John H. Foote
6. Paul Le Mat
There is something melancholic about John Milner, the twenty one year old hot rod driver still hanging with the teenagers. Is it that he cannot let go of what he was, or that his entire being was tied up in who he was to those teens? I believe John and Carol are soulmates, meeting at the wrong time in their lives. Ten years later when she is twenty four and he is thirty one, no one cares. But here they would. How many other dates do you think he took to the car graveyard? Le Mat should have been Oscar nominated. Knowing he is dead a few short years later haunts me upon subsequent viewings.
7. MacKenzie Phillips
Beautifully cast as the ugly duckling fourteen year old kind of dumped on John, her performance is lovely, a child on the cusp of being a teen, acting how she thinks she should. Only when she and John connect, talk, does she be herself, and his guard goes down. Like Le Mat, she too should have been nominated.
8. Charles Martin Smith
The geek in the group, the square peg trying to fit into the round hole. Yet he manages to be Debbie’s hero, mouthing off to tough guys, getting them booze, necking in the woods, losing Steve’s car, fighting and finally admitting the truth about his many lies. And much to his surprise, she likes him. So do we.
These four actors are the heart and soul of the film, as good as Dreyfuss, Howard, Williams and Ford are, these are the ones we truly care about.
9. George Lucas
Although I think his work as a director was more selecting angles and shots than guiding the actors, it cannot be denied that he created the film, he cast it, he worked in the post-production. It is his film.
10. The Cinematography
Where to start? Those shots of the gleaming cars cruising downtown, Mel’ diner, the hop, that perfect close up Laurie weeping as they dance, the superb walk through the car graveyard, and that scene at dawn, the race. Easily the best I saw that year.
Read More: Remembering ‘Forrest Gump’ – An American Fable of Hope and Love
