Celiac Disease Movie Reviews
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Family movie reviews for "Celiac Disease" sorted by average review score:
American Graffiti - Collector's Edition
Released in DVD by Universal Studios (01 April, 2003)
Starring: Richard Dreyfuss and Ron Howard
Here's how critic Roger Ebert described the unique and lasting value of George Lucas's 1973 box-office hit, American Graffiti: "[It's] not only a great movie but a brilliant work of historical fiction; no sociological treatise could duplicate the movie's success in remembering exactly how it was to be alive at that cultural instant." The time to which Ebert and the film refers is the summer of 1962, and American Graffiti captures the look, feel, and sound of that era by chronicling one memorable night in the lives of several young Californians on the cusp of adulthood. (In essence, Lucas was making a semiautobiographical tribute to his own days as a hot-rod cruiser, and the film's phenomenal success paved the way for Star Wars.) The action is propelled by the music of Wolfman Jack's rock & roll radio show--a soundtrack of pop hits that would become as popular as the film itself. As Lucas develops several character subplots, American Graffiti becomes a flawless time capsule of meticulously re-created memory, as authentic as a documentary and vividly realized through innovative use of cinematography and sound. The once-in-a-lifetime ensemble cast members inhabit their roles so fully that they don't seem like actors at all, comprising a who's who of performers--some of whom went on to stellar careers--including Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips, Charles Martin Smith, Candy Clark, and Paul Le Mat. A true American classic, the film ranks No. 77 on the American Film Institute's list of all-time greatest American movies. --Jeff Shannon
Average review score: 
George Lucas vs Universal....In 1973, when George Lucas made this movie, the preview audience liked it. They loved the performances of Cindy Williams, Ron Howard, Richard Drefuss, and Harrisson Ford kind of spoke to the early 70's generation of youth who distrusted the establishment and lived a life of fast cars. But Universal did not like the movie and cut about 8 minutes from the film to make it more "mainstream". Lucas was furious. But it did not stop the movie from becoming a hit with the public. about ten years later, after George Lucas had become a very successful film maker, he went back to Universal and said "I want to finish my movie and do my director's cut." By this time, the studio was under new management who realized that a large mistake had been made, and they said "Okay." So today the movie as you see it on the DVD is the director's cut and it's one of the most best praised movies ever spoken of. Since then Lucasfilm and ILM have done a lot of business with Universal in making some very good movies that have done well at the box office.
This film has been modified from the original!When he wasn't making digital modifications to his original Star Wars trilogy, director George Lucas apparently found the time to tweak his first blockbuster, American Graffiti, as well. A glorious orange sunset has been dropped behind Mel's Drive-In in the opening shot, where originally was just a solid blue sky.
Has it really been 30 years?I saw this film and Diner (1982) when each was first released and have since followed with interest the subsequent careers of their youthful lead actors, notably Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Charles Martin Smith and Cindy Williams in American Graffiti and Steve Guttenberg, Daniel Stern, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Ellen Barkin, and Paul Reiser in Diner. Separated by nine years, the two films offer informative as well as entertaining perspectives on their respective youth cultures. George Lucas directed this film which focuses on Modesto (California) during the late-summer of 1962. The screenplay and cinematography are seamlessly integrated with 4l popular tunes which comprise the soundtrack. Most of the central characters can be viewed as "tweeners," in awkward transition from one phase of life to another. For example, Curt Henderson (Dreyfuss) will soon depart for college but seems ambivalent about that. The others' plans are even less certain. Meanwhile, together or separately, they spend their evenings cruising around town. (All of the scenes are at night.) I enjoyed the humor, some of it poignant, and could identify with many of the situations which closely resemble those of my own teenage years in Chicago. Keep an eye open for Harrison Ford in a brief appearance as Bob Falfa. Who knew then what awaited him next: a minor part in The Conversations (1974) and then starring roles in Lucas' Star Wars (1977) and Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Of course, I have no idea how appealing American Graffiti will be to those born since (let's say) 1985 but it is still great fun for many of us born before then and will perhaps be of greatest interest to cultural anthropologists who study the teenage culture in the U.S. in the 1960s. For me a sobering thought with which I conclude this brief commentary: if Curt (Dreyfuss), Steve (Ron Howard), Terry (Smith), and Laurie (Cindy Williams) were real people and alive today, they would be about 59 years old. Hmmmmmmm....
If you purchase the DVD version (which I strongly recommend), be sure to check out the documentary "The Making of American Graffiti" which features interviews with director George Lucas, executive producer Francis Coppola, and other cast and crew members as well as never-before-seen screen tests. Excellent stuff.