The Graduate

Mike Nichols picked up an Oscar for directing this classic 1967 dramedy, based on the novel by Charles Webb, in which college graduate Ben Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) comes home to find the real world waiting at his doorstep in the form of a lascivious older woman—the now legendary Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft)—and her marriage-minded daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross), as well as business offers to work in the plastics industry. Nominated for several Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, Actor (Hoffman), Actress (Bancroft), Supporting Actress (Ross), and Screenplay, The Graduate is a superb film with powerhouse performances all around, backed by a great Simon and Garfunkel soundtrack. Boasting an excellent anamorphic widescreen transfer, DVD extras include a pair of audio commentaries (one by Hoffman and Ross; the other by Nichols and filmmaker Steven Soderbergh), four featurettes, and a bonus audio CD with four Simon and Garfunkel songs from the film. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray/DVD Review—Mar. 8, 2016—Criterion, 106 min., PG, DVD: 2 discs, $29.95; Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 1967's The Graduate features a great transfer and a choice of uncompressed monaural or DTS-HD 5.1 soundtracks on the Blu-ray release. Extras include two audio commentaries (one by director Mike Nichols and filmmaker Steven Soderbergh from 2007; the other by film scholar Howard Suber from 1987), new interviews with star Dustin Hoffman (35 min.) and with film writer and historian Bobbie O'Steen on her late husband editor Sam O'Steen (27 min.), the 2007 featurette “Students of The Graduate” (26 min.), an interview with screenwriter Buck Henry and producer Lawrence Turman (25 min.), “The Graduate at 25” 1992 retrospective (23 min.), a 1966 interview with Nichols by Barbara Walters on the Today show (16 min.), screen tests (14 min.), an excerpt from a 1970 appearance by composer Paul Simon on The Dick Cavett Show (6 min.), trailers, and a booklet with an essay by journalist and critic Frank Rich. Bottom line: this is a characteristically excellent Criterion edition of a landmark ‘60s film classic.]