The Graduate starring Dustin
Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine
Ross, William Daniels, Murray
Hamilton
Hello Dustin, My Old Friend. [Bluray]
Few films have defined a generation 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
chicness has dimmed a bit, yet its still a joy to see Dustin Hoffmans
bemused Benjamin and Anne Bancrofts deliciously decadent, sard onic
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
(Sorry, couldn't resist the pun on that one;)
This release was quite a positive surprise; considering it was not really
something I expected to benefit greatly in getting the high-def treatment.
However, the picture quality is very respectable throughout, and does not
appear to have been artificially "souped-up" with edge-enhancement or
digital noise reduction. It does have a few (mostly scenery or reduced-
lighting scenes) which do show the age if one looks closely, but still I have
to admit that it looked pretty fresh for being a 40+ year old catalog title.
The audio I did expect to benefit greatly from being remastered into
lossless 5.1, though, and the DTS HD Master Audio track delivered in
spades. Both the dialogue--which is clear and intelligible throughout--but
not least the excellent music by Si mon & Garfunkel makes this worth
buying just for the soundtrack alone.
As for the movie itself, the performance by Dustin Hoffman is superb--I feel
he perfectly captured all the mannerisms; the awkwardness & uneasiness
his character exhibits after being thrust into the situations by the also
brilliant Anne Bancroft (in an iconic performance)--in a way that is so subtle
but still hilariously funny at the same time--that it deserves some major
credit (this was after all his first major role.) I notice another reviewer
mentioned that he came across as "annoying"--which just shows what a
great performance it really is (not that this reviewer thought so, but I can
see how it can be interpreted that way)
The directing is also flawless, and a Mike Nichols movie through and
through. (Only bettered by Catch-22 in my opinion--can't wait to see that
on this format as well!)
All in all, a true gem that can be highly recommended. Probably the best
$8.99 I've ever spent on a film purchase. And it even included a DVD of
the movie as well.
For More 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price:
The Graduate starring Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross, William Daniels,
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