ALBUM: Sounds of Silence
(Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel)

SONG: The Sound of Silence
(Paul Simon, 1964)

In restless dreams I walked alone,
Narrow streets of cobblestone.
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp.
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night, and touched the sound of silence.

While Simon and Garfunkel produced a hit single and album, this music can best be remembered because of the movie--The Graduate--a satirical comedy that became an emotional touchstone for an entire generation. This movie grossed over $104 million in the U.S. In the late 1960s, a confused college graduate is pulled in myriad directions by family, friends, and associates just days after receiving his diploma. Seduced by an older friend of the family, the young man carries on an affair with the married woman even as he chases his heart's desire with her engaged daughter. This established Mike Nichols [Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), Catch-22 (1970), Carnal Knowledge (1971), Silkwood (1983), Regarding Henry (1991), Primary Colors (1998)] as a major director and was Dustin Hoffman's first major role. Hoffman's character, Benjamin Braddock, is extremely naive for a college graduate with his golden resume, which includes captain of the track team and editor of the college newspaper. His first encounter with Bancroft at a swank hotel is endearingly clumsy, but not completely credible. After several such encounters, he still refers to her as "Mrs. Robinson". You think they'd be on a first name basis by then. It's impact on popular culture is immeasurable: "Plastics" will live on eternally as depressing, but solid career advice, and older women will never eye younger men without fear of becoming a "Mrs. Robinson." The influential screenplay is based on the novel by Charles Webb. Special 25th-anniversary video edition includes the original film plus The Graduate at 25, a short documentary on the making of the film, and a new cut of Mrs. Robinson performed by the Lemonheads. Laserdisc version includes an audio essay analyzing the film, several screen tests, candid photos and wardrobe stills, and a feature depicting the evolution of the screenplay. Oscar nominations: 7, including best picture, best actor: Hoffman, best actress: Anne Bancroft; best supporting actress: Katharine Ross; best (adapted) screenplay. Golden Globes won: 6, best picture musical/comedy, best actress, best director, promising newcomers (male/female). Musical score for the motion picture won Grammy award.