CLASSIC MOVIES: THE GRADUATE (1967)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brief Movie Synopsis [courtesy of Turner Classic Movies]:

A recent college graduate has
an affair with a married woman,
then falls in love with her daughter.
Nominated for 7 Academy Awards.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

REVIEWS:

"The Graduate is magnificent. A perfect blend of comedy and drama. .... Every single actor in this film is perfect for his or her part -- from
Dustin Hoffman, to Anne Bancroft, to Katharine Ross, to Murray Hamilton. ....
The photography and camerawork are worthy of high praise as well.
I like the way Oscar-winning director Mike Nichols composed some of
the shots to take full advantage of the film's very wide 2.35:1 screen
dimensions. Plus there's the unique way Nichols has framed certain scenes,
elevating the film a few more notches on the superior scale. For example,
the scene at the hotel where a very nervous Hoffman approaches the desk
clerk (played by Buck Henry). The dialogue exchanged between the two parties
takes place through an opening in the woodwork just off to the side of the
hotel's front desk. I love it. .... If you've never seen 'The Graduate' before,
or if you haven't watched it in a long time, then do yourself a favor and
get the film on DVD or Blu-ray."

-- David Von Pein; March 2012

"['The Graduate'] is not only one of the best of the year, but also one of the best seriocomic social satires we've had from Hollywood since Preston Sturges was making them. .... Mark it right down in your datebook as a picture you'll have to see—and maybe see twice to savor all its sharp satiric wit and cinematic treats. .... Enhancing the veracity of the picture is first-rate staging in true locations and on well-dressed sets, all looking right in excellent color. And a rich, poignant musical score that features dandy modern folk music, sung by the team of Simon and Garfunkel, has the sound of today's moody youngsters. .... Funny, outrageous, and touching, 'The Graduate' is a sophisticated film that puts Mr. [Mike] Nichols and his associates on a level with any of the best satirists working abroad today."

-- Excerpt from The New York Times; December 22, 1967

ROGER EBERT'S 1967 REVIEW:

"This is outrageous material, but it works in 'The Graduate' because it is handled in a straightforward manner. Dustin Hoffman is so painfully awkward and ethical that we are forced to admit we would act pretty much as he does, even in his most extreme moments. Anne Bancroft, in a tricky role, is magnificently sexy, shrewish, and self-possessed enough to make the seduction convincing. .... [Director Mike] Nichols stays on top of his material. He never pauses to make sure we're getting the point. He never explains for the slow-witted. He never apologizes. .... 'The Graduate' is a success and Benjamin's [Hoffman's] acute honesty and embarrassment are so accurately drawn that we
hardly know whether to laugh or to look inside ourselves."

-- Roger Ebert; December 26, 1967

ROGER EBERT'S 1997 REVIEW:

SISKEL & EBERT: