tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021181.post114193713472508269..comments2024-03-27T23:06:08.301-04:00Comments on stAllio!'s way: the graduatestAllio!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15712626121566349866noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021181.post-1142027005217782652006-03-10T16:43:00.000-05:002006-03-10T16:43:00.000-05:00i guess once he realized that in the pool was real...i guess once he realized that in the pool was really the only place where he could get a moment's rest from his family and their friends... but still, there were several different ways that could have been handled, and was probably written around whatever equipment they had lying around during filming. i always saw the underwater scene as gimmicky at best (more of a showoff of new camera technology and filming techniques than anything else), but it does serve as a convenient story transition - i'm pretty sure that syd field would agree that plot point #2 begins as soon as you hear ben's voice calling mrs. robinson to initiate their sordid little ewww...arratikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06561726918594125792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021181.post-1141956893805527372006-03-09T21:14:00.000-05:002006-03-09T21:14:00.000-05:00i saw the underwater scene (and his being forced t...i saw the underwater scene (and his being forced to use the expensive present that he saw no point in) as symbolic of how he had no control over his life at this moment in time (after graduating). it's kind of similar to how he had to go to college and be a big success because everyone was expecting it (as at his birthday party, where all the guests and his parents are expecting a big performance with the diving suit), but there's no substance and no real point to any of it. i could be wrong, but that was how it struck me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021181.post-1141943032408948892006-03-09T17:23:00.000-05:002006-03-09T17:23:00.000-05:00did you know that anne bancroft was only something...<I>did you know that anne bancroft was only something like five years older than dustin hoffman?</I><BR/><BR/>that just makes the whole thing that much creepier.<BR/><BR/>i'm glad you mentioned the underwater scene. that was my first wtf moment: i have no idea why his parents wanted him to do that, why he did it, or what it was supposed to symolize.<BR/><BR/>really, i quite enjoyed the first reel. but it was like they started to make a serious film about infidelity and after the first reel tossed out the script and replaced it with the script from <I>the wedding planner</I> (or the j.lo movie of your choice).stAllio!https://www.blogger.com/profile/15712626121566349866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021181.post-1141942440828152192006-03-09T17:14:00.000-05:002006-03-09T17:14:00.000-05:00oh yeah... did you know that anne bancroft was onl...oh yeah... did you know that anne bancroft was only something like five years older than dustin hoffman?arratikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06561726918594125792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021181.post-1141941031581540102006-03-09T16:50:00.000-05:002006-03-09T16:50:00.000-05:00funny thing is, in the book (which is a rare insta...funny thing is, in the book (which is a rare instance of the adaptation improving on the source material - chalk that up to buck henry being a better writer than charles webb) the ben braddock character was closer to the "carl the fiance" character. ben was supposed to be 6'4" with blonde hair and blue eyes - the archetypical california surfer aryan. they just couldn't find a good actor with that look, so they went with dustin hoffman.<BR/><BR/>there are quite a few things about the story that don't really hold up thirty years later, but <EM>the graduate</EM> was pretty groundbreaking in several ways: it helped put avco embassy pictures (arguably the one of the first successful independent studios outside of the "hollywood" system) on the map... it was one of the first "serious films" that used a pop song score instead of an orchestrated score (although, if you were like me, you really wanted to kill something by the eighth or ninth time you heard the "scarborough fair" cue)... not to mention the iconic scenes that are still being paid homage to (or ripped off) today--ben's circular jumpcut reaction to a naked mrs. robinson, the high-speed drive through that tunnel on hwy. 101 (a drive i've taken on numerous occasions, but nowhere near as fast and in a crappier car), the opening airport walkway sequence, the long underwater shot in the frogman outfit... and that ending "okay, we're on the bus - now what?" thing never fails to get me, even though it's one of the cheesiest scenes in the movie.<BR/><BR/>the graduate is a classic, one that i even genuinely enjoy despite it's faults (and you nailed most of the problems i had with it), but "iconic" and "influential" don't necessarily equate "good". or "relevant".arratikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06561726918594125792noreply@blogger.com