calhoun07

I have to say that it was a great movie/great DVD. I watched it for the first time last night, and it was just as impressive as anything I've seen lately. But why was it so "anti-establishment," as the documentary on the DVD seemed to suggest that is how the movie was recieved? I hear that there are plans for a sequel as well, which would be great fun, but will it seriously happen?

Pants

Look what happens at the end. He "kidnaps" the girl from her wedding, locks the parents in the church (using a cross to bar the door no less), and runs off into an unkown future. This is pretty anti-establishment and a big F U to the mainstream views of suburban conformity. Not REALLY drastic or anything, but subversive nontheless.

conscience

See what you have been missing?

Dustin Hoffman is excellent and really showed that he was going to be a great actor.

sherm42

In film school we studied this film and Easy Rider, which were both made the same year, to learn about the attitiudes of the time. Both films were seen as "anti-establishment" but went about presenting their themes in different ways.

Pay attention to the party that is thrown for Ben after he has graduated. He can't stand his parents friends and feels utterly lost and indifferent to their way of life.

I have one word for you: "Plastics"

zig

I didn't really like The Graduate. I was under the impression that it was a real classic, but from my perspective it's just a better-than-average teen movie.

conscience

The Graduate = 1967

Easy Rider = 1969

conscience

OMG!

American Pie was a better than average teen film.

The Graduate is a classic.

Geofferson

I love that movie. It is filled with some wonderful camera shots and set pieces. I especially love the opening credits scene.

DrEvil

Also great music by Simon & Garfunkel!

Skull

How many extras are there on the DVD?

sexy_overlord

Funny. I just saw it for the first time too, and thought it was a lot better when I just knew the story and all the famous scenes. Man, what a boring turd of a movie.

Mr. Salty

It's always interesting to read the well-reasoned and eloquent criticisms of classic films around here. Imagine, the ability to boil down a landmark in American cinema to a "turd."

conscience

That doesn't make any sense.

Seeing as how you just saw it for the first time, how could you know it was "better" when you have never seen it?

Are you speaking of hearing of the film and some of its scenes while not even seeing it?

Well that is just a blatant smack in the face of film.

devilpants

I loved it. There isn't enough good satire in the movies these days, and the film satirized middle class living so well.

the aftermath

Hey. Thanks for the SPOILER!

silentbob007

He could have called it a f***ing turd ....

Besides, one person's turd is another person's Swept Away ... wait a minute ....

TCG

An example of the impact of the Graduate (at least on me):

I couldn't stop thinking about Anne Bancroft for about 48 hours.

Ralph Wiggum

I saw it last year for the first time myself and I loved it.

It was much funnier than I had expected.

yecul

I saw it for the first time a few months back and thought it was brilliant. I was impressed at how little dialogue there was though, but also that they were still able to convey everything they needed to without words.

It's pretty absurd that she would have liked him, especially after the affair. Throughout the movie I kept thinking, what the heck does she see in him? I alway assumed it was just her way of rebelling/escaping conformity, but whatever...

Pants

You come into a thread titled "I finally saw the Graduate". Well obviously this is a thread for people who have already seen the film. His quesition in the first post was, "What was so anti-establishment?"

Why do I need to use spoilers? I'm addressing a question in reguard to a person who I know has already seen it, in a thread devoted to people who "finally saw the Graduate."

the aftermath

Maybe you need your memory refreshed?

First of all, although you didn't start the thread it did not have SPOILERS written in the title. How am I supposed to know what's contained inside a thread?

I'm pretty sure it's not just for the person who started the thread, but for people who reply within the thread too. And is it really that hard to use spoiler tags? Maybe you should think before posting next time, instead of ruining someone else's possible movie experience.

Pants

If you really think about it. Nothing I posted would truely "spoil" your enjoyment of the film. By the time I watched this film in hight school Wayne's World 2 had completely spoiled the ending already. And it didn't ruin my enjoyment.

The ending isn't a spoiler. If I told you that at the end of Star Wars they blow up the death star, would it matter? NO. What matters is the fun you have finding out what a "death star" is and who blows it up.

And to sum up, why do you even care so much? Get off your highhourse. I tried to give a reasoned answer and make the thread interesting. You've contributed nothing to the thread but adherence to rules. Wow! what fun. When people ask me why I post at DVDTalk I tell them it's because I enjoy communicating in a dogmaticly sanctioned, rule intensive environment that harshly criticizes all people who step outside of the rules. Lighten up and have some fun.

karnblack

They blow up the Death Star?

the aftermath

I'm not on a "highhourse". I care because I planned on watching that movie one day. How about this: I'll try and forget that you gave away the ending to the movie, and you forget that I "contributed nothing" to this thread.

calhoun07

On spoiler's I looked at the booklet in the DVD case at one point during the movie and saw but guess what? I drew a conclusion about the end of the movie that wasn't exactly right, and I still enjoyed it to the very end. And Planet of the Apes is still enjoyable even tho Fox totally gives the spoiler ending away on the cover of the DVD.