American Graffiti (1973)

The greatest movie ever made..!

Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Brilliant and touching

This American classic from 1973. was nominated for 5 Oscars and it's considered to be one of the greatest movies of all time and ultimate teenage movie. OK, it's written and directed by Lucas, produced by Coppola and cast, including legends like Richard Dreyfuss and Harrison Ford, is excellent. Parade of awesome cars from 50's and 60's, cute girls and non-stop rock'n'roll guarantee pleasure, but no matter how much I like it I really do not see what makes this movie so great to be as high as top 100 of all time. From me7/10

The film itself was pretty bland. While it was suppose to be just a slice of life about teenagers getting ready to go off into their college days, the actors all seemed more like people who were in their mid 20's.. And when I check the birth days of many of the stars in it, I was right,, many in their mid 20's ,, hell, Harrison Ford was 30 when this was made. Just seemed weird. Best thing about it was the cars and of course the music. A potpourri of great late 50's and early 60's hits. Maybe it was novel at the time it came out, today it just looks cheesy, miscast and worst of all, boring..

I just read the other reviews and one thing jumps right out at me. All the reviewers -- whether they liked the movie or not -- seem to accept without question that in the late 50s and early 60s (the movie is supposedly one night in 1962), teen boys got in their hot rods and big souped-up muscle cars and "cruised" around and around and around and around. Now, I never lived in Modesto, or anywhere else in California, so maybe that actually happened there. But everybody in the world didn't grow up in Modesto, California. I myself grew up in twenty-something mostly small towns in seven different states in the American south and Midwest, in the time period represented in this movie. In all those states, in all those towns, I never, repeat, never, ever, saw a "hot rod." When I was old enough to drive, I did not get in a car and spend the evening and night "cruising" the town's streets, looking for girls to pick up. Most guys had to borrow their parents' cars. I knew one guy with his own car, and it was a really cheap old Ford that had trouble getting up steep hills. We didn't cruise around looking for girls, we called a girl and made a date, picked her up at her parents' house, and took her to a hamburger place or a movie theater or possibly to a school dance. Any girl who allowed herself to be picked up and driven around would've gained a terrible reputation and been avoided by everyone else. So I don't get it, I don't get the time and setting and atmosphere and characters, they are alien to me and not from the 50s and 60s I experienced. Maybe the title of this movie should have been "California Graffiti."

The real star of this movie are the cars. It's like watching the Woodward Dream Cruise in Oakland County, Michigan. The hot rods are great but so are the stock 50's and 60's from Ford, Chrysler and General Motors. When I was in high school, we would cruise Woodward every Friday and Saturday night. Going from drive-in to drive-in looking at the cars and the girls. i was a passenger until my older brother went in the army in 1961 end entrusted his 1955 Ford Victoria to me. It looked much better than it ran. Stock engine meant that I never raced. But I was able to peel out with the best of them. Watching this film really gives me vivid memories of my own teenage years.We were in such a hurry to grow up but didn't really want to accept any responsibility. It was all about having fun. The costar is the music. It's a really great selection of early rock and roll. Great cars and great music. What more could you ask for?