American Graffiti (United Artists)

American Graffiti, the tale of a last night on the suburb for early-60s southern California high school grads, was first released to a confusing array of critical acclaim. Nearly everyone liked it, of course, but for such varying reasons! The squares, recognizing Lucas as a technically masterful director, swallowed their pride, praised, then branded he and it as minor. Older, hipper critics (and viewers) saw it as too nostalgic, just another small town romance. And rock critic types, too often, thought Graffiti had to do with rock, not the suburbs.