The Graduate: 40th Anniversary Edition

1967/2007

Somehow, my all-time favorite movie just got even better, as Mike Nichols' classic, Oscar-winning, post-collegiate-depression comedy finally gets the DVD treatment it long has deserved.

 

Although costumes and hairstyles may be dated, the themes of "The Graduate" never grow old. The film follows Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) after he's gotten out of college. He's a little worried about his future, so he spends a miserable summer throwing himself into bed with a friend of the family, the older, alcoholic Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft).

 

Things get really complicated when he falls in love with her daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross), and even more so when she learns of their affair. Hello, darkness, my old friend.

 

It's achingly brilliant American cinema, and what a treat it is to hear Nichols discuss his best film on a commentary track with admiring director Steven Soderbergh (who previously assumed similar hosting duties for Nichols' "Catch-22" disc).

 

When you buy this (you are going to, aren't you?), look for the package with a four-track CD of Simon & Garfunkel's seminal music score.

 

"?Rod Lott

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