Part of Restoration Roundup and Music City Mondays
A summer night in 1962 becomes the focal point in the lives of four small town California teenagers as they face decisions, both immediate and long term, about the directions of their lives. Steve wants to break up with Laurie, his devoted high school sweetheart, and pursue new experiences away from home. Curt is hesitant about going away to school and leaving the comfortable surroundings of family and friends. John tries to maintain his ‘too cool for school’ image as a hip guy, but can’t seem to shake a nagging awareness that life is somehow passing him by. Finally, there’s Terry, the nerdy wannabe trying to fit, who still manages to screw up. During the course of the evening, their stories intertwine and separate, and by the next morning, their lives will be changed — some only temporarily and some for a lifetime.
Like THE EXORCIST, this seeming massive omission from our 1973 series is rectified with very special screenings of a brand-new 50th Anniversary 4K Restoration.
“...Certainly the freshest American movie in years and may well prove to be a watershed film of major importance.” —Alan R. Howard, Hollywood Reporter (Aug 1, 1973)
“Of all the youth-themed nostalgia films in the past couple of years, George Lucas' AMERICAN GRAFITTI [sic] is among the very best to date… The filmmakers’ hearts obviously were with their characters all the way. Lucas has done a truly masterful job.” —A.D. Murphy, Variety (Jun 30, 1973)
“An instant classic perfectly attuned to the mood of early ‘70s baby boomers who'd just woken up after Vietnam, Watergate and the hippie era… A funny-serious movie with gorgeous cars and colors and an amazing feel for the artifacts of an instantly vanished era.” —Empire