WAY BACK: A NEW GENERATION LOOKS BACK IN GRAFFITI, L.A. TIMES JULY 29, 1973

Hello fellow Graffiti fans. Welcome back to your one and only Kips American Graffiti Blog. A couple of days before the premiere of American Graffiti on Aug 1, 1973 the principle film critic for the Los Angeles Times, Charles Champlin released a glowing and insightful review about the film in the newspaper. No one could have given the film higher praise and as a result, quotes from Champlin's review were constantly used in press books and ads for the film (such as the one above).  I recently unearthed a copy of Champlin's original Graffiti review. For your reading pleasure I present to you the full film critics' article as it originally appeared in the L.A. Times on July 29, 1973. To miss it is to miss something quite special!

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Click on article to enlarge

 

During his 26 years at The L.A. Times, Champlin served as the paper's principal film critic from 1967 through 1980.  Throughout his career, Graffiti remained on Champlin's Top 100 American Films list. He wrote several books on film including a coffee table book titled, George Lucas: The Creative Impulse: Lucasfilm's First Twenty Years (1992).  In honor of his film coverage and criticism, Champlin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007.

Charles Champlin (March 23, 1926 – November 16, 2014)

 ~ FINI ~

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• Charles Champlin's Top 100 American Films. Cal State LA University Library. http://web.calstatela.edu/library/mmc/100/1champlin.htm. Retrieved 7/18/2015

• A New Generation Looks Back in "Graffiti." Los Angeles Times. San Francisco Public Library. http://sfpl.org/ Retrieved 7/16/2015