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More American Graffiti
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| More American Graffiti | |
|---|---|
 1979 movie poster |
|
| Directed by | Bill L. Norton |
| Produced by | Howard Kazanjian George Lucas |
| Written by | George Lucas Gloria Katz Willard Huyck |
| Starring | Ron Howard Paul Le Mat Cindy Williams Candy Clark Charles Martin Smith Mackenzie Phillips Bo Hopkins |
| Music by | Eugene Finley (uncredited) |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 3, 1979 |
| Running time | 110 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3,000,000 (estimate) |
| Preceded by | American Graffiti |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
More American Graffiti (1979) is the little-seen follow-up film to George Lucas's hit film American Graffiti (1973). Whereas the first film followed a group of friends during the summer evening before they set off for college, this film shows us where the characters from the first film end up a few years later.
Most cast members from the first film returned for this sequel, including Candy Clark, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips, Charles Martin Smith and even Harrison Ford turns up again but in a cameo appearance. The notable exception is Richard Dreyfuss.
The film made considerably less money than the first film, and its critical reception was nowhere near as positive as it had been for American Graffiti. The making-of documentary for The Phantom Menace shows Lucas joking on-set about how little money More American Graffiti made.
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The film is set over four consecutive New Year's Eves, 1964-1967, and scenes from each of these years are intercut with one another as though the events are happening simultaneously. The audience is protected from being confused by the conceit through the use of a distinct cinematic style for each section. For example, the 1966 sequences echo the movie of Woodstock by using split screen techniques and multiple angles of the same event shown simultaneously on screen, whereas the 1965 sequences (set in Vietnam) are shot hand-held, on grainy super 16 mm film and designed to resemble war reporters' footage. Each section takes pains to recreate the sensibilities and style of its era, and there are references to Haight-Ashbury, the campus peace movement, and the accompanying social revolt.
Given the eventualities of the characters revealed at the end of the original and again at the end of the sequel, most of these ideas are explored in More American Graffiti. John (LeMat) was revealed to have been killed by a drunk driver in December 1964. With his sequence set on New Year's Eve 1964, it is believed, while not shown, that his tragic end comes after his racing win on the last day of the year. The anniversary of John's death is mentioned in both the 1965 and 1966 sequences. Terry's classification as "missing in action" is explored in greater detail. Having faked his own death, Terry (Smith) is believed to be dead by his superiors in 1965 and by friends Steve (Howard) and Laurie (Williams) in 1967. The at-times tumultuous relationship of Steve and Laurie escalates, further strained by Steve's responsibilities as an insurance agent, without their mutual love being cast aside. And free-spirited Debby (Clark), now a major player in Dreyfuss' absence, is chronicled in a long, strange trip that ends with country-and-western music stardom. The drag racing scenes for More American Graffiti were filmed at the Fremont Raceway, later Baylands Raceway Park, in Fremont, California.
The movie was written and directed by Bill L. Norton who was picked by Lucas as being suitable due to his California upbringing and experience with comedy. Lucas was involved in the production, acting as the Executive Producer, writing the Screen Story for the film, acting as an editor on both Norton's screenplay and the finished motion picture and even manning a camera for sequences sets in the Vietnam War.
- More American Graffiti at the Internet Movie Database
- More American Graffiti at All Movie Guide
- More American Graffiti official Lucasfilm site
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