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The Graduate (1967) watch along (Patreon)

Published:
2025-01-24 19:00:19
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

Spoilers below!!!!!

****************

The Graduate (1967) #17 on the AFI List!

This film was such a fascinating and quirky experience-I absolutely LOVED it. The way it was shot, the creative editing, the quick cut shots, and those dramatic zooms blew me away. It felt so innovative and ahead of its time. I never imagined a story like this could unfold in such an artistic and compelling way, and Mike Nichols' direction brought out both stunning performances and incredible visual storytelling. I adore when films take a simple premise and transform it into something utterly unique and unforgettable.

Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft were phenomenal together, each conveying their own struggles with such depth. As I reflect on it, I realize how trapped both characters were-caught in the consequences of their decisions and unsure of how to escape. This dynamic adds such emotional weight to their choices, especially for Mrs. Robinson, whose carefully constructed, secure life is at risk of unraveling.

One of the standout moments for me was the ending, with Ben thinking marriage would be the solution to everything. The look on their faces as they sit on the bus is so powerful. It says so much, not just about their uncertainty and disillusionment, but about the cultural and personal stakes of the time.

This movie continues to resonate with me as I process its layers today. I keep having those "aha" moments that deepen my appreciation, and I love when a film lingers with you like this, giving new reflections long after it ends.

Can’t wait for you all to give me insights on what I may have missed upon first time watch! I loved it!

Getting close to HALF WAY on the AFI! This is nuts!

Xx

Ames

Files

The Graduate (1967)

Comments

RFK Fan

Hoffman is on record here saying he was so nervous while filming he was knocking over lighting kits and props... Which of course worked out great for the character of Ben who is nervous throughout 90% of the film... I think this was also the first feature film that used popular music as it's soundtrack. The movie's popularity really help propel Simon & Garfunkel to another level.... Also marks Richard Dreyfuss screen debut!!

Toc

Yabba dabba dooooooo! At last!!!! Beautiful write-up! And any excuse to look at this movie again. Incredible direction from Mike Nichols. We'll be seeing him on the channel again pretty soon, actually! This one and "Carnal Knowledge" are my favorites of his, but he has other great/good ones as well. Ok, well, I have been waiting for this one since the day I discovered reaction channels! See you on the other side!!! PS: Tarantino freaks: see if you can see the influence on Jackie Brown! Why The Graduate should influence Jackie Brown, I know not! But there are at least two references to it!

Carl Lyngholm

I've always liked this film, but never loved it. Personally, I think the first half of the film works better for me then the later half. There something about watching Ben get so increasingly unhinged in his obsession with being with Elaine that I find to be frankly, a little creepy. Ben transitions from being someone we could all identify with to being (essentially) a stalker. The vibe just gets a little too weird for my liking. I do love the ambiguous ending however, how Hoffman and Kathleen Ross's subtle facial expressions convey so much conflicting emotion about each other and what the future holds for them.

Lana Gorgeous

Two absolutely great movies of many with Dustin Hoffman is Marathon Man and Kramer vs. Kramer where I believe he won his first Oscar or Academy Award.

Clay F

I liked it. I could only stream on Amazon Prime, which is fine. I had no idea that Mr. Roper of Three's Company was in this. And then I noticed Richard Dreyfuss when you did -- I was like WTF. I like how when the movie played a song -- wasn't a short snippet of the song. I was not expecting that storyline toward the end. Katharine Ross is beautiful -- I liked her in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Ken Schneyer

A lovely reaction, Ames! I think you hit it on the head: that last sequence on the bus is what makes this film a masterpiece. The refusal to give us a clear happy ending, to reward the hero's triumph with anything but more uncertainty, is really what the whole film is about. The counter-culture was just beginning in 1967; in that era, young people went to college and came home unrecognizable to their parents, because their critical thinking and new understanding of history and economics caused them to question everything about their parents' world -- this world the parents had fought and bled for 20 years earlier. I don' t think of Mrs. Robinson as a pure villain: she's a victim of the system, whose values and strictures trapped her in misery. Benjamin is her escape valve, her attempt to grab a little pleasure in the pointless tedium in which she's been imprisoned. But she's inculcated enough of the system that she can't see Benjamin as a possibility for a new future, only a man who will eventually become as corrupt and useless as her husband. She has enough love for her daughter to want to protect her from that. (Yes, it is awful that she lies about what happened, and despicable that she won't take responsibility for her actions, but I think she really thinks she's saving Elaine.) So you strike the blow against the system: you storm the citadel, you rescue the fair maiden, you escape . . . and then what? The system is still there, it still controls everything, you have almost no power against it, it will probably take vengeance on you, and even if it doesn't, how are you supposed to live your new, "purer," more radical life while breathing the air the system gives you?

LaserLamb

In the 1992 film The Player, Robert Altman's satire of Hollywood, Buck Henry (the main screenwriter) pitches a sequel to The Graduate to producer Griffin Mill (played by Tim Robbins) during the film's opening sequence. Henry describes the plot as Ben and Elaine living in a haunted house in Northern California, with an invalid Mrs. Robinson living in the attic. 🤣😅😂

JM63

As everyone who has seen The Graduate knows, the word most associated with this film is “Plastics.” But to me, another word best encapsulates its theme -- “Boredom.” ***** SPOILER WARNINGS FOR THE GRADUATE, THE APARTMENT, AND THE MALTESE FALCON *****

JM63
>>162539360

It’s 1967. Three hundred and fifty years after the Pilgrims landed in Massachusettes, Americans have subdued a continent, overcome the Great Depression, and won two world wars. And in California, humanity has nearly recreated paradise -- a live-in theme park with gorgeous scenery and beautiful weather combined with a laid-back work culture and still affordable living and housing costs. The American Dream has swollen from “a chicken in every pot” to “a swimming pool in every backyard.” So what do the lottery winners of this reconstituted Garden of Eden do to pass the time? Not much, really. They golf (Mr. Robinson). They drink (Mrs. Robinson). They throw pool parties for the neighbors and buy expensive gifts for their children (a portrait for Elaine, a little red sportscar for Ben). It’s a cosmic joke. The zenith of six million years of human evolution and six thousand years of civilization is your son in a scuba suit performing tricks for your friends. Ben knows he can’t tolerate **that** trajectory, but he has no hint of an alternative. At this crisis point, Ben gets the lucky break of a lifetime. Existential angst sucks, but sunny days in the pool with a Coors and evenings of no-string trysts with the ultimate bored housewife isn’t a bad anesthetic.