The Graduate

Name: The Graduate
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance
Released: December 21, 1967
Duration: 105 min
Rating: 83
Cast: Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman

1967

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 19 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 167 Ratings

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7.3

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7.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 167 Ratings

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THE GRADUATE (1967)

Movie Details & Credits

Embassy Pictures Corporation | Release Date: December 21, 1967

Starring: Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman

Summary: Shy Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) returns home from college with an uncertain future. Then the wife of his father's business partner, the sexy Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), seduces him, and the affair only deepens his confusion. That is, until he meets the girl of his dreams (Katharine Ross). But there's one problem: she's Mrs.Shy Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) returns home from college with an uncertain future. Then the wife of his father's business partner, the sexy Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), seduces him, and the affair only deepens his confusion. That is, until he meets the girl of his dreams (Katharine Ross). But there's one problem: she's Mrs. Robinson's daughter. [MGM]… Expand

Director: Mike Nichols

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy, Romance

Rating: PG

Runtime: 105 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Empire - Ian Nathan

Cruel comedy with a delicious light touch. Read full review

100

The Telegraph - Tom Cox

It takes about three minutes – roughly the length of time it takes Hoffman to get down the moving walkway to Simon and Garfunkel's Sound of Silence and from the airport to the suffocating atmosphere of his graduation party, where he gets gradually trapped into a relationship with one of his parents' friends – to realise that The Graduate is actually a very nasty film, and a very, very funny one. Read full review

100

The Guardian - Peter Bradshaw

The excellence of Katherine Ross as Mrs Robinson’s daughter, Elaine, is often overlooked. A hugely pleasurable film. Read full review

The New York Times - Bosley Crowther

Funny, outrageous, and touching, The Graduate is a sophisticated film that puts Mr. Nichols and his associates on a level with any of the best satirists working abroad today. Read full review

Austin Chronicle - Alison Macor

Hoffman and Bancroft are phenomenally cast in a script co-written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham that is by turns sly, touching, and amazingly fresh 30 years later. [Review of re-release] Read full review

Chicago Reader - Jonathan Rosenbaum

The light ribbing of conspicuous consumption in southern California and the Simon and Garfunkel songs on the sound track both play considerable roles in giving this depthless comedy some bounce. [Review of re-release] Read full review

Time - Staff (Not Credited)

The screenplay, which begins as genuine comedy, soon degenerates into spurious melodrama. Read full review

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User Reviews

Potarto72

Dec 21, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The Graduate is a beloved film, but in my opinion, severely under appreciated. People refer to it as a great comedy, but I beg to differ. Why I find the Graduate to be such a perfect film is because of the dramatic element behind it.
The two protagonists, Benjamin and Elaine, spend the entire film slowly building the willpower to rebel against control their control freak parents, and after an exhilarating finale, finally get away, with all responsibility thrown out the window. But it's the film's lingering ending, where the smiles fade, and the music cues up, that set it apart. It isn't just a film about rebellion, it is THE youth movie. It contains all the pain and pleasure of being a teenager, and goes far deeper than the conflict on the surface, providing an intense moral struggle that even the characters are rarely aware of. Everything in this film comes together in just the right way to make the message immaculate, and I think it's the type of film everyone should watch to gain a greater understanding of teenage life, regardless of your age.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

azco98

Jun 22, 2014

Smart, funny, thought-provoking, immaculately edited, with top-notch acting and pitch perfect directing and also impressive use of camera work, Mike Nichols delivered in 1967 a true classic, a film that we could say it's ahead of its time. Not to mention the soundtrack: melancholic andSmart, funny, thought-provoking, immaculately edited, with top-notch acting and pitch perfect directing and also impressive use of camera work, Mike Nichols delivered in 1967 a true classic, a film that we could say it's ahead of its time. Not to mention the soundtrack: melancholic and simply outstanding. A must watch.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

AlyssaC.

Jun 15, 2008

Classic.

3 of 3 users found this helpful

Compi24

Nov 28, 2012

"The Graduate" is a 1967 film directed by Mike Nichols and starring Dustin Hoffman. The film tells a story of a young graduate student (who knew) who finds himself tangled up in an affair with his father's business partner's wife. Now, first off, I've heard nothing but great things about"The Graduate" is a 1967 film directed by Mike Nichols and starring Dustin Hoffman. The film tells a story of a young graduate student (who knew) who finds himself tangled up in an affair with his father's business partner's wife. Now, first off, I've heard nothing but great things about this movie. I heard that Hoffman was great in it, it had a great story, soundtrack, dialogue, etc. I can say that after everything I heard, this film definitely lived up to it's hype. The film is almost half a century old and yet I found myself (a generation Z college student) relating to it in a myriad of incredible ways. The fact that this film stands strong after an immense amount of time is, in my honest opinion, the most impressive aspect of the film. Dustin Hoffman is arguably the greatest actor in the business and he's in this movie - it's common knowledge that he's going to be good in it. All of the characters in this film were well written and well portrayed as well. Even the side characters were well-written. The script, in general, seems to be the epitome of good writing. The soundtrack is written by two of my most favorite artists - Simon And Garfunkel. Needless to say, it's timeless and unforgettable. The ending of the film was really well done, and the direction altogether seemed to be executed with the utmost precision. There were even a few editing techniques that impressed me in this film. Overall, "The Graduate" is a film that truly impressed me. Every person that was at once a student (pretty much everybody) should see and identify with this film. Really good stuff here.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

ahmedaiman9999

Aug 8, 2018

IT'S THE FUNNY, SATIRICAL, WHIMSICAL, QUIRKY YET SO WARM AND TOUCHING. A COMBINATION THAT INSPIRED SOME OF THE GREATEST FILMMAKERS SUCH AS WOODY ALLEN AND WES ANDERSON, AND ABOVE ALL THAT IT'S A HUMAN STUDY THAT WILL NEVER AGE.

(8.5/10)

NOW, IT'S ONE OF MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE FILMS

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Jack_Sunshine

Sep 30, 2013

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. In following up those cinematic classics that I’m somehow still catching up on, I recently saw The Graduate for the first time. I inevitably went into it with some idea of what was going to happen, but little more than an expectation for Dustin Hoffman to pursue a relationship with an older woman, to the sound of Simon & Garfunkel.

Hoffman is Benjamin Braddock, the disaffected young university graduate who returns from his studies to a summer without direction. He is swiftly seduced by Mrs. Robinson, the wife of his father’s business partner, and embarks on a lengthy affair, but his affection soon turns to her daughter, Elaine. Yet this is merely the bare bones of the plot: it’s more complex than a simple romantic comedy, and the ending, notably, is ambiguous.

It’s impossible to complain about spoilers for a film that came out over forty years ago; it has seeped into popular culture, and been subjected to merciless parody. The iconic ending sequence is especially strange to watch for someone who grew up repeatedly watching Wayne’s World 2 (1993), where it is replicated shot for shot.

The critical eye has been on the film for so long, and it has passed through so many generations that its contemporary relevance can be questioned. Though a product of the late 1960s, the counterculture elements we associate with the period, such as free love, psychedelia, or hard rock. Benjamin’s sexual experiences are not part of a revolution, and he remains trapped firmly within the rigid framework of upper middle class suburbia.

While there’s a certain fascination to looking back on a snapshot of the past, many of us no longer have the same relationship with our parents and the older generation. Do we look back at a history of steady liberalisation, but no massive social upheaval, and see further subversion as unnecessary? Do our parents, the children of the past, simply provide us with a system we no longer need to escape? Maybe modern youth have it worse than Benjamin; our coming of age is not so straightforward. We are no longer afforded the opportunity of clear rebellion, and are left to wallow in the established structure.

What does hold true is the portrayal of a graduate with no clear future, returning to inhabit the fading skeleton of a life that’s somehow no longer his own, and the dull resignation that there’s little incentive to do anything about it. As a graduate myself (Though my current social circle suffers an absence of attractive lonely women) I can largely sympathise with Benjamin’s predicament.

It seems coming of age requires something extreme, ditching the world and obligations, the way that Benjamin does at the end of The Graduate. The whole film is an exploration of these questions, symbolically relayed through the central relationships. The choices the characters make in their attachments are reflective of the choices that can be made in all facets of life.

This is emphasised stylistically through a number of visually captivating shots and transitions that underline the sense of emptiness and alienation. Water (swimming pools, aquariums, and rain) appears frequently as a tool of separation. The soundtrack contains little youthful euphoria, but is melancholic, featuring repeated motifs that again, accentuate loneliness.

These are played during moments that could otherwise be seen as positive steps in Benjamin’s life, at the height of his relationship with Mrs. Robinson, and during his final elopement, elevating the drama above mere comedy.

His obsession with Elaine is far from romantic destiny, and exists primarily as an escape from his relationship with her mother, and a chance to give his life some purpose outside an unhealthy liaison that makes him feel increasingly trapped. Compared with Mrs. Robinson, Elaine’s character is chronically underdeveloped, though she responds positively to Benjamin’s pseudo-philosophical ramblings.

While she is disgusted to learn of Benjamin’s affair with her mother, we learn little else of her thoughts on home, and where she fits in do the loveless dynamic in the Robinson household. We do not know if she as desperate to break free as Benjamin is. She ultimately follows him on impulse, having initially been happy to marry another at her parents’ request.

The separation from the character of Elaine forces us to experience the relationship purely from the perspective of Benjamin, who has put her on a pedestal and made her the object of his salvation.

Despite the vein of sympathy I have as a fellow graduate, Benjamin is at times an insufferable and frustrating character to watch, and ultimately, Mrs. Robinson comes off as more sympathetic. She is the one who is truly lost and trapped. Benjamin still has his whole life ahead of him, once he finally decides what he’s going to do with it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Mgfoster330

Jul 1, 2012

Honestly, I spent my whole life hearing about this film and how important it was as an industry milestone movie, but I never saw it. I finally watched it and honestly I was blown away. The cinematography and editing alone is flawless and innovative even by modern standards. The story lineHonestly, I spent my whole life hearing about this film and how important it was as an industry milestone movie, but I never saw it. I finally watched it and honestly I was blown away. The cinematography and editing alone is flawless and innovative even by modern standards. The story line is as captivating now as it was then and the acting is so natural and fluid. If you are a Wes Anderson fan you must see this because he nods this direction countless times in his movies. Believe the hype on this one, it is the real deal.… Expand

3 of 12 users found this helpful39

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