Classic Film Review: The Graduate (1967)

Back in 1967, Dustin Hoffman was not a well known actor. His big break was a film directed by Mike Nichols, "The Graduate". His resume to that point had included a few TV roles. It is amazing to think about the iconic roles he had in the years after "The Graduate". His most popular films include "Midnight Cowboy" (1969), "All the President's Men" (1976), "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979), "Tootsie" (1982), "Rain Man" (1988), and many more.

In "The Graduate" Dustin Hoffman played Ben Braddock, a recent college graduate who is unsure about his future. He is seduced by Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), and older woman who is the wife of his father's business partner. Later he falls for her daughter, Elaine, played by Katharine Ross. Ben's dad is played by William Daniels, who later played Dr. Mark Craig, from the TV drama St. Elsewhere. Ben's dad is like Dr. Craig in that they both are cranky guys expect only the best from others. Another actor in the movie known later for his TV role is Norman Fell. He rents a room to Ben in Berkeley, California when he is tracking down Elaine, Mrs. Robinson's daughter. Fell later played Mr. Roper on "Three's Company". Ben feels overwhelmed by his life since his parents put pressure on him to decide what to do about his future. A famous scene has Ben given advice by a friend of the family regarding his career. He tells Ben to work in plastics. The soundtrack is provided by Simon and Garfunkel, featuring songs such as "Scarborough Fair" and "Mrs. Robinson".

This is an excellent film about family pressures, temptations, and young love. Water seems to be a common theme in the film. The movie has Ben peering into an aquarium, putting on a scuba diving exhibition for family friends, and floating on an air mattress in the family's pool. Maybe Ben longs for the peace and quiet that exists under the water.

**Some information from imdb.com.

Classic Film Review: West Side Story

A local theatre is showing classic films on the big screen for just $4, so I decided to go and see "West Side Story". This musical was made in 1961 and the music is by Leonard Bernstein and the lyrics are by Steven Sondheim. The choreography is by Jerome Robbins. No wonder this is considered a classic. It is a gem of a film with incredible performances. The film has the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, 2 New York street gangs. Tension arises when Tony and Maria fall in love since she is Latino and he is not. The screen is packed with talented singers, dancers and actors. It is a film with moments of romance, suspense, glee and sadness. Surprisingly, most of the cast from this film did not go on to be well known with the exception of Natalie Wood (Maria) and Rita Moreno (Anita). It's a love story between Tony and Maria, but it's also about street gangs in New York, whites vs. Puerto Ricans, cops vs. society, interracial relationships, and youth in rebellion. The movie featured many songs which are well known still today, over 50 years later. The soundtrack includes "I Feel Pretty", "America", "There's a Place for Us", "Something's Coming", "Tonight" and more. The soundtrack spent 54 weeks at number 1 on the Billboard album charts. If you get a chance to see this on the big screen, do it. Watching it is a delight.

**Some information from imdb.com and en.wikipedia.org.

Top Grossing Films for US Box Office

Which director is behind the most successful film of all time in US box office numbers? George Lucas? Steven Spielberg? Martin Scorsese? Peter Jackson? Jerry Bruckheimer? None of the above. Actually, one director holds the #1 and #2 spots for the most successful films, together grossing $1.4 billion! Here is the list, from imdb.com, as of 3/24/14.

1. Avatar 2009 $760.5 million
2. Titanic 1997 $658.6 million
3. The Avengers 2012 $623.2 million
4. The Dark Knight 2008 $533.3 million
5. Star Wars Episode I 1999 $474.5 million
6. Star Wars 1977 $460.9 million
7. The Dark Knight Rises 2012 $448.1 million
8. Shrek 2 2004 $436.4 million
9. E.T. 1982 $434.9 million
10. The Hunger Games 2013 $424.5 million

With the top 2 films, James Cameron has a significant amount of power in the film industry. Avatar made full use of 3D technology which was new at the time, and Titanic attracted males, females and people of all ages. Cameron found that his films attracted audiences that saw the movies multiple times.

This list looks at American box office numbers only. Adding in worldwide box office, many of these films are grossing around $1 billion. Action/adventure and fantasy films are popular overseas, so those usually have the highest worldwide gross. American humor does not usually translate well overseas, so those films that do well in America, may have low box office numbers abroad.

Steven Spielberg's films have been amazingly successful, with many finishing high on the list. E.T. is #9, Jurassic Park is #17, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is #36, Jaws is #72, Raiders of the Lost Ark is #87.

The list is dominated by many mega film franchises such as Star Wars, Batman, Iron Man, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lord of the Rings, Spiderman and many animated movies from Pixar.

View the full list here.