The Graduate: Sex, Rebellion, and Sixties Cool

The Graduate is not just a movie; it is a seduction, a shimmering collision between generations. The young were ready to take the reins, while the old clung to fading ideals. The baby boomers were restless, diplomas in hand, and aching for meaning. It was the sixties, and the world was about to change most sensually and uncertainly.

Benjamin Braddock, played with nervous charm by Dustin Hoffman, is the fresh-faced college graduate who does not know what to do next. His days of suburban comfort have left him lost and drifting. Then comes Mrs. Robinson, a woman of intoxicating mystery and authority. Anne Bancroft’s portrayal is all silk and danger, a cocktail of wit, power, and allure. She lures Benjamin into an affair that is equal parts thrilling and destructive, an awakening that challenges everything he thought he knew about desire.

When Benjamin falls for her daughter, Elaine (played by the radiant Katharine Ross), the situation turns deliciously complicated. Their triangle of lust, love, and confusion exposes the fault lines between generations. Director Mike Nichols turns this tangle into something unforgettable—a coming-of-age story wrapped in humor, sensual tension, and social rebellion.

The film gave us one of cinema’s most ironic prophecies: “Plastics … there’s a great future in plastics.” The line became both a joke and a truth, capturing the hollow promise of modern success. Nichols’ storytelling, combined with the haunting beauty of Simon and Garfunkel’s soundtrack, gave the movie its pulse. Songs like “The Sound of Silence,” “Scarborough Fair,” and “Mrs. Robinson” became inseparable from the film’s spirit.

One of the most talked-about scenes was born out of spontaneity. During their first hotel encounter, the moment Benjamin touches Mrs. Robinson’s breast was unscripted, a heat-of-the-moment instinct that made the scene pulse with awkward authenticity. And though Anne Bancroft was only five years older than Dustin Hoffman, she radiated the kind of experience that made her character timeless.

Behind the scenes, Hollywood legends brushed past the project. Gene Hackman was almost Mr. Robinson, but was fired before filming began. Ronald Reagan was nearly Benjamin’s father, but was too busy running for Governor of California. Robert Redford tested for the lead but was turned down for being too confident.

Paul Simon had been writing a song called “Mrs. Roosevelt,” but director Mike Nichols suggested changing it to “Mrs. Robinson.” That one creative pivot became history. The song became an anthem for a generation teetering between rebellion and responsibility.

It remains one of the sexiest and most revealing films ever made, a story where seduction and self-discovery share the same heartbeat.

The Graduate was the highest-grossing film of 1967 and one of the first to earn over $100 million domestically. But its true victory lies beyond box office numbers. It defined a moment when youth confronted conformity, when passion met confusion, and when cinema found its new voice.

• 3-disc set including Simon & Garfunkel soundtrack
• 64-page booklet with new essays from Christina Newland, David Jenkins, Helen O’Hara and Simon Brew
• x 2 posters – new and original theatrical artwork
• Feature UHD
• Audio commentary by Professor Thomas Koebner
• Audio commentary with Mike Nichols and Steven Soderbergh
• Audio commentary with Dustin Hoffman and Katharine Ross
• Bonus Blu-ray
• Meeting with an Author: Charles Webb
• One on One with Dustin Hoffman
• Interview with Producer Lawrence Turman
• The Graduate: Looking Back
• The Graduate at 25
• Students of The Graduate
• Screen Tests
• Scene Analysis
• About the Music
• The Seduction Featurette

This is a UK Import. The 4K UHD disc is Region Free, and the Blu-ray disc is Region B and will require a multi-regional capable player.