You want a title for a bleedin' review?
Added 10/24/2009
Look, I'm 60 plus and I went through the sixties without shagging Katherine Ross, what do you want me to say?
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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A classic film about youth angst and manhood
Added 10/3/2009
There's been so much written about this classic movie that I won't bother to write too much more. The movie looks surprisingly fresh for being over 40 years old (especially the blu-ray version). It doesn't look old.
With that said, the movie isn't as funny as I had expected or hoped. Some of it might be Dustin Hoffman's acting - I like him in other movies, but he comes off pretty annoying here. Part of it might be that the movie pushed cultural boundaries and spoke to issues in the 1960s that don't have as much resonance today. Some scenes were just too over the top - like Hoffman's parents forcing him to go scuba-diving in the pool. I just don't get the humor there.
The movie made great use of Simon and Garfunkel songs for the soundtrack! It really becomes part of the film and tells the story. Frankly, it's probably the best part of the movie. It would be nice if more movies weaved pop music in their films.
Bottom line: if you liked The Catcher in the Rye (or stories like it), you'll like The Graduate. If you're like me and hated that book, you won't find the movie that exciting either.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Here's to you
Added 9/21/2009
This is one of the defining films of my generation, and of course I saw it when it came out in 1967. Seeing it again after all these years I was struck by both how funny it is and by the brittle, cynical and brilliant performance by Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson. She really is flawless in a part that might easily lend itself to overacting. Instead she is subtle, controlled, focused, and authentic in a way that is both sexy and chilling with just a hint of ironic humor. The maternal manner with which she treats virginal Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman in a breakout role) emphasizes the creepy, almost incestuous nature of their sterile affair. Mike Nichols has directed a number of sexual/relationship comedies, including Carnal Knowledge (1971), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), Nora Ephron's Heartburn (1986) and Carrie Fisher's Postcards from the Edge (1990). Nichols's films typically feature talented and charismatic actors and actresses who explore in a deceptively humorous manner the dark side of our human nature. The humor usually has an edgy quality while the taboo elements are somehow resolved into happy endings as in a musical comedy. Nichols likes to work with material from another medium and make it his own. Typically, The Graduate is adapted from the novel by Charles Webb. Nichols also likes to feature cutting edge popular music in the score. What we hear in the background and played over the opening credits is Simon and Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence." Of course Paul Simon wrote the song "Mrs. Robinson" for this movie, but what I didn't realized until now is his "It's all happening at the zoo" was probably inspired in part by the zoo scene in this film. Dustin Hoffman's confused and drifting Benjamin, worried about his future and suffocated by his parents' generation, knocked everybody out in those days with his dead-panned, literal delivery of one-liners, some of which were written by Buck Henry, who plays the desk clerk at the rendezvous hotel. I especially loved Ben's answer when his father, enquiring about his Quixotic plan to marry Mrs. Robinson's daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross), asks, "Isn't this a half-baked idea?" In dead seriousness, Benjamin says, "No, sir. It's completely baked." Memorable is Norman Fell (whom most of us recall from TV's long-running comedy, Three's Company) in a small part as the landlord of the Berkeley rooming house. He is of course a past master at dead-panning one-liners; in fact, he is a master at mute dead-panning. One of the funniest bits in the movie is when the camera catches his face as Elaine's father comes out of Ben's room spewing obscenities and insults at Ben. What we loved about this movie was the youthful point of view; the wonderful chase scene at the end, a Hollywood staple made fresh; the sympathetic character of Benjamin with whom we could readily identify; the cliché-ridden and shallow parents being slyly made fun of; and the sense of getting what we want out of life and doing it our own way. This is a coming-of-ager and a romance and a social satire rolled into one, and a classic Hollywood movie that no afficionado would want to miss. But see this for Anne Bancroft, a brilliant and perhaps underrated actress in one of her most memorable roles.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Lost generation Love
Added 7/6/2009
The movie starts with the ultimate young man's fantasy; making love with an older woman (at least it was mine way back when). The film then gravitates to just what is this young man fresh out of college going to do with his life? Finding the arms of the "older woman" somewhat cold, he gradually falls in love with her daughter! How's THAT for an eternal triangle! This was Dustin Hoffman's first major role and Anne Bancroft is amazing as the "older woman."
Interspersed throughout the movie is the songs and stylings of Simon & Garfunkle. The words from the song "Mrs. Robinson," "Where have you gone Joe DiMaggion? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you:" have become a part of our national lexicon. The film is an American classic and well worth the view.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Delightful fusion of craft and art
Added 3/20/2009
Pitch-perfect fusion of dialogue, cinematography, music, acting, editing, direction to produce unforgettable scenes and images.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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You want a title for a bleedin' review?
Added 10/24/2009
Look, I'm 60 plus and I went through the sixties without shagging Katherine Ross, what do you want me to say?
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
A classic film about youth angst and manhood
Added 10/3/2009
There's been so much written about this classic movie that I won't bother to write too much more. The movie looks surprisingly fresh for being over 40 years old (especially the blu-ray version). It doesn't look old.
With that said, the movie isn't as funny as I had expected or hoped. Some of it might be Dustin Hoffman's acting - I like him in other movies, but he comes off pretty annoying here. Part of it might be that the movie pushed cultural boundaries and spoke to issues in the 1960s that don't have as much resonance today. Some scenes were just too over the top - like Hoffman's parents forcing him to go scuba-diving in the pool. I just don't get the humor there.
The movie made great use of Simon and Garfunkel songs for the soundtrack! It really becomes part of the film and tells the story. Frankly, it's probably the best part of the movie. It would be nice if more movies weaved pop music in their films.
Bottom line: if you liked The Catcher in the Rye (or stories like it), you'll like The Graduate. If you're like me and hated that book, you won't find the movie that exciting either.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Here's to you
Added 9/21/2009
This is one of the defining films of my generation, and of course I saw it when it came out in 1967. Seeing it again after all these years I was struck by both how funny it is and by the brittle, cynical and brilliant performance by Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson. She really is flawless in a part that might easily lend itself to overacting. Instead she is subtle, controlled, focused, and authentic in a way that is both sexy and chilling with just a hint of ironic humor. The maternal manner with which she treats virginal Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman in a breakout role) emphasizes the creepy, almost incestuous nature of their sterile affair. Mike Nichols has directed a number of sexual/relationship comedies, including Carnal Knowledge (1971), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), Nora Ephron's Heartburn (1986) and Carrie Fisher's Postcards from the Edge (1990). Nichols's films typically feature talented and charismatic actors and actresses who explore in a deceptively humorous manner the dark side of our human nature. The humor usually has an edgy quality while the taboo elements are somehow resolved into happy endings as in a musical comedy. Nichols likes to work with material from another medium and make it his own. Typically, The Graduate is adapted from the novel by Charles Webb. Nichols also likes to feature cutting edge popular music in the score. What we hear in the background and played over the opening credits is Simon and Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence." Of course Paul Simon wrote the song "Mrs. Robinson" for this movie, but what I didn't realized until now is his "It's all happening at the zoo" was probably inspired in part by the zoo scene in this film. Dustin Hoffman's confused and drifting Benjamin, worried about his future and suffocated by his parents' generation, knocked everybody out in those days with his dead-panned, literal delivery of one-liners, some of which were written by Buck Henry, who plays the desk clerk at the rendezvous hotel. I especially loved Ben's answer when his father, enquiring about his Quixotic plan to marry Mrs. Robinson's daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross), asks, "Isn't this a half-baked idea?" In dead seriousness, Benjamin says, "No, sir. It's completely baked." Memorable is Norman Fell (whom most of us recall from TV's long-running comedy, Three's Company) in a small part as the landlord of the Berkeley rooming house. He is of course a past master at dead-panning one-liners; in fact, he is a master at mute dead-panning. One of the funniest bits in the movie is when the camera catches his face as Elaine's father comes out of Ben's room spewing obscenities and insults at Ben. What we loved about this movie was the youthful point of view; the wonderful chase scene at the end, a Hollywood staple made fresh; the sympathetic character of Benjamin with whom we could readily identify; the cliché-ridden and shallow parents being slyly made fun of; and the sense of getting what we want out of life and doing it our own way. This is a coming-of-ager and a romance and a social satire rolled into one, and a classic Hollywood movie that no afficionado would want to miss. But see this for Anne Bancroft, a brilliant and perhaps underrated actress in one of her most memorable roles.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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