Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

The Graduate Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 25, 2010

Mike Nichols' "The Graduate" (1967) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive audio commentary with Prof. Dr. Thomas Koebner; exclusive discussion with film writer and director Michael Muszlak; conversation with author Charles Webb; scene analysis; conversation with Prof. Helga de la Motte; the original theatrical trailer for the film; and more. The disc also arrives with a 20-page illustrated booklet. In English, with optional English, French, Spanish, German, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Japanese, Norwegian, and Swedish subtitles for the main feature. Region A/B "locked".

Dustin Hoffman as Ben Braddock

The Graduate is a film about two dreamers. One is a young man, Ben Braddock (Dustin Hoffman, All the President's Men), who has just graduated from high-school and suddenly realized that he is unhappy. The other is an aging housewife and ex-alcoholic, Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft, The Turning Point), who has wasted the best years of her life pretending that she is happy.

Ben and Mrs. Robinson have known each other for years. Ben’s father (William Daniels, The Parallax View) and Mrs. Robinson’s husband (Murray Hamilton, The Boston Strangler) are good friends and successful business partners. They often golf and have backyard barbecue parties together. They also have large houses in the same wealthy suburban area of Los Angeles.

During his graduation party, Ben is seduced by Mrs. Robinson and the two begin a strange affair -- the sex isn’t particularly good but the conversations between the two are. Ben also falls in love with Mrs. Robinson’s daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), who is getting ready to go to Berkeley. Naturally, this creates all sorts of ripple effects that shatter the quiet and peaceful life the Braddocks and Robinsons have been enjoying.

Based on Charles Webb’s novel, The Graduate is a groundbreaking American film that has the identity of a French New Wave film. It is structured as a casual comedy about a young man who becomes involved with an older woman and then falls in love with her daughter, but it is actually a deadly serious film about a society with outdated and compromised values and morals.

Director Nichols could not have selected a better actor to play the young and claustrophobic Ben -- Hoffman is absolutely superb as the graduate. He looks remarkably ordinary, unpolished and naive. He wants to be different but does not know how -- and the only way to figure out how is by befriending someone older than him who belongs to the world that terrifies him. This is why he becomes involved with Mrs. Robinson.

Mrs. Robinson is everything Ben isn’t. Early into the film she is a powerful, elegant and sexy woman. She knows exactly what she wants and goes after it. After she and Ben begin seeing each other, however, she undergoes a shocking transformation -- now she looks frustrated and hurt, a woman who has realized that her life has been a disaster. She finds Ben’s naivety attractive only because it reminds her of herself -- the once young and free girl who became pregnant and married a man she did not love.

Elaine Robinson brings much needed balance to The Graduate. She likes Ben but is also content to live in the world of her parents. Before she goes to Berkeley, she is humiliated by Ben because he senses that. Then he realizes how much he loves her, which is what causes all the drama in the film.

The Graduate was released in 1967. At the time large-scale anti-war protests and race riots are held in big cities all across America. A year later, French students begin rioting in Paris, the Soviet Army invades the former Czechoslovakia and puts an end to the Prague Spring, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy are assassinated -- the world is changing. There is something new, something different in the air, and Ben, the young man in The Graduate who symbolizes an entire generation of Americans, senses it.

*In 1968, The Graduate won an Oscar for Best Director (Mike Nichols). A year later, the film also won Grammy award for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture (Dave Grusin, Paul Simon).

The Graduate Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Mike Nichols' The Graduate arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.

This high-definition transfer is not identical to the one MGM used for their Blu-ray release of The Graduate in the United States. It is slightly brighter, boasting a light greenish tint, and featuring a more prominent grain structure. Contrast levels are also a bit more consistent on it. Generally speaking, fine object detail is pleasing -- specifically during the indoor scenes. Clarity levels during the outdoor scenes, however, fluctuate; during the second half of the film some scenes also reveal minor compression artifacts; elsewhere there is extremely light background flicker. Occasionally, traces of mild edge-enhancement are also easy to spot. None of it, however, affects seriously the integrity of the presentation. Macroblocking is not a serious issue of concern. As noted above, the color scheme features prominent greens and generally lighter, more natural blues and browns; the blacks are rich and mostly well saturated. I personally prefer the lighter colors this release favors (the footage with Dustin Hoffman relaxing in the pool clearly looks a lot darker than it should on the MGM release). Lastly, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review. While viewing the film, I also did not see any large cuts, damage marks, warps, stains, or debris. (Note: This Blu-ray disc is Region A and B "locked". Therefore, if you reside in a territory covered by one of these two regions you will be able to play it on your PS3s or SAs. Please note that there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu. For the record, the main menu can be set in one of the following languages: English (Australia), Danish, German, Spanish, French, Dutch, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish, English (United Kingdom), and Japanese).

The Graduate Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are five audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have provided optional English, French, Spanish, German, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Japanese, Norwegian, and Swedish subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is very good. The sound has pleasing depth and a good range of dynamics. Additionally, low, mid-range and high-frequencies are not overdone; there are no problematic distortions either. The dialog is clean, stable, and easy to follow. There are no serious balance issues with the wonderful soundtrack either - Simon & Garfunkel's legendary songs sound surprisingly fresh. Lastly, I did not detect any problematic pops, cracks, hissings, or dropouts to report in this review.

The Graduate Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc are encoded in 480/60i. Therefore, they are perfectly playable on North American PS3s and SAs.

The Graduate at 25 - Dustin Hoffman, Katharine Ross, producer Lawrence Turman, and screen writer Buck Henry recall their involvement with The Graduate, how the film changed their careers and lives, etc. In English, with optional German, French, Spanish, and Japanese subtitles. (23 min, 480/60i).

The Graduate - Looking Back - in this exclusive Studio Canal featurette, film writer and director Michael Muszlak deconstructs The Graduate and talks about the complex socio-political environment in the United States and Europe at the time the film was released. In English, with optional German, French, Spanish, and Japanese subtitles. (13 min, 480/60i).

Meeting with author Charles Webb - a wonderful conversation with author Charles Webb. The Graduate is based on Mr. Webb's famous novel. In English, with optional German, French, Spanish, and Japanese subtitles. (21 min, 480/60i).

Scene Analysis - Prof. Dr. Thomas Koebner, from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, analyzes specific scenes from The Graduate. In German, with optional English, French, Spanish, and Japanese subtitles. (13 min, 480/60i).

About the Music - Prof. Helga de la Motte, from the Technical University of Berlin, discusses the legendary soundtrack of The Graduate. In German, with optional English, French, Spanish, and Japanese subtitles. (8 min, 480/60i).

Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for the film. In English, with optional French subtitles. (4 min, 480/60i).

Song Selection - selected clips from the film:

"Mrs. Robinson"
Written by Paul Simon
Performed by Simon & Garfunkel

"The Sounds of Silence"
Written by Paul Simon
Performed by Simon & Garfunkel

"April Come She Will"
Written by Paul Simon
Performed by Simon & Garfunkel

"Scarborough Fair/Canticle"
Written by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel
Performed by Simon & Garfunkel

Commentary - a terrific audio commentary by Prof. Dr. Thomas Koebner, who offers a fantastic analysis of The Graduate and discusses the complex socio-political climate in the United States at the time when the film was first screened. In German, with optional English, German, French, Spanish, and Japanese subtitles.

Booklet - a 20-page illustrated booklet containing Marc Webb's very entertaining essay "The Graduate" (Mr. Webb is the director of 500 Days of Summer).

The Graduate Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Arguably one of the best American films from the 1960s, Mike Nichols' The Graduate has everything modern American films don't -- charm, character and wit. If you have never seen it, I strongly encourage you to find the time to do so. Contrary to initial reports, the film looks and sounds good on Blu-ray. British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment have also provided a fantastic set of supplemental features. The Blu-ray disc is encoded for Regions A and B. RECOMMENDED.