Editing American Graffiti (section)

==Reception==
''American Graffiti'' received widespread critical acclaim.  [[Roger Ebert]] gave the film a full four stars and praised it for being "not only a great movie, but a brilliant work of historical fiction; no sociological treatise could duplicate the movie's success in remembering exactly how it was to be alive at that cultural instant".<ref>{{cite news | author = Roger Ebert | url = https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/american-graffiti-1973 | title = American Graffiti | work = [[Chicago Sun-Times]] | date = August 11, 1973 | access-date = May 5, 2009 | author-link = Roger Ebert | archive-date = June 2, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130602163730/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/american-graffiti-1973 | url-status = live }}</ref> [[Gene Siskel]] awarded three-and-a-half stars out of four, writing that although the film suffered from an "overkill" of nostalgia, particularly with regards to a soundtrack so overstuffed that it amounted to "one of those golden-oldie TV blurbs," it was still "well-made, does achieve moments of genuine emotion, and does provide a sock (hop) full of memories."<ref>[[Gene Siskel|Siskel, Gene]] (August 24, 1973). "'Graffiti'—How many golden oldies can you handle?" ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 2, p. 1.</ref>

[[Vincent Canby]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote, "''American Graffiti'' is such a funny, accurate movie, so controlled and efficient in its narrative, that it stands to be overpraised to the point where seeing it will be an anticlimax."<ref>[[Vincent Canby|Canby, Vincent]] (September 16, 1973). "'Heavy Traffic' and 'American Graffiti'-Two of the Best". ''[[The New York Times]]''. Section 2, p. 1, 3.</ref> A.D. Murphy from ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' felt ''American Graffiti'' was a vivid "recall of teenage attitudes and morals, told with outstanding empathy and compassion through an exceptionally talented cast of unknown actors".<ref>{{cite news | author = A.D. Murphy | url = https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117796736 | title = American Graffiti | work = [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date = June 20, 1973 | access-date = May 5, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110622105750/http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117796736/| archive-date=June 22, 2011|url-status = live}}</ref> [[Charles Champlin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' called it a "masterfully executed and profoundly affecting movie".<ref>[[Charles Champlin|Champlin, Charles]] (July 29, 1973). "A New Generation Looks-Back in 'Graffiti'". ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Calendar, p. 1.</ref> [[Jay Cocks]] of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine wrote that ''American Graffiti'' "reveals a new and welcome depth of feeling. Few films have shown quite so well the eagerness, the sadness, the ambitions and small defeats of a generation of young Americans."<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Jay Cocks |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,907741,00.html |title=Fabulous '50s |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=August 20, 1973 |access-date=May 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615040138/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C907741%2C00.html |archive-date=June 15, 2009 |url-status = dead|author-link=Jay Cocks }}</ref> [[Pauline Kael]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' was less enthused, writing that the film "fails to be anything more than a warm, nice, draggy comedy, because there's nothing to back up the style. The images aren't as visually striking as they would be if only there were a mind behind them; the movie has no resonance except from the jukebox sound and the eerie, nocturnal jukebox look." She also noted with disdain that the epilogue did not bother to mention the fates of any of the women characters.<ref>[[Pauline Kael|Kael, Pauline]] (October 29, 1973). "The Current Cinema". ''[[The New Yorker]]''. 154–155.</ref> [[Dave Kehr]], writing in the ''[[Chicago Reader]]'', called the film a brilliant work of popular art that redefined nostalgia as a marketable commodity, while establishing a new narrative style.<ref>{{cite news | author = Dave Kehr | author-link = Dave Kehr | url = http://onfilm.chicagoreader.com/movies/capsules/284_AMERICAN_GRAFFITI | title = American Graffiti | work = [[Chicago Reader]] | access-date = May 5, 2009 | archive-date = October 14, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081014082808/http://onfilm.chicagoreader.com/movies/capsules/284_AMERICAN_GRAFFITI | url-status = live }}</ref>

Based on {{RT data|count}} reviews collected by [[Rotten Tomatoes]], {{RT data|score}} of the critics enjoyed the film with an average score of {{RT data|average}}. The consensus reads: "One of the most influential of all teen films, ''American Graffiti'' is a funny, nostalgic, and bittersweet look at a group of recent high school grads' last days of innocence."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american_graffiti|title=American Graffiti|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]]|access-date={{RT data|access date}}|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604175432/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american_graffiti|archive-date=June 4, 2020|url-status=live}}{{RT data|edit}}</ref> [[Metacritic]] calculated a score of 97 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{Citation|title=American Graffiti|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/american-graffiti|access-date=July 6, 2021}}</ref>

===Themes===
''American Graffiti'' depicts multiple characters going through a [[coming of age]], such as the decisions to attend college or reside in a small town.<ref name=DVD/> The 1962 setting represents nearing an end of an era in American society and pop culture. The early 1960s musical backdrop also links between the early years of rock 'n' roll in the mid- to late 1950s (i.e., [[Bill Haley & His Comets]], [[Elvis Presley]], and [[Buddy Holly]]), and mid-1960s, beginning with the January 1964 arrival of [[The Beatles]] and the following [[British Invasion]], which [[Don McLean]]'s "[[American Pie (song)|American Pie]]" and the early 1970s revival of 1950s acts and oldies paralleled during the conception and filming.

The setting is two months before the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]], and before the outbreak of the [[Vietnam War]] and the [[John F. Kennedy assassination]]<ref name="DVD" /> and before the peak years of the [[counterculture of the 1960s|counterculture movement]]. ''American Graffiti'' evokes mankind's relationship with machines, notably the elaborate number of [[hot rod]]s—having been called a "classic-car flick", representative of the motor car's importance to American culture at the time it was made.<ref>{{cite news|last=Badger|first=Emily|title=What the Steamship and the Landline Can Tell Us About the Decline of the Private Car|url=http://www.theatlanticcities.com/technology/2013/03/what-steamship-and-landline-can-tell-us-about-decline-private-car/4930/|access-date=April 4, 2013|newspaper=[[The Atlantic Cities]]|archive-date=April 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403020739/http://www.theatlanticcities.com/technology/2013/03/what-steamship-and-landline-can-tell-us-about-decline-private-car/4930/|url-status=live}}</ref> Another theme is teenagers' obsession with radio, especially with the inclusion of Wolfman Jack and his mysterious and mythological faceless (to most) voice.

===Accolades===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
|-
| rowspan="5"| [[46th Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]<ref name="Oscars1974">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1974 |title=The 46th Academy Awards (1974) Nominees and Winners |access-date=December 31, 2011 |work=oscars.org |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315090403/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1974 |archive-date=March 15, 2015}}</ref>
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]
| [[Francis Ford Coppola]] and [[Gary Kurtz]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| [[George Lucas]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| [[Candy Clark]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Produced or Published]]
| George Lucas, [[Gloria Katz]], and Willard Huyck
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Best Film Editing]]
| [[Verna Fields]] and [[Marcia Lucas]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[28th British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Awards]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1975/film |title=BAFTA Awards: Film in 1975 |website=[[BAFTA]] |year=1975 |access-date=June 3, 2021 |ref={{harvid|BAFTA|1975}}}}</ref>
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role|Best Actress in a Supporting Role]]
| [[Cindy Williams]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[26th Directors Guild of America Awards|Directors Guild of America Awards]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dga.org/Awards/History/1970s/1973.aspx?value=1973 |title=26th DGA Awards |website=[[Directors Guild of America Awards]] |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
| [[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film|Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures]]
| George Lucas
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[31st Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/american-graffiti |title=American Graffiti – Golden Globes |website=[[HFPA]] |access-date=June 3, 2021 |ref={{harvid|HFPA|1974}}}}</ref>
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy|Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy|Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy]]
| [[Richard Dreyfuss]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director|Best Director – Motion Picture]]
| George Lucas
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor|Most Promising Newcomer – Male]]
| [[Paul Le Mat]]
| {{won}}
|-
| Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kcfcc.org/kcfcc-award-winners-1970-79/ |title=KCFCC Award Winners – 1970-79 |website=kcfcc.org |date=December 14, 2013 |access-date=May 15, 2021}}</ref>
| colspan="2"| Best Film
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Locarno Film Festival|Locarno International Film Festival]]
| Bronze Leopard
| rowspan="2"| George Lucas
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Nastro d'Argento]]
| Best Foreign Director
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[National Film Preservation Board]]
| colspan="2"| [[National Film Registry]]
| {{won|Inducted}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[1973 National Society of Film Critics Awards|National Society of Film Critics Awards]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://nationalsocietyoffilmcritics.com/about-2/ |title=Past Awards |website=[[National Society of Film Critics]] |date=December 19, 2009 |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| Cindy Williams
| {{draw|5th Place}}
|-
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| George Lucas, Gloria Katz, and Willard Huyck
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[1973 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|New York Film Critics Circle Awards]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nyfcc.com/awards/?awardyear=1973 |title=1973 New York Film Critics Circle Awards |website=[[New York Film Critics Circle]] |access-date=June 3, 2021}}</ref>
| colspan="2"| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| {{Runner-up}}
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| George Lucas, Gloria Katz, and Willard Huyck
| {{won}}
|-
| Online Film & Television Association Awards<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oftaawards.com/film-hall-of-fame/film-hall-of-fame-productions/ |title=Film Hall of Fame Inductees: Productions |website=Online Film & Television Association |access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref>
| colspan="2"| Hall of Fame – Motion Picture
| {{won|Honored}}
|-
| [[26th Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://awards.wga.org/awards/nominees-winners/1995-1949|title=Awards Winners|work=wga.org|publisher=Writers Guild of America|access-date=November 24, 2023}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=November 2023}}
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Comedy – Written Directly for the Screen]]
| George Lucas, Gloria Katz, and Willard Huyck
| {{nom}}
|}

The film is recognized by [[American Film Institute]] in these lists:
* 1998: [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies]] – #77<ref>{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/movies100.pdf |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=August 6, 2016 |archive-date=April 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412113202/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/movies100.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 2000: [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs]] – #43<ref>{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs100.pdf |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=August 6, 2016 |archive-date=March 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316140859/http://afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs100.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 2007: [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)]] – #62<ref>{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/100Movies.pdf |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=August 6, 2016 |archive-date=June 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606072909/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/100Movies.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>