Chicago Reader review of American Graffiti:
'By now, George Lucas's film about the summer of '62 is almost beyond criticism. A brilliant work of popular art, it redefined nostalgia as a marketable commodity and established a new narrative style, with locale replacing plot, that has since been imitated to the point of ineffectiveness. The various heresies perpetrated in its name (everything from Cooley High to FM) are forgivable, but the truly frightening thing about the film is that it's almost become nostalgia itself. Where were you in '73?'
Dave Kehr
Here (and above) is the trailer: 'Where were you in 62?'
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Chicago Reader review of Two-Lane Blacktop:
This exciting existentialist road movie by Monte Hellman, with a swell script by Rudolph Wurlitzer and Will Corry and my favorite Warren Oates performance, looks even better now than it did in 1971, although it was pretty interesting back then as well. James Taylor and Dennis Wilson are the drivers of a supercharged '55 Chevy, and Oates is the owner of a new GTO (these nameless characters are in fact identified only by the cars they drive); they meet and agree to race from New Mexico to the east coast, though an assortment of side interests periodically distracts them, including various hitchhikers (among them Laurie Bird). (GTO hilariously assumes a new persona every time he picks up a new passenger, rather like the amorphous narrator in Wurlitzer's novel Nog.) The movie starts off as a narrative but gradually grows into something much more abstract—it's unsettling but also beautiful.
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Here (and above) is the trailer.
+ at 4.15pm
THE CAR'S THE STAR with Professor Peter Stevens
To talk about this afternoon's classic double and bring the role of the car in the movies into wider focus, the Rio have invited Peter Stevens, one of the UK's best-known vehicle designers. Until recently visiting Professor for the Royal College of Art Vehicle Design department, his award-winning work includes the creation of road and race cars for McLaren, Lamborghini, BMW, Lotus, MG Rover and Prodrive. He is currently involved in the design and application of hybrid technology, including a high performance electric race car, and innovative, energy efficient public transportation solutions.
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