directed
by Mike Nichols
U.S. 1967
A
social force of cinema that influenced the generation gap, THE GRADUATE
was a tour de force for newcomer Hoffman and made him an overnight sensation.
Hoffman plays Ben Braddock, a pensive and somewhat shy youth of wealthy Southern
California suburbia. Upon completion of his college studies, he's pressured by
family and friends to "get going" with his life, encouraged at every turn to
find a job, marry, and become a clone of his parents. Bancroft seduces Hoffman
who cannot believe the older, married woman--she and her husband Hamilton are
his parents' best friends--is pursuing him. Hoffman falls in love with her
daughter Ross, and is put in the exhausting position of maintaining
relationships with mother and daughter. He finally decides that Ross will be his
wife, although Bancroft is wholly opposed to the union.
This comedy is wonderfully crafted by director Nichols who presents a half-dozen
hilarious scenes, including Hoffman escaping badgering advice by submerging
himself in the family pool in scuba gear and Bancroft's sudden shift from
respectable matron to predatory tease, hiking her skirts lasciviously and
purring promises of smoldering sex which almost put Hoffman into a comatose
state. Nichols was to declare: "I think Benjamin and Elaine will end up exactly
like their parents; that's what I was trying to say in the last scene." Yet the
well-to-do younger audiences of the day interpreted this sequence of blatant
heroics as a wonderful act of defiance by two young people whose destinies were
being manipulated by their parents.
Posters
 |
 |
 |
Theatrical Release Date: December 21, 1967
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Comparison:
MGM (2-disc - 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. MGM - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Momentum (SE) - Region 2 - PAL
Big thanks to Enrique B Chamorro for the original MGM and Momentum screen captures.
(MGM (40th Anniversary Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT vs. MGM - R1 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. Momentum - R2 - PAL - RIGHT)
| DVD Box Covers |
|
|
|
| Distribution |
MGM (40th Anniversary Collector's Edition) Region 1 - NTSC |
MGM Region 1 - NTSC |
Momentum
Region 2 - PAL |
| Runtime | 1:45:48 | 1:45:28 | 1:41:18 (4% PAL speedup) |
| Video |
2.35:1
Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.69 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s |
2.35 Original Aspect Ratio |
2.35:1
Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced |
|
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes |
|||
| Bitrate:
MGM (40th Anniversary)
|
|
||
| Bitrate:
MGM |
|
||
| Bitrate:
Momentum |
|
||
| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital DTS), English Mono DUB: French Mono | English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround) |
English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), DUBS: German Mono, Italian Mono, Spanish Mono |
| Subtitles | English, Spanish, French and none | English, French and none | English, German, Italian, Spanish, None |
| Features |
Release Information:
Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: • Commentary by director Mike Nichols and Steven Soderbergh• Featurette: Students of the Graduate (25:56) • Featurette: The Seduction (8:49) • Featurette: 'One on One With Dustin Hoffman' ( 22:39)• Featurette: The Graduate at 25 (22:35) • Original Theatrical trailer (3:45) • Oscar trailer - many films (1:15) Disc 2 - CD • 4 Songs from the soundtrack • The Sound of Silence • Mrs. Robinson • Scarborough Fair/ Canticle • April Come She Will . DVD Release Date: September 11th, 200 7Keep Case in cardboard sleeve Chapters 24 |
Release Information: Studio: Mgm/Ua Studios
Aspect Ratio: DVD
Release Date: December 7, 1999
Chapters 19
|
Release Information:
Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: •'One on One With Dustin Hoffman' (4:38) •The Graduate at 25 (4:3 - 22:00) •Photo Gallery (14)
•Trailer DVD
Release Date: March 26th, 2001 Chapters 24 |
| Comments: |
ADDITION:
40th Anniversary - September 07': First off - apologies - although the
same method was utilized for screen captures we shrunk the anamorphic
Momentum caps down to 720 (this is from a very early
comparison). We don't do that anymore - we actually shrink to only 800
pixels wide. I don't think the points we make will be missed by this
deviation from our standard format.
The new 40th Anniversary DVD is finally coming to an anamorphic transfer for region 1 (what a delay!) and it looks quite strong. Anything would have been an improvement over the widescreen letterboxed and heavy green color of the old MGM from 1999. The new NTSC version appears to have the most faithful image. NOTE: Studio Canal logos are all over this DVD and we suspect this is from the same transfer possibly used on the French HD DVD (forced French subs) that was scheduled - where did it go? Anyway - wherever it came from it looks strong - FINALLY! The Momentum always looked boosted to me with awkward manipulated colors (overly bright and also red skin tones). Bottom line on the image is that the new version is quite acceptable and it shows a lot more in the frame (both edges). Audio gives us the original mono - a 5.1 bump and another untested DTS track (no reason for this MGM!). There is also a French mono DUB. Audio is supported by optional French, English or Spanish subtitles.
Where the Anniversary editions shines is in the supplements -
there are two optional audio commentaries - the first with Dustin
Hoffman and Katherine Ross (pretty laid-back - lots of gaps - Dustin
does most of the talking) and the second with director Mike Nichols and
Steven Soderbergh (this is quite good - Nichols does most of the talking
responding at length to occasional queries from Soderbergh). On top of
that there are 4 featurettes: Students of the Graduate runs
almost 30 minutes and has input from many journalists, film professors
and critics mostly discussing Nichols interpretation and groundbreaking
use of music in the film. The Seduction (8:49) has many of the
same participants but they look quite deeply at the multi-cut seduction
sequences; 'One on One With Dustin Hoffman' (also on the old MGM)
is the full 22:39 interview with Hoffman and although dated is rewarding
to listen to and finally The Graduate at 25 is the same 22 minute
featurette found on the Momentum PAL disc. Also included are the
original Theatrical trailer (3:45) There is a second disc - a CD - with 4 songs from the film; The
Sound of Silence, Mrs. Robinson, Scarborough Fair/
Canticle and April Come She Will. Bottom line is that this is an amazing deal at less than $17. One
we strongly recommend for a timeless classic comedy film that delivers
on many levels. |
DVD Menus
MGM (40th Anniversary Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - Disc 1 (Disc 2 is a CD)
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
(MGM
- R1 - NTSC - Left vs. Momentum - R2 - PAL - Right)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Screen Captures
Subtitle Sample - MGM - 40th Anniversary
|
|
(
MGM - 40th Anniversary - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. MGM - R1 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. Momentum - R2 - PAL - BOTTOM)|
|
|
|
|
|
(MGM - 40th Anniversary - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. MGM - R1 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. Momentum - R2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
 |
|
|
|
|
(MGM - 40th Anniversary - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. MGM - R1 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. Momentum - R2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
NOTE: cue blip on the old region 1!
 |
|
|
|
|
(MGM
- 40th Anniversary - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. MGM
- R1 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. Momentum - R2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
 |
|
|
|
|
(MGM - 40th Anniversary - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. MGM - R1 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. Momentum - R2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
 |
|
|
|
|
Report Card:
|
Image: |
Anniversary |
|
Sound: |
- |
|
Extras: |
Anniversary |
|
Menu: |
Anniversary |
|
DVD Box Covers |
|
|
|
| Distribution |
MGM (40th Anniversary Collector's Edition) Region 1 - NTSC |
MGM Region 1 - NTSC |
Momentum
Region 2 - PAL |
DONATIONS Keep DVDBeaver alive and advertisement free:
Mail cheques, money orders, cash to: or CLICK PayPal logo to donate!
|
Gary Tooze 1775 Rowntree Court Mississauga, Ontario, L4W 4V3 CANADA |
|
Many Thanks...
