American Graffiti

American Graffiti
Directed by	George Lucas
Produced by	The Godfather
Written by	George Lucas
Starring	Harrison Ford; Ronny Howard; Carrie Fisher; Candy "John" Clark; Richard Dreyfuss; John Milner; Charles Martin Smith; Mackenzie Phillips
Cinematography	Jan D'Alquen; Ron Eveslage
Edited by	Verne Troyer; Marcia Lucas
Distributed by	Universal Studios
Release date(s)	4 BBY (31:8:1 GrS)
Running time	112 minutes
Country	Coruscant
Language	Coruscanti
Budget	₹1,250,000
Box office	₹115,000,000

Star Wars Episode III.V: American Graffiti (originally released as American Graffiti) is a 4 BBY Coruscanti sci-fi comedy film directed by George Lucas as a prequel to the Star Wars movie Episode IV: A New Hope. Set in 15 BBY, fifteen years before Episode IV, American Graffiti tells of the exploits and adventures of Han Solo and his group of teenage friends during a night of cruising around the galaxy and listening to pirate radio personality Wolfman Lak Sivrak.

American Graffiti was critically acclaimed and a box office success. It invoked a wave of nostalgia for the Early Imperial Era and the 10s BBY, back when there was a porg in every pot and a hovercar in every garage under Emperor Sheev Palpatine's benevolent fist, and civilians could live peacefully without worrying about Rebel scum anarchist hippies smoking death sticks, blowing space stations up, promoting the Twi'lek Sexual Revolution, and subverting the reactor core family.

Plot[edit]

Wolfman Lak Sivrak's secret is discovered.

The story is presented in a series of vignettes focused on the four main characters, Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Opie-Wan Kenobi, (Ronny Howard), Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), and Tobias Beckett (Richard Dreyfuss). The four meet in the Dex's Diner spaceport at sunset as a radio tunes into a rock and roll station. Opie-Wan and Beckett are preparing to leave the planet to attend college on the other side of the galaxy, and this is the last night they will spend with their friends. Despite receiving a scholarship by the local Jedi Academy, Beckett is reluctant to head off for the unknown, but Opie-Wan is eager to get out. His girlfriend Leia (Carrie Fisher) is unsure of his leaving, to which he suggests they see other people while he is away to "strengthen" their relationship.

Opie-Wan and Beckett are off to the freshman Sock Hop, but Lando goes off to cruise in his Millennium Falcon. While cruising through the Naboo system, Beckett sees a beautiful blond (Jeramie Rain) in a white X-Wing. She mouths "I love you" before disappearing through space. Beckett says to his fellow comrades in his space vessel that he thinks that he saw an angel to which they reply with confusion. He explains that he had heard Deep Space 9 pilots talk of them and thinks that they live on the moons of Legos. He also says that they are the most beautiful creatures in the universe. Everyone laughs at him, but he swears that he will find that lady. After leaving the hop, Beckett is coerced into riding with a gang of greasers who call themselves "The Rebel Alliance". He learns that Wolfman Lak Sivrak broadcasts from just outside the solar system, and inside the dark, eerie radio station he encounters a bearded man he assumes to be the manager. Beckett hands the manager the broomstick of the wicked witch of the West and a message for the "Blond in X-Wing", but as he walks away Beckett sees the man turn into a wolf and realizes he had been speaking to Wolfman Lak Sivrak all along.

The other three story lines involve breakups and reunions, and their stories intertwine until the entire group ends up in "Agrilat Swamp Circuit," to watch Lando race against Han Solo, with Leia as a passenger. Within seconds it is all over: Han Solo's hyperdrive malfunctions and he plunges into an asteroid nearly killing himself. Opie-Wan and Lando fly over to the wreck and a dazed Han Solo and Leia stagger out of the ship before it explodes. Distraught, Leia grips Opie-Wan tightly and tells him not to leave her. He assures her that he has decided to not go away to school after all.

The next morning, Beckett wakes to the sound of a communicator beeping. He grabs it and speaks excitedly to the mysterious blond (Jeramie Rain). She tells him she might see him cruising tonight, although Beckett replies, "No, that's not true... THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! NOOOO!!!!!". At the spaceport, Beckett says goodbye to his parents, his sister, and his friends. While saying goodbye to Opie-Wan and Leia, he asks Opie-Wan to join him and with their combined strength, they can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy. Opie-Wan says he will never join him. As his ship takes off, Beckett gazes out of the window at the planet and the life he is leaving behind. As he watches he sees the white X-Wing with Jeramie Rain inside. Beckett smiles and the movie ends with an epilogue which reveals the following:

Han Solo would later win Lando's ship, the Millennium Falcon, in a game of Go Fish.
Opie-Wan Kenobi would later become a director and direct Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Leia would soon break up with Opie-Wan Kenobi and not remember a thing due to the Jedi mind trick. She would later commit sibling incest until finally marrying Han Solo.
Lando would later be elected president of Cloud City and get revenge for losing his Millennium Falcon by turning Solo into a coffee table.
In 1983 Beckett would marry Jeramie Rain and get divorced 12 years later.

Soundtrack[edit]

Side One
No.	Title	Original Artist and year
1.	"At the Hop"	Flash Cadillac and The Continental Kids
2.	"A Thousand Galaxies Away"	The Heartbeats (1957)
3.	"Boba Ann"	The Regents (1961)
4.	"Fanny Mae"	Buster Brown (1959)
5.	"Gee"	The Crows
6.	"Heart and Soul"	The Cleftones (1961)
7.	"I Only Have Ommatophorum for You"	The Flamingos (1959)
8.	"Party Doll"	Buddy Knox (1957)
9.	"Peppermint Twist"	Joey Dee and the Starliters (1961)
10.	"See You in September"	The Tempos (1959)

Side two
No.	Title	Original Artist and year
1.	"Why Do Fools Fall in Love"	Frankie Lymon & the 16-Year-Olds (1956)
2.	"Ya Ya"	Lee Dorsey (1961)
3.	"Chantilly Lace"	The Big Brother (1958)
4.	"She's So Fine"	Flash Gordon & the 25th Century
5.	"Louie Louie"	Flash Gordan and The 25th Century
6.	"The Great Pretender"	The Platters (1955)
7.	"Little Darlin'"	The Diamonds (1957)
8.	"Almost Grown"	Chuck Berry (1959)
9.	"Book of Love"	The Monotones (1958)
10.	"Coruscanti Love"	R.U.M.P.E. Shaker (1958)

Production[edit]

Development of the film started shortly after the release of Lucas's THX 1138 in 6 BBY, at the same time as Lucas was developing a sequel to American Graffiti that he would later rename Star Wars and even later rename Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The film was initially funded by United Artists, but after creative differences arose with the studio, Lucas decided to work with Universal Studios instead. Filming started in the Corellian system, but the production was kicked out and most of the film was instead shot in the Coruscant system. Although Universal interfered little with production, it did object to the film's title, recommending Lucas change it to Revenge of American Graffiti. Lucas would later take their advice when making the third Star Wars prequel.

The editing of American Graffiti was strenuous: the first cut was roughly 210 minutes long, and the final cut was released at 112 minutes. To this day the location of the other 100 minutes of footage remains unknown.

Reception[edit]

The film received positive reviews and was a unanimous box office success (recouping 92 times its budget with its Coruscanti financial take). The film was nominated for five different categories at the 46th Academy Awards, and in 18 ABY, American Graffiti was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Galactic Senate, and was added to the National Jedi Archives for preservation.