Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

The Graduate Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 31, 2016

Mike Nichols' "The Graduate" (1967) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; exclusive new video interview with Dustin Hoffman; new filmed conversation with screenwriter Buck Henry and producer Lawrence Turman; audio commentary by directors Mike Nichols and Steven Soderbergh; second audio commentary by film scholar Howard Suber; archival screen tests; archival interview with director Mike Nichols; and a lot more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by journalist and critic Frank Rich. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The track star

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an older woman and then falls in love with her daughter, but it is actually a deadly serious film about a society with outdated and compromised values and morals.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 an aspect ratio of 2.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Mike Nichols' The Graduate arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on a Scanity film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative. The color timing was done by referencing a high-definition master supervised by Grover Crisp at Sony Pictures and approved by director Mike Nichols. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for small dirt.

The original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the original 35mm magnetic audio tracks. The 5.1 surround remix, approved by the director, was created from the 35mm magnetic tracks and the original soundtrack recordings. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and cracks were manually removed from both soundtracks using Pro Tools HD, AudioCube's integrated workstation, and iZotope RX4.

Transfer supervisor: Lee Kline, Russell Smith.
Colorist: Joe Gawler/Harbor Picture Company. New York."

This upcoming release is sourced from a recent 4K remaster of The Graduate. Unsurprisingly, direct comparisons with MGM and StudioCanal's releases -- which have been reviewed here and here -- immediately reveal substantial improvements in terms of image depth and density. During the daylight footage clarity and especially fluidity are also improved; the background flicker that is noticeable on previous releases is eliminated. Grain is evenly distributed and very well resolved. Colors are stable and saturation is improved. There are a few sequences, however, where the saturation levels appear a bit too strong. The entire film now looks slightly darker as well, and during sequences where natural light is restricted some mild crush occasionally sneaks in. (Compare scneencapture #21 and screencapture #14 from our review of the StudioCanal release). Contrast levels remain stable throughout the entire film. Image stability is excellent. Finally, the entire film looks very healthy -- there are no large damage marks, debris, cuts, stains, or warps to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Graduate Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the LPCM 1.0 track and later on did some direct comparisons with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Depth and clearly are as good as one can expect them to be on a Mono track. Obviously, the range of nuanced dynamics is rather limited, but fluidity is very good and transitions are typically excellent. On the 5.1 remix, which was approved by director Mike Nichols, depth and dynamic intensity are better, but the dialog remains equally crisp and clear. The most obvious improvements are during sequences where Simon & Garfunkel's legendary songs are heard. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in our review.

The Graduate Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original U.S. trailer for The Graduate. In English, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080p).

• Dustin Hoffman - in this brand new video interview, actor Dustin Hoffman recalls how he became involved with The Graduate and explains how the film profoundly changed his life. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2015. In English, not subtitled. (38 min, 1080p).

• Buck Henry and Lawrence Turman - in this brand new filmed conversation, screenwriter Buck Henry and producer Lawrence Turman recall how a decision was made to adapt Charles Webb's novel, and discuss Mike Nichols' film and some of the first critical responses it generated, its success, the political overtones in the film, cinematographer Robert Surtees' unique framing choices, etc. The conversation was filmed exclusively for Criterion in Los Angeles in 2015. In English, not subtitled. (25 min, 1080p).

• Commentary One - in this archival audio commentary, directors Mike Nichols and Steven Soderbergh discuss the rather unusual history of The Graduate (which initially was supposed to be Mike Nichols' first film but he ended up directing Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), the film's visual style and specifically the use of long takes and scenes that are staged in single shots, Anne Bancroft's transformation as Mrs. Robinson, Dustin Hoffman's remarkably ability to act and look genuinely nervous, the three key components that define the film's atmosphere (glass, plastic, and water) and its surrealist overtones, the hand-held footage which was quite unusual for the era, etc. The audio commentary was recorded in 2007.

• Commentary Two - in this archival audio commentary, renowned film UCLA film scholar Howard Suber discusses in great detail the various dilemmas Dustin Hoffman's Ben Braddock faces in The Graduate, the key relationships in the film, the structure of the narrative and the film's visual style. The commentary was recorded in 1987.

• Screen Tests - presented here are archival screen tests featuring actors who auditioned for the roles of Ben Braddock and Elaine Robbinson. In English, not subtitled. (14 min, 1080p).
  
  1. Tony Bill and Jennifer Leak
  2. Robert Lipton and Cathy Carpenter
  3. Dustin Hoffman and Katharine Ross

• Paul Simon and Dick Cavett - presented here is an archival episode of The Dick Cavett Show in which singer-songwriter Paul Simon recalls how he became involved with The Graduate and discusses the music that is used in the film. In English, not subtitled. (6 min, 1080i).

• Mike Nichols and Barbara Walters - in this video interview, director Mike Nichols discusses his reactions to film criticism (and specifically to positive reviews of his films), his directing methods, the perks of success, his relationship with Elaine May (A New Leaf), his family's history, etc. The interview, which was conducted by Barbara Walters, aired on NBC's Today show on July 29, 1966. In English, not subtitled. (16 min, 1080p).

• "The Graduate" at 25 - in this archival featurette, 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. The featurette was produced in 1992 for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the film. In English, not subtitled. (23 min, 1080i).

• Students of "The Graduate" - this documentary film focuses on the tremendous success and cultural significance of The Graduate and the career of its creator, Mike Nichols. Included in it are clips from interviews with directors Harold Raims (Groundhog Day), Marc Foster (Stranger Than Fiction), Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton (Little Miss Sunshine), and David O. Russell (American Hustle), film professor Bruce Block, producer Lawrence Turman, and screenwriter Buck Henry, amongst others. The documentary was produced in 2007. In English, not subtitled. (26 min, 1080i).

• Sam and Mike - in this featurette, film writer and historian Bobbie O'Steen discusses the legacy of her late husband, the legendary Hollywood editor Sam O'Steen, and his professional relationship with Mike Nichols. In addition to The Graduate, Sam O'Steen's credits include such classic films as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Cool Hand Luke, Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, and Working Girl. In English, not subtitled. (27 min, 1080p).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by journalist and critic Frank Rich.

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. It was a real eye-opener that changed perceptions and had a lasting impact on an entire industry. Criterion's upcoming release is sourced from a very good new 4K restoration of the film. It also has a great selection of supplemental features, including a brand new interview with actor Dustin Hoffman and new filmed conversation between screenwriter Buck Henry and producer Lawrence Turman. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.