July’s selection is “American Graffiti”, a coming-of-age portrayal of the 1962 teen hot-rod cruising culture actually experienced by George Lucas during his high school years in Modesto. To develop a film from this period, Lucas received encouragement from Francis Coppola to both direct and write the screenplay, while Coppola agreed to produce the film to satisfy financial concerns Universal Studios had for featuring an unknown filmmaker. Written in just 3 weeks, and filmed mostly in Petaluma in 28 nights, the film was nominated for 5 Oscars, and grossed $61 million on a budget of $750,000. Rotten Tomatoes awarded it a 95%.
Universal had concerns about the screenplay, mainly due to its unique approach. It told four distinct, unrelated stories, all happening on one last night of summer. Especially challenging, the lighting team had to create tricky atmospheric effects inside the cars and on the sidewalks to make the film “pop”, under neon lights, spotlighting the teens as they hung out looking for a way to connect with the opposite sex— a cool dating ritual back then.
Using little-known actors who later become major stars, the screenplay works well because it cleverly pairs up characters who are opposites. Terry the Toad (Charles Martin Smith), the lovable but clumsy nerd, spends the evening with Debby (Candy Clark), the “fast” girl, who isn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. Meanwhile, John Milner (Paul Le Mat), a tough guy, hot-rod cruiser, babysits Carol (Mackenzie Phillips), the funny, precocious, pre-teen. Then there’s Curt (Richard Dreyfuss), a clean-cut kid and budding intellectual, on his way to college, searching for a hot blond in a Thunderbird, but instead gets adopted by a group of hoodlums from the Pharaohs gang. Finally, Laurie and Steve (Cindy Williams & Ron Howard), Homecoming Queen and popular jock, are in crisis-mode regarding their high school romance, since Steve is looking to “spread his wings” in college the coming year. The conflict almost turns into a disaster when Laurie gets into a hot rod driven by the reckless street racer Bob Falfa (Harrison Ford).
Lucas also brought in the legendary late-night DJ Wolfman Jack, playing himself, as the radio voice teens listened to from coast to coast. His mysterious voice in the soundtrack led many teens through the night, creating a feeling of togetherness while he dedicated songs, introduced new sounds, and played rock and roll tunes. By using the 1960s Top 40 Rock and Roll Hits and matching each scene with a song, the soundtrack clearly captured the spirit of the 60s.
“American Graffiti” will be screened on Thursday, July 9 at the Piedmont Center for the Arts, 801 Magnolia Ave. Doors open at 12:45 PM., and the film will start at 1:00p.m. Join us to watch the movie and discuss it afterwards.
August’s movie will be “Finding Forester,” starring Sean Connery, a 2000 drama to be shown on August 13 at our normal time of 1 PM.