What George Lucas Achieved With American Graffiti

[@russellcampbell9198]

Yep, the 60's shift was seismic and this film depicted the cusp of the change so brilliantly.

[@manuelkong10]

I think much of this analysis is overthought. ....one example, Summers in the white T bird... She's young, she's cute, she's teasing, she can't be caught or owned, she's more of an idea than a person in a White car....she IS INNOCENCE And the reason she is the last thing he sees as he leaves town and moves forward in life, is because she, INNOCENCE, is staying behind, not in the town but IN THAT TIME.

[@metalslug38]

Just watched this movie for the first time it was amazing

[@colinmcom14]

American Graffiti is a million times better than Star Wars.

[@georgepenton6023]

colinmcom14 I think it is, but then again i dont like science fiction, and i dearly love fifties music.

[@scifinerd17]

SkyOut Lucas didn’t direct Empire

[@racingroy3303]

I remember seeing this movie in the theater... I was born in "62" and must have been 11 years old but it seems like I was older... And after the movie was over I remember just standing outside looking at the movie picture in awe... I was wishing I'd haven't seen the movie yet so I could watch it all over again new... Same for Star Wars!!! This made me a car nut and I spend hundreds of hours cruising on our 1st ave in my hot rods chasing girls... "The Good Ol' Days"

[@freddyrichards878]

George Lucas pre-90's was as great as James Dean, each of the few stuff he did was brilliant and each have been individually called the best

[@DayTripperrr]

All of his work is brilliant

[@lizaestevez6928]

this movie reminds me of high school it the last time you see your friends and your always wonder what they doing and even the going as a freshman in high school you weren't, ready and you just have to move on like movies like lady bird and my friend dahmer

[@JuliaMinervaRhodes]

liza Estevez Lol I wish my high school experiences were anywhere near as eventful as some of these movies

[@lizaestevez6928]

Essential Films have you seen these movies?

[@JuliaMinervaRhodes]

liza Estevez Yeah

[@videoman4424]

When I was stationed in Abilene Texas in 1970, the thing to do on Friday and Saturday nights was to go to Mack Eplen’s restaurant at North 1st and Shelton and cruse. great food and a lot of gas burned up. I had a 1970 Dodge Challenger at that time. This was our "American Graffiti" three years before the move. Just like in the movie I also went overseas in 1971 from Dyess AFB in Abilene Texas To Utapo Thailand with the 340th MMS / 307 Strategic Wing [Bomb Wing] B52's] I loaded Bombs on the B52 from 1971- 1972 this was one of the bases where they would fly into Viet Nam From. Utapo AFB. I love this movie because it shows the great times I had and the not so great times.

[@irina1296]

Call me crazy guys but I prefer "American Graffiti" (1973) and "THX 1138" (1971) to Star Wars

[@tomski120]

milners car "thx138"

[@EyeLean5280]

You're not crazy. Star Wars is splashy and fun but THX and AG are much better films.

[@metalslug38]

Agreed

[@ramblingsadrift6477]

I remember walking out on the first Star Wars after about half an hour. Never regretted it.

[@strangerthanfiction4014]

THX is the best thing ive seen in YEARS. The sound is just so evocative, it tells you of a world you dont understand but has function. AND: The word Wookie comes from it. Police robot: "I think I ran over a Wookie".

[@DrMurdercock]

Milner wasn't a jock, he would have been more of a greaser. Was known for having the FASTEST car not the best looking. The looks of his "piss colored" colored car are even discussed in the film at a stop light in the film.

[@princeminski47]

I think playing "American Pie" behind so much of the narration is something of a betrayal. Lucas' use of 1962-era music is key to the atmosphere of the film.

[@manuelkong10]

TOTALLY agreed....proof this guy didn't REALLY get the movie

[@darinwilliams4951]

I love this movie !

[@o.brocklehurst9531]

dude this is so good why are there so few views

[@kentexican5844]

I'd say from the time of the movie to the time this posted ... big lapse and the average person surfing on KZbin may never have heard of "American Graffiti", the words I had to use in the search window to find this most interesting analysis.

[@MrSteve24fps]

Was billed as Ronny Howard for the last time!

[@lilysoryu3991]

The setup-payoff with American Pie-The Saga Begins was a a really strange, interesting, cool way to structure the video. Good video. I just found your channel yesterday, you're rad.

[@stevenalmeida5716]

without this movie I believe we would not have Dazed and Confused, and its 2020 we seriously need a movie about the 80's and 90's by now

[@Tubes12AX7k]

One of my favorite movies of all time. My dad and I watched it together a long time ago and he said I was clearly one of the characters in the movie.

[@kartikjain7105]

Loved the video. Still hate it when ppl undermine his quality has a director. No teen movie come close to American Graffiti in capturing what it means to be 17( and its not my nostalgia speaking as I was born in 2000 in India and I have no knowledge of American pop culture that time). Can u recommend any other teen movies( pls give some recommendations from the 21st century)???

[@JuliaMinervaRhodes]

Mud (2013), Boyhood (2014), and Lady Bird (2017)

[@JuliaMinervaRhodes]

Also: Rushmore (1998), Ghost World (2001), and Juno (2007), and of course the two quintessential classics The 400 Blows (1959) and The Breakfast Club (1985)

[@kartikjain7105]

Thanks, so if u are free I have a couple of questions?( Fuck I'm wierd and free)

[@nuwavedave]

"Pretty In Pink" (Molly Ringwald), "Valley Girl" (Nicholas Cage), "Back To The Future" (Michael J. Fox). These movies are about 17-year olds of the 1980s - and are excellent '80s films that capture the era perfectly. "Back To The Future" is about a 17 year-old who time travels from 1985 back to 1955 and meets his parents when they were teenagers. "Valley Girl"(1983) is about the clash between Los Angeles, California's Hollywood "Punks" and The San Fernando Valley's "Vals" - A 17 year-old Punk (Nicholas Cage) falls in love with a Valley Girl - or "Val" (Deborah Foreman). "Pretty In Pink" (1986) is THE teen movie of the 1980s featruring Molly Ringwald, who also starred in two other great '80s flicks - "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club". Sixteen Candles is similar in feel to Pretty In Pink - very fast-paced and fun - but, Breakfast Club is a fairly dark, morbid look at teen angst, so I don't recommend it as an '80s "teen" movie.

[@brandonknack1004]

8 1/2, Dazed and confused, the breakfast club, Juno, the last picture show.

[@DrMurdercock]

Years later Disney would go on to create Star Wars films so bad it made the prequals look like masterpieces.

[@adavis5926]

The movie was about the early 60s, not the 50s. It's about high school kids graduating in 1962.

[@stefanristicmovies]

I think I'm going to donate to you

[@JuliaMinervaRhodes]

This is truly the greatest of compliments.

[@hugh-johnfleming289]

See a good print on a screen or you haven't seen it.

[@FriendlyCroock]

Perfect review other than the fact that you keep saying the 50's when it's actually about the 60's.

[@ethanperreault7470]

It takes place in the 60's but its about 50's nostalgia.

[@mattd6200]

I'm trying to see with my headphones but all I get is audio. Anyone else?

[@CPorter]

contrary to popular beleif, 1962 was STILL in the 1950s. 1963 is what changed it all

[@rdecredico]

Exactly.

[@stevieray6216]

As a non-US citizen who loves the movie I would really be interested in knowing what you would consider the single most significant event that marks the end of the 50s era in America. Is it the Kennedy assassination, the change in music style (British Invasion and protest songs), civil rights movement, or maybe even the pony and muscle cars that (temporarily) ended traditional hot rodding? 🤔

[@natyrombr21]

Great review!

[@steffanhoffmann8937]

Superb analysis. Thx. You're correct about ten years passing by BUT I would like to add? It seemed like another century passed 🇬🇧🇺🇸

[@therealmrmago9077]

i cant wait to watch this

[@michaelmelen9062]

I think it is also a possibility that a person's great ideas are the ones he works with first. As you get further from the early, great ideas you are not working with top-notch concepts. You will need other people's 'first great' concepts to regain your own greatness, adapting them to your vision. That's a possibility. A suggestion. A thought. Unless the other person's concept involves Jar Jar Binks.

[@rosu5726]

Good job.

[@sixstanger00]

American Graffiti wasn't set in the 50s - it was set in 1962. The tagline for the film was, "Where were you in '62?"

[@ErikIversen]

Think about it as "the '50s" as a cultural era and not as a decade. What most people think of when they talk about the 50s is centered around American rock 'n' roll, and that era really began in 1954, and ended with the British Invasion of 1963-64. American Graffiti is definitely a movie set in the closing days of the 1950s era.

[@sixstanger00]

@@ErikIversen No, sorry. You're really just grasping at straws. The "50s" has always referred to the decade, just as 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, etc. Sure there is overlap between decades (early 90s looks similar to late 80s), but they are nevertheless separate decades. The film is set in 1962 -- meaning it was unequivocally set in the *_60s._* Culturally, the early 60s have some overlap from the late 50s, but that doesn't mean we say it's set in the 1950s, when it was set in *_1962_* "1962" is the 3rd year of the 60s decade, not the 50s. AG was set in the 60s.

[@robtg9672]

Good video, some errors and way to much shade at Lucas. Its obvious narrator is trying to be cool by bashing him.

[@CanaAlyce]

can you do the graduate

[@JuliaMinervaRhodes]

That is correct, and yes, "The Graduate" is on the list for now.

[@JuliaMinervaRhodes]

Granted, I've only seen it once, so I'll have to see it again to decide for sure whether it's worth a video.

[@stefanristicmovies]

I truly love your videos, but I'm not sure how good doing this Alphabetically is. Granted, you don't miss out underrated films and don't exclusively go for the huge films like Citizen Kane, but it means it takes forever to get to other films. Also, in the future you may realise you missed out a film from this side of the alphabet. So, I think you should put your list into a randomiser. That way it's a fair chance between these movies. You could do it like IHE at the end of Search for the Worst videos where he shows the randomiser and shows what movie is next. Just some advice, hope I helped!

[@JuliaMinervaRhodes]

Thank you; your randomization idea is so far the best alternative, however I'm pretty content with the way I'm doing things now as I hope it creates at least a small level of suspense for viewers, and on my end of things it enables me to plan out videos far ahead in advance. Granted, I understand the shortcomings of this method, and I'm willing to accept them. Some films will take forever to get to, but a randomizer wouldn't solve that problem; for every film it would push forward, it would push a few other films back. There are several functions of the current system which are actually advantageous: namely, it functions as a randomizer automatically, making sure that I give equal time to both newer and older films (sadly, I haven't had the opportunity to do any 2000s-2010s films yet, but fortunately, there's a handful of those right around the corner-- this is why I'm waiting until I get through the letter A at least before I start investing a lot of my time in promoting my channel more actively. I want to wait until I get a few more recent films in the mix first, so that when people visit it for the first time, they'll be a seeing a more accurate representation of which kinds of films I'll be covering in the future: classic and modern. Right now, most of the films here are from before the year 1980. But, like you said, it also helps me to intersperse lesser-known films with films that people are more aware of. The list is not simply a list of good films, but a list of what I believe are essential films, and so in moving my way through the list, I want to make sure that I leave no stone unturned in giving good films the recognition they deserve. (Which means that I'm also watching as many films as I can to ensure that I miss as few films as possible). If I miss out on a film, I'll probably release it as soon as I can. I just recently I thought about making a video for Martin Scorsese's "After Hours", but I'll have to see it a third time before firmly deciding whether or not it's worth the review. So next time I watch it with a friend, I'll pay extra close attention and if I think it's as good as I remember it being, I'll interrupt whatever I'm doing and release something on it. Anyways, thanks for your support and your suggestion.

[@kentexican5844]

Interesting, if not compelling analysis.

[@Leonh2k]

Can the announcer just shut it. He's ruining a good clip.

[@JuliaMinervaRhodes]

Leonh2k Lol What?

[@lexi7749]

Glad I watched this because I wasn’t sure why this was on the AFI Top 100. The last 30 minutes is the best part, but up until that point I wasn’t as engaged as I wanted to be. Dazed and Confused did it better, but Lucas did it first and perhaps with more depth. I wish I had caught the theme of loss of innocence though.

[@Ailsworth]

No , it was not the 50s! It was 1962, as indicated by all the letterman jackets and the graduation pomp. Notice too that all the music played by the Wolfman is 1962 or earlier, but the Beach Boys tune playing during the rolling of the end credits is from 1964. There is some meaning lurking here I think.

[@EnglishroG]

Culturally it's still the 1950s - while decades end with precision, cultural boundaries are more blurred.

[@Ailsworth]

@@EnglishroG this film seems to contradict that. It looks like the last night of a peaceful America. It was prepared with the hindsight of the audience in mind. We see them living one more night in that dream just before being woken up by the Vietnam war. That's a pretty sharp division

[@EnglishroG]

@@Ailsworth I think we're talking at cross purposes. To my mind "the sixties" that everyone imagines doesn't really start until about 1962-64. In other words American Graffiti is set in 1962 but culturally it signifies the end of the 1950s. The Vietnam War comes deliberately right at the end of the filmi - with Terry MIA near An Lộc in 1965 while Kurt is "a writer living in Canada" which to an audience in 1973 might be code for a draft dodger.

[@Ailsworth]

@@EnglishroG excellent! He got Kurt right

[@EyeLean5280]

"Buddy Holly and two of his friends" - dude, really? Are you seriously relegating two of pop music's most sought-after stars of the day (Richie Valens and Big Bopper) to the role of anonymous friends of Buddy Holly's? Why would you do that? WTF?

[@EyeLean5280]

I say that with affection, btw. But still - WTF!!! :)

[@thomasromano9321]

Good point, EyeLean. They were all three on an equal plane of stardom.

[@DayTripperrr]

It’s funny because Revenge of the Sith was his best work

[@Thehackerguy2000]

I’m watching this so I can pass a quiz but I’ll be sure to come back when I actually watch the movie

[@DrMurdercock]

Lucas earned his legend card. Star Wars man children need to stfu. Star Wars was HIS movie. He let US watch it. Nothing but respect .

[@DrMurdercock]

Did someone seriously just refer to cruising as "performance art?" FFS......Cruising is nothing more than bored kids driving around. There is no performance, there is no art. lol

[@DanielLopez-zt4ig]

What George Lucas Achieved With American Graffiti? Five Oscar nominations.

[@neguys]

Instead of tearing him down the drippy documentarian should be celebrating George Lucas

[@Stratmanable]

American Graffiti takes place in 1962, not the 1950s.

[@bendu8282]

George Lucas a genius and his films were legendary, screw everyone whoever said he was a horrible director when they haven’t even achieved anything near him in their lives. George inspired a whole legacies of storytellers. And yes even when collaborating most decisions and all ideas story wise was his own, so screw those idiots who said he was a bad storyteller. The way I see people never really understood his stories, they simply put their own understanding of what he was doing and were sad when he never followed up on what they wanted. It’s pretty evident when looking at his work and looking at the idiotic criticisms towards his work.

[@bendu8282]

@Tom Ffrench amen to that.

[@strangerthanfiction4014]

Im from Germany, and I love Lucas work, Thx and Star Wars. But American Graffiti is a very strange movie, I dont like it at all. I dont think its funny, it looks great (Fincher used this as blueprint for the look of Fight CLub), but it is soooo stilted. Even if it wants to portray fun, it is not funny or dazzling. I like old songs, but even the soundtrack is somehow unnerving. And the actors all look very strange and somehow ...alien? The dance scene with the band.... man its so cringeworthy and even if it moves all the time it s liveless and boring. Cheers!

[@strangerthanfiction4014]

Id never rate this as one of the best movies of all time, and the success it had is a mystery to me. Well, Star Wars came out of its success, so it was good for something.

[@stevieray6216]

Well, it’s certainly not for everybody. I love it, my wife doesn’t. I guess it comes down to if you can relate to its nostalgia and coming-of-age themes or if you’re expecting a different kind of action and fun. Maybe a matter of age? It’s like with Milner’s 32 Ford: for some it’s just an old car in a silly color, for others it’s the coolest hot rod ever.

[@acdragonrider]

Star Wars will always be legendary and my favorite for me (yes including prequels. In fact prequels are my favorites.

[@timmyreyes1993]

Same here I love all the Star wars movies even the prequels and the new sequels

[@raydrake9151]

"American Graffiti" was released 2 yrs after "American Pie"- not before as this narrative seems to suggest. It couldn't have helped inspire the song.

[@JuliaMinervaRhodes]

I wasn't suggesting one inspired the other, merely that they both addressed the same 50s nostalgia.