The 50s - Rockin' in the 50s, Rollin' Too! and the 60s - The decade that changed a nation proudly claim eras of their own. None ever like either one, none to ever be again. Both are definitely iconic America. Today in history marks the opening of not only one of the most nostalgic movies of all time, American Graffiti, but also launched the careers of Richard Dreyfuss and Harrison Ford, as well as the future Oscar-winning film maker Ron Howard. If that was not enough, because of the movie's overwhelming success, it enabled the film's director, George Lucas, to get his next movie made, the mega-hit Star Wars (1977). We all know where that led!
American Graffiti was the first in a series of movies and television
shows that evoked nostalgia for the more carefree days of the 50s and early '60s and the iconic cars that defined the era. Within both decades evolved some of the greatest music of all time. And what is a movie without an awesome soundtrack?
It’s the soundtrack, man, the soundtrack. This, the best film George
Lucas ever “directed,” felt like it was birthed from a kid’s
subconscious before the world became a darker (read: Kennedy
assassination) place. Hearkening back to his nights as a bored teenager
in Modesto, California, Lucas’s homage to his youth takes place over one
summer night in 1962, when all you had to do was slick back your hair,
roll some cigs into your t-shirt sleeve, and drive your bitchin’ car up
and down the main drag. The real star, though, was the faux radio
station’s soundtrack that played non-stop through the entire film. It
made Wolfman Jack a household name, and created a resurgent interest in
everything ‘50s (including, for better or worse, the creation of Happy Days). Source: Pretty Cleaver Films
American Graffiti was just the beginning. In 1975, Lucas founded Industrial Light & Magic, a company that has
provided cutting-edge visual effects to a long list of films, including
the Star Wars series, the Indiana Jones films, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,Jurassic Park, Forrest Gump, Men in Black and the Harry Potter movies. Source: History.com
Let's rock, let's roll, let's go to the movies...watch the classics!
It’s the soundtrack, man, the soundtrack. This, the best film George Lucas ever “directed,” felt like it was birthed from a kid’s subconscious before the world became a darker (read: Kennedy assassination) place. Hearkening back to his nights as a bored teenager in Modesto, California, Lucas’s homage to his youth takes place over one summer night in 1962, when all you had to do was slick back your hair, roll some cigs into your t-shirt sleeve, and drive your bitchin’ car up and down the main drag. The real star, though, was the faux radio station’s soundtrack that played non-stop through the entire film. It made Wolfman Jack a household name, and created a resurgent interest in everything ‘50s (including, for better or worse, the creation of Happy Days).
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