Classics at the Tropic: American Graffiti

PG, 110 minutes / Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Ronny Howard, Paul Le Mat

Director George Lucas and stars Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard and Harrison Ford were all Hollywood newcomers in 1973—and Lucas's directorial debut remains one of the great, bittersweet teen films ever made.

On the last day of summer vacation in 1962, friends Curt (Dreyfuss), Steve (Howard), Terry (Charles Martin Smith) and John (Paul Le Mat) cruise the streets of small-town California while a mysterious disc jockey (Wolfman Jack) spins classic rock'n'roll tunes. It's the last night before their grown-up lives begin—and Steve's high-school sweetheart, a hot-to-trot blonde, a bratty adolescent and a disappearing angel in a Thunderbird provide all the excitement they can handle.

"The movie is a comic poem which celebrates the past but also catalogues its textures with telling precision. 'American Graffiti' looks like no other movie." —Hollywood Reporter