Episode 136: American Graffiti (1973)

americangraffitiThis episode begins our "Films that made directors famous" pairing, and we start in 1973. Fresh off his critical success with "THX 1138," George Lucas decided to create an homage to the last year Americans lived in blissful ignorance of the turmoil to come, when boys and girls, rock and roll, and hot rods were everything, and life was just a little easier. "American Graffiti" was Lucas' first huge box-office hit, and it started the careers of so many actors who would go on to become household names! Directed by and co-written by Lucas, along with Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck, the film features Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips, and the one and only Wolfman Jack, in a tribute to the 50s lifestyle, which had carried over into 1962. And while the film doesn't exactly follow a traditional three-act structure, the individual stories are held together by the incredible 50s rock soundtrack!



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