AMERICAN GRAFFITI: magical movie making

AMERICAN GRAFFITI is mandatory viewing for anyone who was ever 17 or 18 years old and on the brink of making that huge transition from high school to the grown-up world of university.
It doesn't matter if your experience didn't include hot rods, Mel's Diner, and cruising Main Street in a small Californian town in a pristine Thunderbird with the car radio tuned to Wolfman Jack playing the big hits of 1962. This film isn't so much about the place as capturing the moment and the emotion.
AMERICAN GRAFITTI follows Steve (Ron Howard) and Curt (Richard Dreyfuss) through the final night of summer before they leave for college three thousand miles away. Both are acutely aware that their lives will never be the same and they want to make the most of these last twelve hours with their friends.
There's no big party, no group hugs and pledges of undying friendship. It's another night just like hundreds they've experienced before, doing the things they've done a hundred times before, but director George Lucas imbues it all with an unseen magic that makes the night unforgettable.
This is a story that will stay with you long after the final credits have rolled.