1. Forum
  2. Usenet
  3. REC.ARTS.MOVIES.PAST-FILM

  • THE GRADUATE (1967)

    From Bill Anderson@21:1/5 to All on Sat Jan 13 22:22:59 2024
    Another weekend means time to introduce the 18-year-old to another notable movie. Today, THE GRADUATE.

    It’s been many years since I last saw this thing. I’ve always thought of it as one of my favorite movies, a story that struck me personally because I
    was the same age as Benjamin when the movie was released. He reminded me of myself. Unlike Benjamin I was not quite but almost about to graduate from college, but like him I was unsure of what the future might hold. So
    imagine my feeling of empathy when I heard a comment from the kid early in
    the movie: “He reminds me of myself.“

    The movie holds up after all these years. It looks great, it’s still darkly funny, Mrs. Robinson remains a sad, sympathetic villain, and the Simon and Garfunkel songs are just classic and inexplicably perfect for the film. We
    both enjoyed watching it. We did have to put the movie on pause once or
    twice like when Benjamin’s landlord at Berkeley (Norman Fell) accused Ben
    of being an “outside agitator” and I had to explain campus unrest at the time. “Oh yeah, we read about that in history class.“

    But then came the ending. Benjamin is pounding on the glass and the
    Robinsons are cursing soundlessly, and Benjamin fights off the crowd by threatening them with a cross, and all I can hear coming from over there on
    the couch is, “oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!” And then they are sitting on the rear seat of the bus with fading smiles on their faces
    and I’m hearing “This can’t be the end is it? Is this the end?” And I am
    saying, “Watch their faces. What are they thinking?”

    The bottom line is the kid loved it and I had a great time enjoying it all
    over again. Terrific movie.

    --
    Bill Anderson

    I am the Mighty Favog

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From moviePig@21:1/5 to Bill Anderson on Sat Jan 13 18:19:12 2024
    On 1/13/2024 5:22 PM, Bill Anderson wrote:

    Another weekend means time to introduce the 18-year-old to another notable movie. Today, THE GRADUATE.

    It’s been many years since I last saw this thing. I’ve always thought of it
    as one of my favorite movies, a story that struck me personally because I
    was the same age as Benjamin when the movie was released. He reminded me of myself. Unlike Benjamin I was not quite but almost about to graduate from college, but like him I was unsure of what the future might hold. So
    imagine my feeling of empathy when I heard a comment from the kid early in the movie: “He reminds me of myself.“

    The movie holds up after all these years. It looks great, it’s still darkly funny, Mrs. Robinson remains a sad, sympathetic villain, and the Simon and Garfunkel songs are just classic and inexplicably perfect for the film. We both enjoyed watching it. We did have to put the movie on pause once or
    twice like when Benjamin’s landlord at Berkeley (Norman Fell) accused Ben of being an “outside agitator” and I had to explain campus unrest at the time. “Oh yeah, we read about that in history class.“

    But then came the ending. Benjamin is pounding on the glass and the
    Robinsons are cursing soundlessly, and Benjamin fights off the crowd by threatening them with a cross, and all I can hear coming from over there on the couch is, “oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!” And then they
    are sitting on the rear seat of the bus with fading smiles on their faces
    and I’m hearing “This can’t be the end is it? Is this the end?” And I am
    saying, “Watch their faces. What are they thinking?”

    The bottom line is the kid loved it and I had a great time enjoying it all over again. Terrific movie.

    The rare oldie for which I remember where I was when I saw it...

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Bill Anderson@21:1/5 to All on Sun Jan 14 14:26:35 2024
    Another weekend, another notable movie to share with the 18-year-old. This
    time it’s THE GRADUATE.

    I’ve always thought of this movie fondly because of how much I identified with it when I was the age of the protagonist. In 1967 I was close to graduation from college and still uncertain about the direction my life
    would take. In many ways Benjamin reminded me of myself. So imagine my satisfaction when I heard from over on the couch yesterday, “He reminds me
    of myself.”

    It had been a long time since I had seen the movie. Of course I remembered
    all the high points but some of the little things, some of the gags, were
    fun surprises again. We both enjoyed the movie even though I had to hit
    pause once or twice for an explanation. (When Benjamin’s Berkeley landlord, Norman Fell, accused him of being an “outside agitator,” the kid needed a little help processing 1960s campus protests. “Oh yeah, I heard about that
    in history class.“)

    The kid thoroughly enjoyed this movie; no spells of antsiness like
    sometimes happen. And then came the end with Benjamin screaming “Elaine“ “Elaine“ and the Robinsons cursing soundlessly and Benjamin fighting off the crowd with a sword-sized cross and all I could hear coming from over on
    the couch was, “oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.”

    So there were Ben and Elaine sitting on the backseat of the bus with their happy faces slowly becoming, what? Thoughtful? Regretful? Terrified?

    “Is that the end? That can’t be the end! So what did they do? Did he go back to school in Berkeley?”

    “You tell me, kid.“

    --
    Bill Anderson

    I am the Mighty Favog

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Bill Anderson@21:1/5 to All on Sun Jan 14 09:26:03 2024
    Another weekend, another notable movie to share with the 18-year-old.
    This time it’s THE GRADUATE.

    I’ve always thought of this movie fondly because of how much I
    identified with it when I was the age of the protagonist. In 1967 I was
    close to graduation from college and still uncertain about the direction
    my life would take. In many ways Benjamin reminded me of myself. So
    imagine my satisfaction when I heard from over on the couch yesterday,
    “He reminds me of me.”

    It had been a long time since I had seen the movie. Of course I
    remembered all the high points but some of the little things, some of
    the gags, were fun surprises again. We both enjoyed the movie even
    though I had to hit pause once or twice for an explanation. (When
    Benjamin’s Berkeley landlord, Norman Fell, accused him of being an
    “outside agitator,” the kid needed a little help processing 1960s campus protests. “Oh yeah, I heard about that in history class.“)

    The kid thoroughly enjoyed this movie; no spells of antsiness like
    sometimes happen. And then came the end with Benjamin screaming “Elaine“ “Elaine“ and the Robinsons cursing soundlessly and Benjamin fighting off the crowd with a sword-sized cross and all I could hear coming from over
    on the couch was, “oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.”

    So there were Ben and Elaine sitting on the back seat of the bus with
    their happy faces slowly becoming, what? Thoughtful? Regretful? Terrified?

    “Is that the end? That can’t be the end! So what did they do? Did he go back to school in Berkeley?”

    “You tell me, kid.“

    --
    Bill Anderson

    I am the Mighty Favog

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From super70s@21:1/5 to Bill Anderson on Sun Jan 14 22:18:58 2024
    On 2024-01-13 22:22:59 +0000, Bill Anderson said:

    But then came the ending. Benjamin is pounding on the glass and the
    Robinsons are cursing soundlessly, and Benjamin fights off the crowd by threatening them with a cross, and all I can hear coming from over there on the couch is, "oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!"

    In the DVD featurette Hoffman remembers the reverend of the church that
    was rented was very protective of his building and was afraid the glass
    would break when he banged on it with his arms in front of him, so he outstretched his arms so it wouldn't be so dangerous. He thought it was
    funny that every critical analysis he read tried to say it was an
    intentional attempt to turn him a Jesus figure.

    He also said the cross was used to lock the doors because that was the
    only thing around that was handy, there was no deeper meaning than that.

    And then they are sitting on the rear seat of the bus with fading smiles on their faces and I’m hearing "This can’t be the end is it? Is this the end?"
    And I am saying, "Watch their faces. What are they thinking?"

    Nichols left the camera running long after Ben and Elaine sat down
    unbeknownst to them so he could get an extended reaction from them.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)