Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Aedonerre I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

catesa Like most people who weren't alive at the time this film was first released, I came to "American Graffiti" through "Star Wars." I first saw it on AMC or TCM or something as a kid, and mostly only remembered the awesome soundtrack until I watched it again recently. It's interesting how much more of an impact this movie made seeing it in my 20's versus my early teens. It's not just that I couldn't appreciate the filmmaking or the writing at the time. I also couldn't appreciate just how perfectly this film captures the spirit of youth, because I hadn't lived it yet. Like "Star Wars", there's something strangely stirring about "American Graffiti". I've never had a movie blow the dust off of long-buried emotions like this one did. I grew up in an environment totally different from the characters, almost 50 years after this movie takes place. But therein lies Lucas's genius: there's something universal in American culture about the magic of your late teens in the summer; of driving through humid nights looking for trouble, looking for love, looking for anything to do. I felt that again for 2 hours - that same sense of invincibility, of endless possibility, of teenage libido and out-of-control hormones that my friends and I felt at age 17. This film put me right back there.Consequently, there's a real bittersweet-ness to "American Graffiti." Because just like Milner, Curt, Steve are destined to discover, that sense of unlimited potential fades quickly. We're all forced to either embrace the future of "settling down" (Curt) or try in vain to hold on to the past (Milner). The movie is a lot less light-hearted and lot more sad seeing it as an adult. But even in that sadness there's real beauty, charm, and excitement. I daresay "American Graffiti" tops "Star Wars" as an observation of the (young American) human condition. I hope history will be kind to this film; it deserves just as much love as the rest of his work.

Pj Johnson My thoughts on American Graffiti- The plot was unclear at times but they all had a common goal to have one last great night before some of them go off to college. That drove the great acting and dialogue. The aspect that made this movie unique is the character's relationships undergoing during the whole movie. The underlying message in this movie adds a better outlook on it, the movie is set in 1962 when America was innocent like the teenagers and when JFK died America lost their innocence. Just like the teenagers will when they go off to college. I believe it is a fantastic movie, this was George Lucas's first movie and what a great first mark on the film industry!

caseynicholson I was fortunate to get to catch this 1973 classic in an old theater in my hometown recently during a street festival with a cruise in later that evening. I had never seen "American Graffiti", and aside from having heard that Ron Howard was in it and that it had some muscle cars in it, I knew very little about the film. I was presently surprised with how much I enjoyed it.The movie is written and directed by George Lucas of Star Wars fame, just a few years before "A New Hope" hit screens in 1976. The film tells the tale of a group of teenagers in the 1950's--most of them recent high school graduates--on their last night in town before school starts back for some and others will be going off to college the next day. The film is replete with 50's era culture, from muscle cars to drive-ins and packs of cigarettes rolled up in the sleeves of white t-shirts.This movie is both fun and yet also has a serious undertone. It watches a bit like a cleaner version of "Porky's", and certainly has a sophomoric element to it--albeit one that doesn't cross the lewd line that a "Porky's" or an "Animal House" does (though it comes close at times).The car scenes are quite fun, as is the adolescent romance that plays out for several characters as the night goes along. Still, at the film's closing scene you realize that the film's title is a poignant one, as these young people's lives themselves serve as the graffiti of the American saga.All in all I'm giving this movie 8/10 stars. It's a fine film with good acting and a fun script.

mayem_5 Worst movie i've ever seen, i mean, i knew about G. Lucas's lack of skill but this is awful. I can only imagine how this man has come to be a movie director by poorly ripping off styles and being so clumsy with the camera. This time he delivers a slow, pretentious movie that goes nowhere. Within an almost two hour-long torture in which the characters are as flat as they could possible be, Lucas show us how mediocre film maker he is by not displaying any knowledge about cinematographic language at all, a still camera, boring shots and a soporific story that should have ended before the first 10 minutes. I managed to get to the end of it so i could have a valid opinion but it didn't worth it. Please don't watch it unless you have sleep problems.