The Graduate (1967)

Genre: Comedy

Director: Mike Nichols

This post is going to be about the movie The Graduate, which was released in 1967 and directed by Mike Nichols. For me this movie is probably my favorite pre 70s movie. It has just some really funny elements and is actually really entertaining even in now days 45 years after the movie was released. The Graduate is probably the first modern comedy and is thus a fundament for many other comedy shows like South Park or Family Guy or even modern comedy movies.

The movie is about a young men Benjamin Braddock played by the famous actor Dustin Hoffman, who is about to turn 21 years old. He came back from a College to the parent's home in Southern California. He was really successful in college as a student and as a track star. His parents want to send him to graduate school after his graduation party, but Benjamin just wants to relax after his college live after a woman called Mrs. Robinson tried to seduce him. At first he didn't want to be close with her, but after a moment them ending up having a secret relationship. Later on in the movie Benjamin gets a crush in Mrs. Robinson’s daughter Elaine Robinson, who doesn't know about the relationship of him and her own mother. Benjamin tries everything to stay out of graduate school and keeping his dual-relationship secret.

Another famous part is the soundtrack of the movie called "Mrs. Robinson" by the Beatles. The song became a hit of the Whit Album in 1968. Although the version in the movie is different from the version on the cd, it definitely helped making this track famous. It is still ranked 6th in the AFI's 100 years top 100 songs, which is a database of all soundtracks in movies.

I think that the Director wanted to make a very good point with the movie. Because in the late 1960s, many people, especially young people were concerned about what to be or what to do. The protagonist Benjamin is in the same spot like many other young men were. People started to change into the direction against living by the rules and religion. He showed these facts with symbolism like the cross or a fish tank.


Positive Points:

+ Many funny moments (even for today's standards)

+ Well played Characters (Benjamin Braddock)

+ Very recognizable and famous Soundtrack ("Mrs. Robinson")

Negative Points:

- Soundtrack overplayed

- Some unreasonable scenes


Rating: 90/100

Fun - Rating: 85%

Psycho (1960)

Genre: Horror

Director: Alfred Hitchcock



This Blog is going to be about the probably most classic horror-movie Psycho from Alfred Hitchcock. It was released in year 1960 and is a fundamental part of the horror-movie industry. Many other movies of this genre are based on this one or have certain features, which Psycho had invented like the famous Violin of ten, which is basically the theme of a horror movie.

I think for 1960 this movie has a pretty impressive storyline. It is about a woman names Marion Crane from Phoenix, Arizona, who was supposed to escort 40.000$ from her boss to the bank. But instead of that she flees from Arizona to California with the money. Over the story she meets interesting characters like a creeping Policeman or Norman Bates played by Anthony Perkins, who is the owner of Bates Motel and has some crazy characteristics and habits. I think Alfred Hitchcock's choice to put Perkins in this role is absolutely genius, because he just fits in the role of Bates perfectly. You are going to see that!

This story is actually based on the story of a man called Ed Gein, who was known as a murder and body snatcher of at least two people. Officials searched his entire house and found four noses, whole human bones and fragments, a head wrapped in paper and many other weird founds.

Positive Points:

+ Good story

+ Well-chosen characters

+ Decent effects for 1960

Negative points:

- By today's horror-movie standards not really scary

- Unreasonable scenes (policeman-scene)

Movie-Rating: 79/100

Fun-Rating: 65%

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycho_(film)

Ben Hur Socratic Discussion Podcast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=451lw-UlCqY