1993 was a simpler time; we were ten years removed from Return to the Jedi and still had more than a half-of-a-decade left until George Lucas unleashed the start of his new Star Wars trilogy, The Phantom Menace. It also marked the year PBS delivered an American Masters special on the director titled Heroes, Myths & Magic. While the hour-long piece mostly explores his space saga, we’re here to highlight American Graffiti, which celebrates it’s 40th anniversary today, having premiered on August 1st, 1973.
Around the 23-minute mark, it finally dives into his sophomore effort, the coming of age film that takes place in a single night in Modesto, California. Featuring interviews with Ron Howard and Harrison Ford, Lucas opens up about what the film personally meant to him and what he was evoking with the ending, as well as shooting with a documentary style. John Singleton even pops in to discuss the impact the film had on him, especially when it came to his own Boyz n the Hood. Check out the one-hour special below, as well a clip from AFI featuring Lucas discussing the film, and pick it up Blu-ray if you haven’t yet.
Is American Graffiti among your favorite films from Lucas?