwardness of being 17 perfectly.
  • A big ensemble, interweaving storylines, a radio voice as the linchpin. This movie is “Nashville” if Altman knew how to mike properly.
  • The other nice thing about this movie is its affection for the era before ’50s nostalgia had been done to death. The movie feels fresher and more personal than later, more commercial fare like “Grease“.
  • Hey, that’s the same cop car stunt from “Airport 1975”! Where’s Sid Caesar?
  • Harrison Ford singing “Some Enchanted Evening” should be included in every “Greatest Movie Moments” clip package ever. This scene was one of three that Universal initially cut from the film against Lucas’ wishes. Once “Star Wars” was a hit, Lucas persuaded Universal to reinstate the scenes, and they’ve been in the film ever since.
  • Wolfman Jack: If Harvey Fierstein was straight.
  • Compared to the rest of film’s fun atmosphere, the drag race ending seems surprisingly intense, but if anyone’s qualified to chronicle a near-fatal car crash, it’s George Lucas. This is followed by an epilogue detailing the downer fates of the four male leads.

Legacy 

  • “American Graffiti” was the third highest-grossing film of 1973, and everyone’s career benefited from its success. The cast spent the rest of the decade as in-demand young talent, and George Lucas used the film’s success to convince 20th Century Fox to finance his long-gestating space opera screenplay “The Star Wars”.
  • Although “Graffiti” is set in 1962, it helped kick off a decade long nostalgia for the 1950s. Remembering a rejected pilot set in the ’50s that Ron Howard had starred in a few years earlier, ABC quickly greenlit the show to series, added a greaser character based on Paul Le Mat’s John, and called it “Happy Days”. Aaaaaaay.
  • The 1979 sequel “More American Graffiti” saw most of the cast returning (recent Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss was the main holdout) and chronicled what happened to everyone throughout the 1960s and the counterculture movement. Compared to the original, “More” is less.
  • Despite the loss of the original Mel’s, the chain still operates to this day, and leans heavily on its “American Graffiti” connection. I’m a sucker for their shakes.

Please give me free shakes.

Listen to This: Among the dozens of artists featured on the “American Graffiti” soundtrack are National Recording Registry inductees Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, Bill Haley, and The Beach Boys. All this and more on two CDs or two cassettes!