Saw this movie very recently. It is showing it's age. I loved the Alpha Romeo sports car driven through out the movie. Today Mrs. Robinson would be a cougar. It was a shame that she was portrayed as an alcoholic & somewhat unstable. I did not like the 20 year old Ben portrayed as bungling victim of Mrs. Robinson. Too many stereo types. I like the on locatioon filming in Berkely, California. The shot of Elaine coming out of Moe's Book store in Berkely is a classic. Moe's Book store has been there for 55 years. It is known for rare books & collectors items. The ending was too soft. Benjamen rescues Elaine in her wedding gown from the church as she has just married mister perfect. They escape on a city bus. End of movie. I would likke to have known what happens when the city bus reaches the end of the line. A dispapointing & soft ending.

There is not too much I can add to the discussion of this film. It seems that all aspects of this film were carefully considered and that you could spend hours taking notes on the cinematography, lighting, symbolism etc. (and people have!) The plot itself was shocking, disturbing, and darkly comedic. I didn't find myself relating well to the characters as I am now over 30 and part of the establishment. Thinking back though, it seems like the kind of spontaneous, diagonal moves I would have taken in my youth to avoid turning out like my parents. I love the ambiguity of the final scene.

How many movies are there, that you can say are just perfect? well, this one is.
I love just about everything about this film: the cast (Its hard to believe, but this was Hoffman's debut movie), the script, the songs. Its one of my favorite movies, that I watched so many times.

What can I really say about this film that hasn't already been said? It's a great movie. Enough said.

This 1972 movie has not aged well. Provocative for its time, it seems silly and overly long now.

Great movie, enjoyed it more the second time I watched it.
Also the comments on the second disk were very interesting and well worth listening to.

Mike Nichols’ coming-of-age comedy not only launched the careers of fresh-faced Dustin Hoffman and Katherine Ross, it also helped to define a generation of baby boomers. A masterpiece of deadpan humour laced with irony and wit which speaks volumes on the mindset of its protagonist without the usual bombastic sermons. Numerous encounters with adults only serve to heighten Ben’s confusion while images of pools and aquarium-bound fish (and that famous alfa romeo) serve up ambivalent metaphors as he finds himself torn between the expectations of his WASP parents and his own innate desire to be something different. Aside from its award-winning script and timeless score of Simon & Garfunkel ballads however, the enduring success of Nichols’ film ultimately rests on the sheer star power of his cast especially the pairing of Hoffman’s hesitantly monotone naif and Ann Bancroft’s predatory cougar. He has also given cinema two of its most iconic scenes: the surreal hotel seduction between Ben and Mrs. Robinson, and Ben’s crashing of Elaine’s wedding. Certainly dated, but an American classic nevertheless.

I loved Dustin Hoffman in this movie, loved the Ben character. I love Simon and Garfunkle music too and at some points, the music fit perfectly into the plot/scene, but I felt their music was overused (sometimes even with the same song!) Overall, a great movie to watch, I enjoyed it.

A classic that has not become dated with time.

Mike Nichols’ coming-of-age comedy not only launched the careers of fresh-faced Dustin Hoffman and Katherine Ross, it also helped to define a generation of baby boomers. Following a successful stint at college, twenty-year old Ben Braddock returns home to his parent’s upper middle-class lifestyle in suburban Los Angeles without any goals or ambitions yet still “worried” about his future. Unable to communicate these mixed feelings to his proud parents and their bourgeois friends Ben tries to feign delight in the pointless chatter and trivial games around him until a chance encounter, and subsequent affair, with the sexually aggressive wife of his father’s business partner jars him out of his complacency and sets his life in an unexpected direction. At first his dalliances with the older Mrs. Robinson give Ben a newfound sense of confidence—if no real purpose—but as their clandestine trysts become increasingly predictable, Ben’s attempts at getting to know the person behind the unflappable facade slowly reveal a worn and world-weary woman who regards him as little more than an inferior plaything. Then he commits an unforgivable transgression—he falls in love with the Robinson’s daughter, Elaine—and when her mother’s claws finally come out they not only serve to highlight the social gulf between her and Ben but the ever widening generation gap of an entire country. A masterpiece of deadpan humour laced with irony and wit which speaks volumes on the mindset of its protagonist without the usual bombastic sermons. Numerous encounters with adults only serve to heighten Ben’s confusion while images of pools and aquarium-bound fish (and that famous alfa romeo) serve up ambivalent metaphors as he finds himself torn between the expectations of his WASP parents and his own innate desire to be something different. It’s no coincidence then that his bedroom sports a dart board while a painting of a sad clown hangs over the staircase—nor is it happenstance that his odyssey should begin in the conservative burbs of southern California but end in radical Berkeley. Aside from its award-winning script and timeless score of Simon & Garfunkel ballads however, the enduring success of Nichols’ film ultimately rests on the sheer star power of his cast especially the pairing of Hoffman’s hesitantly monotone naif and Ann Bancroft’s predatory cougar. He has also given cinema two of its most iconic scenes: the surreal hotel seduction between Ben and Mrs. Robinson, and Ben’s crashing of Elaine’s wedding in a desperate attempt to prevent her from marrying the privileged suitor of her parents’ choosing. Certainly dated, but an American classic nevertheless.