Before all of the present day knucklehead mash of mindless teenage movies, this intelligent, Oscar nominated (for best picture) film shows the last night of summer retreat for a group of young people in a small northern California town, one of whom is about to head back east to attend college. Richard Dreyfuss provides the intelligence, Ron Howard the aloof personality, Paul LeMat the muscle, and Charles Martin Smith the comic relief as the four main players in director George Lucas' first major breakthrough in movies before his adventure with the 'Star Wars' films began in 1977. 'American Graffiti' and 'Star Wars' are the only truly great films that Lucas has been involved with and 'American Graffiti' is shot like a documentary, edited with care, written with charm and performed with excellence by a cast that will always be remembered for this film that helped them launch careers that would take them to the top of their profession.