Other Titles • The Graduate • Die Reifeprüfung (1968) • Il Laureato (1967)
Synopses for The Graduate (1967)
1.
Nominated for seven Academy Awards in 1967 and winner for Best Director, this "delightful, satirical comedy-drama" (Variety) is "wildly hilarious" (Boston Globe). Written by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry, the film launched the career of two-time Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man) and cemented the stellar reputation of director Mike Nichols (The Birdcage). Pulsating with the rebellious spirit of a generation and haunting songs composed by Paul Simon and Dave Grusin and performed by Simon and Garfunkel, The Graduate is truly a "landmark film" (Leonard Maltin). Shy Ben Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) is home from college with a degree in hand and an uncertain future in mind. Add to his confusion the aggressive advances by the wife of his father's business partner, the sexy Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft, Great Expectations), and poor Ben is completely lost. That is until, he meets the girl of his dreams Elaine (Katharine Ross). One problem: Elaine is Mrs. Robinson's daughter! And she'll stop at nothing to ensure that these two lovers remain separated forever!
(35 votes)
2.
Dustin Hoffman stars as college student Benjamin Braddock, who spends his first summer out of school seduced by the wife of his father's best friend. He's also falling in love with the woman's daughter, which doesn't make his summer any easier!
"The Graduate" received the 1967 Oscar for Best Direction and its brilliant Grammy Awards winning score features unforgettable music by Simon and Garfunkel.
(31 votes)
3.
Nominated for seven Oscars® and winner for Best Director, this groundbreaking and "wildly hilarious" (The Boston Globe) social satire launched the career of two-time Oscar® winner Dustin Hoffman and cemented the reputation of acclaimed director Mike Nichols (Closer). Pulsating with the rebellious spirit of the '60s and a haunting score sung by Simon and Garfunkle, The Graduate is truly a "landmark film" (Leonard Maltin). Shy Benjamin Braddock (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 (Katherine Ross). But there's one problem: She's Mrs. Robinson's daughter!
(31 votes)
4.
Director Mike Nichols's THE GRADUATE is the satirical coming-of-age comedy that became an emotional touchstone for an entire generation. In the mid-1960s, Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman), a confused college graduate, is pulled in myriad directions by family, friends, and associates just days after receiving his degree. Seduced by Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), an older friend of the family, Ben carries on an affair with the married woman even as he falls for her daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross). However, Ben and Elaine's attempts at romance are threatened by the spiteful rage of Mrs. Robinson, who proceeds to hastily arrange Elaine's marriage to someone else, leading up to one of the most memorable endings in cinema history.
With its striking photography and clever editing, THE GRADUATE established Nichols as a major director. The film also made a star out of young Hoffman, who gives an understated portrayal of the perplexed Ben--the actor's first role in a Hollywood film, which he almost didn't get because he wasn't Waspy enough. Outstanding performances by the rest of the cast are highlighted by Bancroft's sexy, embittered turn as Mrs. Robinson and Ross's endearing presence as the gorgeous yet innocent Elaine. The film's impact on popular culture is immeasurable: "Plastics" will live on eternally as depressing but solid career advice, and older women will never eye younger men without fear of becoming a "Mrs. Robinson." Buck Henry (who appears briefly in the film) cowrote the influential screenplay, based on the novel by Charles Webb, and the soundtrack by Simon and Garfunkel remains a movie classic.
(29 votes)
5.
Few films have defined a generation as much 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 chic 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, Amazon.com
(24 votes)
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