Buck Henry and Lawrence Turman Discuss 'The Graduate' (2016)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Screenwriter Buck Henry and producer Lawrence Turman sit down and discuss their work on THE GRADUATE, the now classic comedy with Dustin Hoffman. This here was produced for The Criterion Collection's release of the film and like many of their current releases they're doing these special features where two or three people just sit around and talk with each other. I really like this format because it comes across as just a great discussion between two friends. The men start off talking about how the story of The Graudate really didn't sell too many copies and then they go into details about how they heard from people that Dustin Hoffman wasn't right for the role. After this we go into various production details about THE GRADUATE including some of the roles that were originally going to be played by other actors.
If you're a fan of THE GRADUATE then I'm sure you've read or heard countless stories about the production over the years but this featurette is a lot of fun. The two men are obviously very happy with the film and it's clear that they're having a great time discussing the film. They tell some wonderful behind-the-scenes stories including a few about how Gene Hackman was originally hired for the picture and how he later got his "revenge" for the film.