Product Description

A young man graduates with honors, meets and has an affair with one of his parents' friends, and is urged to date her daughter. He falls in love with the daughter.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG
Release Date: 8-JUN-2004
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14440 in DVD
• Brand: HOFFMAN,DUSTIN
• Released on: 1999-12-07
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 106 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
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 it's still a joy to see Dustin Hoffman's bemused Benjamin and Anne Bancroft's deliciously decadent, sardonic 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

Customer Reviews

Film Studies Review
This film is about a guy name Benjamin who just gets home from a college. He is very worried about his future, and during a party that his parents for him, this makes him vulnerable to being seduced by Mrs. Robinson. She is married to Ben's father's business partner, and has known Ben for his whole life. Although, when she lures Ben into her home the first time, she is unsuccessful in seducing him. Eventually he gives into her, and they have affairs for many months. Elaine Robinson, Mrs. Robinson's daughter, comes back from school and Ben's parents set up a date between the two young adults. Ben ends up falling in love with Elaine, which makes Mrs. Robinson furious. Elaine then finds out about the affair and heads back to school. Knowing that Elaine is the one for him, Ben goes to find her at her school and tries to get her to marry him. It does work, but Mr. Robinson steps in and takes Elaine and tries to marry her off to some other guy. In a last hope of desperation, Ben searches for Elaine before she gets married. When he does find her the vows are already said, but Ben interrupts the wedding anyway. Then, Elaine yells out to Ben, he fights his way to her, and whisks her away into a bus. After they calm down, the movie with sincere expressions on their faces. "The Graduate" was a very tasteful film. I found it to be quite funny and that the story could basically fit our time period, not just the 60's. This characteristic is not commonly found in movies that were made more then four decades ago. This could be contributed to that the movie didn't give much of any relation from the events of the plot to the time period it was set. It also had a very complicated story. The acting was quite superb. I did not notice one character that seemed awkward or that I didn't like. Dustin Hoffman and Anne Boncroft (Ben and Mrs. Robinson) acted remarkably well especially when I heard that they were around the same age. in the film, Ben seems to be much younger then Mrs. Robinson. Not just in appearance, but also in the way that they acted. Nervous young Ben as compared to calm uncaring Mrs. Robinson. All the characters in this movie did very well in getting into their roles. The feelings and moods of the film were portrayed quite well. You could tell what Ben was feeling just by the every once and while shots of him either on a plane or on the bottom of the pool. He looked like he was lost in his own mind. The music was also very important to showing the mood of the story, and the soundtrack is quite amazing if I do say so myself. The film kept me interested because of how the characters grow with the story and the plot. If you just looked at the characters at the beginning of the movie and the end you can see that they all have changed a lot. In short, I really enjoy this movie and I will recommend it many people that I know. Plus, if they don't like it they at least have to respect the music in it. I have to say I think this is my favorite film from the 60's.

Classic film
I was a kid when the film was released.
Seeing it years later I think it is a great film.
Course I was too young so I did not see the impact of the film then.

NOT a great DVD package here.
Old interview with Dustin. Why was there not current interviews with the cast & crew still alive?

Package CLAIMED there was a collectible booklet. Where?
Would have liked to have read it.

Rating for film NOT DVD package

Good Film But Poor DVD!
This is as good as black comedies come and Dustin Hoffman shows us just how great an actor he is even all those years ago. I was impressed also with the great direction and especially the way the scenes transition from one to the next; inspired work indeed. In some ways the film is also touching as it reveals that behind the facade of prosperity and family wholesomeness lies some very unhappy and unfulfilled lives.

Hoffman's character feels lost as despite achieving all that society tells him is important i.e. graduating with top honours and a letter in sport from a top university he still feels empty and unfulfilled seeking meaning in life and a way out of a depression that stems from knowing that he doesn't have the answers. Mrs Robinson feels the same way being in a loveless marriage and seeking a way out but has given up not having the strength and courage to go against the mainstream view of what she has to be. The scene at the end when her daughter tells her that it's not too late for her to escape from the straight-jacket of the kind of life her parents want for her is what made the whole film. Hoffman and Ross' characters having the courage to go against the mainstream, to rebel and to live life rather than to be a slave to the mainstream view of what it should be. Very 60s ideology indeed and hence a very apt movie for the times.

This DVD though is poor and you should wait for the inevitable hopefully much better picture and sound quality restored Blu-ray version to come out. Sonically, good surround sound options DTS or Dolby 5.1 at a minimum plus more special features should be included in that release. For now, give this DVD version a miss and save the bucks for the restored version.