When was american graffiti made

Aged 26, Dreyfus is almost a full decade older than his character but possesses the quiet, thoughtful contemplation required for the role. We see that the characters in the movie are young men with their lives ahead of them. Still, the role of Steve Bolander allowed for an organic transition from a child actor into more adult roles. The following year Howard would find television success as Ritchie Cunningham in Happy Days , and later as a multi Award-Winning film director.

He wears a hooded sweater during a break from filming, his youthful face looking to the camera, an unassuming icon in the making. Unlike his co-stars, Harrison Ford appears to have been photographed apart from the rest of the cast.

At this point in his career, and frustrated with the roles offered to him, Ford was working as a self-taught carpenter to support his young family.

Candy Clark, in the role of Debbie Dunham, perches against the front wing of her car. She appears dismayed, most likely in character as Laurie, resigned to spend one final night with her boyfriend before he leaves for college the next day.

Connections Featured in Airport User reviews Review. Top review. Seems almost an accidental classic. I don't know if George Lucas really knew what he had in this picture--surely the screenplay seemed funny enough, and the thought of the cars and the period music was enticing--but did he really know these "unknown" actors would bring these characters to life?

It seems almost a fluke, shot in 29 days and on a tight budget, but "American Graffiti" is a classic. It is perhaps pure nostalgia, mixing pathos and humor, sadness and craziness, hope and reflection in quiet little bursts of excitement. After cruising with Milner all night, teenage Carol hates to say goodbye but does, waving from her porch with the light on; Toad survives one bad accident after another, but his real moment is in hearing praise from his date fantastic, husky-voiced Candy Clark, dolled up like a speeding Sandra Dee just before she says good night; after chasing his dream date all night, Kurt Richard Dreyfuss, green and anxious, and appealingly bemused finally gets to talk to the stunning blonde wonder on the telephone, where she whispers a wrenching goodbye.

The whole movie is steeped in reflection. It has great, great humor, yet it leaves one with a bittersweet melancholia. For yesterday is in the past, with our music, our memories and our hesitant farewells. FAQ 1. If the action takes place on the last night of Summer Break, how come the school is holding a Freshman Dance?

Surely the first dance in the school calendar would be Homecoming a few weeks after the start of semester? Details Edit. Release date August 11, United States. United States. Another Slow Night in Modesto. Box office Edit. Technical specs Edit. Runtime 1 hour 50 minutes. Related news. Nov 12 Gold Derby. Contribute to this page Suggest an edit or add missing content. The convicts—the first civilian prisoners to be housed in the new high-security On August 11, , German forces begin a six-day evacuation of the Italian island of Sicily, having been beaten back by the Allies, who invaded the island in July.

The Germans had maintained a presence in Sicily since the earliest days of the war. But with the arrival of Gen. The last U. The unit had been guarding the U. This left only 43, advisors, airmen, and support troops left in-country. This number did Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. On August 11, , President Ronald Reagan makes a joking but controversial off-the-cuff remark about bombing Russia while testing a microphone before a scheduled radio address.

While hunting for elk along the Missouri River, Meriwether Lewis is shot in the hip, probably by one of his own men. It ran for 10 years and was one of the most popular sitcoms in TV history. Universal executives didn't know what American Graffiti meant as a title they weren't alone , and begged Lucas to change it. Lucas wouldn't budge. The film ends with title cards revealing what happened to the main characters the male ones, anyway afterward, much of which isn't happy.

The co-writers Lucas hired early on to help him develop the script, Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, found it depressing and strange and tried to talk Lucas out of it but never succeeded.

Stubbornness is a recurring theme in stories about Lucas. The radio DJ with the distinctive voice was part of Lucas' teenage years in Modesto, California, and Lucas even considered making a documentary about him when he was a student at USC's film school.

When American Graffiti made him a millionaire, Lucas paid the Wolfman a little extra for serving as the film's "inspiration. Curt played by Richard Dreyfuss spends most of the film chasing a beautiful, mysterious blonde played by Suzanne Somers he sees driving a Ford Thunderbird. Lucas originally intended to shoot a scene where the blonde and the car were briefly transparent, revealing to the audience that she was a figment of Curt's imagination. This was one of the things that had to go when Universal insisted on a strict, tight budget.

Lucas and company planned to shoot the film in San Rafael, California, as the real setting—Modesto—had changed too much since