Monday Music 26 – 2018 | The Ardenna Crossing

Fourth in my series of posts looking at my favourite soundtracks.

I cannot believe that I only thought of this one today. It’s so much a part of my childhood that I almost don’t count it as a film; more of a home movie.

American Graffiti

I watched this so much growing up that it’s almost like I know Steve, Curt and John and Terry personally. I watched this way before I was old enough to get any of its subtleties. To me it was just a cool film with cars and music. I didn’t even make the George Lucas connection until my teens. It’s got a fantastic script and great performances throughout.

The soundtrack was another that used to feature on long car journeys growing up, on twin cassettes! There is so much great music on that album it’s unreal. Lucas almost lost the film because the studio didn’t want to foot the bill for the rights to all of it. It was only when Francis Ford Coppola, fresh from his success with a certain mafia film, stepped in as producer that they relaxed.

This is one of those films that has a weird, skewed rating on IMDb. The rating is 7.5 but it has a Metascore of 97, meaning the critics love it but Joe Public thinks it’s just Ok (I treat anything between 6 and 8 on IMDb as just OK in people’s eyes, whether I agree with them or not – there are some great films, that I thought everyone loved which have scores between 6&7!!) I would have thought American Graffiti deserved to be 8.5+.

Of all the characters I think I identify most with Curt. He survives the grim headshot parade at the end of the film which is nice. I’d like to have been cool like John when I was younger, but I definitely have more in common with Curt.

Anyway. Here are some of my favourites from the soundtrack. Enjoy!