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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Few films have defined a generation as The Graduate did. The alienation, the nonconformity, the intergenerational romance, the blissful Simon and Garfunkel soundtrack--they all served to lob a cultural grenade smack into the middle of 1967 America, ultimately making the film the third most profitable up to that time. Seen from a later perspective, its radical chicness has dimmed a bit, yet it's still a joy to see Dustin Hoffman's bemused Benjamin and Anne Bancroft's deliciously decadent, sardonic Mrs. Robinson. The script by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham is still offbeat and dryly funny, and Mike Nichols, who won an Oscar for his direction, has just the right, light touch. --Anne Hurley
Beyond The Graduate
 Amazon.com's Essential 100 |  Simon and Garfunkel: The Concert in Central Park |  More from Director Mike Nichols |
Stills from The Graduate
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Product Description
Nominated* for seven Academy AwardsÂ(r) and winner for Best Director, this ground breaking and "wildly hilarious" (The Boston Globe) social satire launched the career of two-time OscarÂ(r)-winner** Dustin Hoffman and cemented the reputation of acclaimed director Mike Nichols. Pulsating with the rebellious spirit of the '60s and a haunting score sung by Simon and Garfunkel, The Graduate is truly a "landmark film" (Leonard Maltin). Shy Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) returns home from college with an uncertain future. Then the wife of his father's business partner, the sexy Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), seduces him, and the affair only deepens his confusion. That is, until he meets the girl of his dreams (Katharine Ross). But there's one problem: she's Mrs. Robinson's daughter!
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
145 of 156 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The Graduate is a great film and I grow to love it more with each viewing. Everything is nearly perfect about it. The script, Mike Nichols' direction, the performances of Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft and Katherine Ross, the music of Simon and Garfunkel. It's funny yet dramatic, moving and profound all at the same time. A very enjoyable film all around. Dustin Hoffman has rarely been better than in The Graduate, although he has certainly given many other fine performances (Midnight Cowboy, Rain Man, Kramer Vs. Kramer). However, even more than those pictures, Hoffman will always be remembered for The Graduate and his portrayal of an awkward young man trying to get a hold on his life.
Also worth noting in particular is the direction of Mike Nichols. He truly gives the film a unique visual style to make it an experience rather than just a comedy/drama. Note the opening credits with Hoffman on an airport moving sidewalk set to the tune of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence". Nichols' uses cuts very interestingly in several scenes such as the scene where Benjamin jumps up on his raft in the pool, and lands in bed with Mrs. Robinson. He also uses zooms to great effect throughout the film. Nichols' Best Director Oscar for this film was well-deserved. I think that Hoffman's performance should have won also, as well as the screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry.
One other thing that I must mention is that The Graduate absolutely must been seen in its original aspect ratio! If you're not watching a widescreen version, then you're not watching The Graduate. The film was shot in the Panavision process with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Mike Nichols makes wonderful use of the 2.35:1 frame, so the film will be absolutely botched in pan and scan. If you watch The Graduate in full-screen pan and scan, you're really, really missing out. The visual impact of the film will be irreparably damaged.
The DVD is adequate, but this film deserves much better. The disc is labeled a special edition, but it's really too skimpy to be that. At very least you're getting a widescreen version of the film. However, the transfer is not enhanced for 16:9 televisions. What we need is a fully remastered 16:9 transfer which would be immensely beneficial. The picture quality is fair, but could be so much better. It's really stunning what difference a brand new remastered 16:9 transfer can make for an older film like this. Just look at the new DVD of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. The film also deserves better supplemental materials. A better documentary and a commentary by the filmmakers would be great. A seperate commentary by Dustin Hoffman would be even better. I'm convinced that someday The Graduate will receive a worthy DVD edition, and I will wait until then to purchase it.
60 of 64 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Looks like MGM finally is giving "The Graduate" a grownup DVD.
The Mike Nichols film has suffered through the DVD era so far, represented by a series of double-dip issues that perpetuated the same sorry source materials: grainy picture, grating audio -- the typical first-generation DVD blahs.
Here comes "The Graduate: 40th Anniversary Edition," due Sept. 11. Fox's specs show 2.35:1 widescreen with DTS and Dolby Surround. This appears to be in true widescreen. (The previous DVDs' version apparently was created by throwing letterboxing atop the full-screen version. Seems the guy who was so big on plastics got into the home video business.)
Check out the new extras:
* Commentary by Dustin Hoffman and Katherine Ross
* Commentary by director Nichols and Steven Soderbergh
* Retrospective documentary that interviews "Graduate" write Buck Henry, producer Lawrence Turman, Richard Roeper and some random others.
* "Coming of Age: The Making of The Graduate" featurette
* "Would You Like Me To Seduce You: The Seduction Scene Revisited" featurette
Along with some odds and ends ported over from the older discs.
Disc 2 has a pleasant surprise: Simon & Garfunkle's soundtrack, in CD form.
I'll be revisiting the film for Hoffman's sonic boom of a breakout performance; the "Mrs. Robinson" song and seduction scene; and Ross' beautifully naturalistic presence. Koo-koo-ka-choo.
The Mike Nichols film has suffered through the DVD era so far, represented by a series of double-dip issues that perpetuated the same sorry source materials: grainy picture, grating audio -- the typical first-generation DVD blahs.
Here comes "The Graduate: 40th Anniversary Edition," due Sept. 11. Fox's specs show 2.35:1 widescreen with DTS and Dolby Surround. This appears to be in true widescreen. (The previous DVDs' version apparently was created by throwing letterboxing atop the full-screen version. Seems the guy who was so big on plastics got into the home video business.)
Check out the new extras:
* Commentary by Dustin Hoffman and Katherine Ross
* Commentary by director Nichols and Steven Soderbergh
* Retrospective documentary that interviews "Graduate" write Buck Henry, producer Lawrence Turman, Richard Roeper and some random others.
* "Coming of Age: The Making of The Graduate" featurette
* "Would You Like Me To Seduce You: The Seduction Scene Revisited" featurette
Along with some odds and ends ported over from the older discs.
Disc 2 has a pleasant surprise: Simon & Garfunkle's soundtrack, in CD form.
I'll be revisiting the film for Hoffman's sonic boom of a breakout performance; the "Mrs. Robinson" song and seduction scene; and Ross' beautifully naturalistic presence. Koo-koo-ka-choo.
105 of 120 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
They re-release the Graduate on DVD in 2005 only to distribute the EXACT SAME product only without a very attractive interface and special features, but with the same crappy picture and sound quality!
I give the film "The Graduate" from 1967 as many stars as any ratings measure can grant, but this DVD is a very poor represntation that is disrespectful of the genuine classic piece of cinematic art and cultural revolutionary comedy-piece that this movie was and always will be!
It's a shame. The picture is still grainy and the "widescreen" is still a full-screen image with black bars at top & bottom and NOT a true 16X9 formatted image for widescreen televisions! This true masterpiece of film demands nothing short of the best optimization that current-day technology can (and should) provide! Anything less is completely unacceptable! I'm sorry, but this is a travesy. The Graduate deserves the most pristine image and sound quality that the DVD format can give and viewers should demand nothing short of that high-standard of excellence.
The sound is in a lousy mono and the picture is fuzzy at times, desaturated, grainy, noisy, and compressed too much. The producers of this DVD obviously aren't die-hard fans and did a half-a** job here. Most fans of this film would gladly pay a few extra dollars for a better version, so why go cheap on such a great classic is beyond me?!? That's just a moronic business decision of a cheap corporation that doesn't know art from a hole in the ground, always cutting corners to salvage every penny. For shame!
I wish the Criterion Collection would remaster the Graduate and finally do it right! Amen.
I give the film "The Graduate" from 1967 as many stars as any ratings measure can grant, but this DVD is a very poor represntation that is disrespectful of the genuine classic piece of cinematic art and cultural revolutionary comedy-piece that this movie was and always will be!
It's a shame. The picture is still grainy and the "widescreen" is still a full-screen image with black bars at top & bottom and NOT a true 16X9 formatted image for widescreen televisions! This true masterpiece of film demands nothing short of the best optimization that current-day technology can (and should) provide! Anything less is completely unacceptable! I'm sorry, but this is a travesy. The Graduate deserves the most pristine image and sound quality that the DVD format can give and viewers should demand nothing short of that high-standard of excellence.
The sound is in a lousy mono and the picture is fuzzy at times, desaturated, grainy, noisy, and compressed too much. The producers of this DVD obviously aren't die-hard fans and did a half-a** job here. Most fans of this film would gladly pay a few extra dollars for a better version, so why go cheap on such a great classic is beyond me?!? That's just a moronic business decision of a cheap corporation that doesn't know art from a hole in the ground, always cutting corners to salvage every penny. For shame!
I wish the Criterion Collection would remaster the Graduate and finally do it right! Amen.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Graduate
The Graduate, an all time favorite. Truly, enjoyed this story, and Dustin Hoffman with Anne Bancoft. The music is the BEST.
Published 2 days ago by kgvw
Highly Overrated
The music is great, the sets and clothing are good. All positive characteristics end there.
This movie is centered around a self-indulgent narcissist, and a idiot girl... Read more
This movie is centered around a self-indulgent narcissist, and a idiot girl... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Daniel
water water everywhere
first and foremost, this is a classic morality play.
it speaks volumes about the choices we make and their conseqences. Read more
it speaks volumes about the choices we make and their conseqences. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Scott K. Sokol
"ARE YOU HERE FOR AN AFFAIR, SIR?"
"The Graduate" is magnificent. A perfect blend of comedy and drama. It's not surprising to me that this 1967 movie was nominated for seven Academy Awards. Read more
Published 2 months ago by David Von Pein
Misleading Reviews
WARNING: Amazon's DVD reviews include ALL reviews and not exclusively reviews for the DVD selected. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Diabolo
Buy This Edition!
It's worth buying this edition just for the 8 soundtrack bonus CD! Also this is the cheapest edition offered by Amazon. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Brian James
Blu Ray is a decent upgrade for this classic film...
This review pertains to the Blu Ray release of The Graduate and as such is not concerned with the movie itself but the quality of the transfer, sound and extras. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Marty Gillis
"Great Film!"
Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft and Katharine Ross
star in this 1967 comedy-drama. A college graduate
has an affair with his family friend's wife and falls
for her... Read more
star in this 1967 comedy-drama. A college graduate
has an affair with his family friend's wife and falls
for her... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Gregorypwilson
The American Cougar Version 1.0
This movie added a new (at the time) bit of terminology to the societal lexicon--the "Mrs. Robinson", describing a woman of early middle age who goes after a young guy. Read more
Published 11 months ago by R. L. MILLER
Just one word....plastics...the essence of the film!
First of all, we must remember that this film is NOT simply about a sordid affair between 21 year old Ben and much older Mrs. Robinson. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Timothy D. Pyle
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