1. In class we discussed the film "The Graduate". "The Graduate" was directed by Mike Nichols in 1967. Mike Nichols won all of the major American entertainment awards like an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Ton Award. But he was not the only person who won all of those awards because he was one of twelve. Nichols was also awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2001. Mike Nichols became the biggest director after "The Graduate" when he won the Academy Award for the movie. Nichols made other films like "Catch 22", "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" and many more. Another interesting fact about Mike Nichols is that he is married to Diane Sawyer. Buck Henry and Calder Willingham wrote the movie "The Graduate" and the movie made $40 million at the Box Office. The movie was nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Picture and the movie won Best Director. Dustin Hoffman played "Benjamin" in the movie and was nominated for Best Actor in "The Graduate" which was his first starring role. Hoffman was also nominated for "Midnight Cowboy", "Lenny", "Tootsie" and "Wag the Dog". But Hoffman won Best Actor Oscars for "Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Rain Man". Anne Bancroft played "Mrs. Robinson" in "The Graduate" an won an Oscar for "The Miracle Worker". Bancroft was also a Tony winner. Katharine Ross played "Elaine" in "The Graduate" and had roles in other movies like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "Stepford Wives". The movie "The Graduate" was one of the first true youth rebellion movies. The movie also shows the generation gap and what to do after graduation. In the movie the values of society are examined through satire. "The Graduate" had alot of camera shots and cutting and they are all obvious to the viewer. In the movie there was overlapping sound and dialogue which means that it starts in one scene and ends in another. There was also overlapping action in the movie. The long lens in the movie compresses space like in the running scene at the end of the movie. The matching cuts in the movie showed dramatic changes in time like when Benjamin went to Berkley to find Elaine. The movie also had framing of objects like in the scene where Mrs. Robinson was putting her stockings on. And in the scene where Mrs. Robinson and Benjamin were in Elaine's room there was rapid cutting and editing. There was also a rolling focus to change perception in the movie. The tight framing in the movie was symbolic of Benjamin being uptight. A good example of the uptight Benjamin is the constrained vocal responses and how he is nervous and alienated. Some other examples are that he is a track star who does not smoke and that people crowd around him and tell him what to do. After Benjamin has sex with Mrs. Robinson the camera loosens, his clothes change, he smokes and drinks, he is more vocal and confident and Benjamin is forceful and rebellious. In the movie the viewer hears music from the Simon & Garfunkel sound track. There are also sequences with the sound track and the music basically leads the story.
2)http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19671226/REVIEWS/712260301/1023
This article was written by Roger Ebert in 1967. Roger Ebert states that the movie is not funny because of the punch lines in it but because it has a point of view. "That is to say, it is against something" stated Ebert in the article. In the article Ebert makes it clear that the movie has over the top material but the material works because "it is handled in a straightforward manner". Ebert also talks about Hoffman's character and that his character is so awkward that the viewers would feel like they would act that way in his situation. Ebert also talks about Mike Nichols and how he directed the movie. He states that Nichols "never pauses to make sure we're getting the point. He never explains for the slow-witted. He never apologizes. His only flaw, I believe, is the introduction of limp, wordy Simon and Garfunkel songs and arty camera work to suggest the passage of time between major scenes".
3) Relate the article to the screening
After reading the article I started to see what Roger Ebert was talking about. Ebert stated that Nichols "never pauses to make sure we're getting the point". For instance, in the scene where Benjamin and Mrs. Robinson were in Elaine's room the rapid editing and cutting were so fast that you could not really understand what was going on. Another thing that I agree with is that Ebert said that the Simon and Garfunkel songs were Nichols' only flaw. The songs were very loud and were distracting even though the songs and camera work were used to suggest passing of time in scenes.
4)Overall, "The Graduate" was a very good movie but there were some things that the movie could do without. The Simon and Garfunkel music was very loud and distracting and took away from the major scenes. The songs were not bad but maybe if Nichols would have made the music lower the scenes would look better. Even with the loud music I still understood that Nichols was trying to suggest the passage of time between scenes. Another thing that I was not impressed with was the rapid editing and cutting in the scene where Mrs. Robinson and Benjamin were in Elaine's room. One of the things that I was impressed with is how the long lens compressed space in the movie. I was also impressed with the tight framing that symbolized Benjamin being uptight. The movie really related to college students and college graduates like when Benjamin was confused about what he wanted to do with his life. That is something that many college students and graduates go through everyday.
