For those that find in them a certain joy every time the orchestra of film kicks, when those studio logos lighten the dark of the screen and the familiar trumpet notes sound, you know what I mean when I say that the greatest films ever made are a must see for everyone. Those top 100 or 200, or 500 films that everyone should see before they die. Film is subjective though, and there are many lists. Fortunately for us, the American Film Institute compiled a list of the top 100 films of the 20th Century. From top to bottom, the list compiles the greatest American films released in the first 100 years of cinema.

The seventh best film of all time on AFI’s list is The Graduate, the story of young Benjamin Braddock played by Dustin Hoffman , a recent college graduate with little to no aim in his life. The film kicks right off with his graduation party and a ride home from his father’s business partner’s wife, Mrs. Robinson. Soon to follow is the infamous, “You’re trying to seduce me” line. While his father tries to force him into graduate school, Mr. Robinson tries to set him up with his daughter Elaine, while Mrs. Robinson and him still carry on their affair.

After a failed attempt at scaring Elaine away, Benjamin ends up in a budding romance with young Elaine and eventually his life falls apart. The whole mess culminates in another famous scene from the film in which Elaine and her fiancé are exchanging vows at a church which Benjamin has just driven hundreds of miles to reach. He bangs on the glass, yelling “Elaine, Elaine!” and the two end up running off together on a bus, Simon and Garfunkel playing in the background.

The soundtrack itself was one of the defining pieces of the film, Simon and Garfunkel’s production reached number on the charts, knocking off The Beatles’ White Album on the strength of their single “Mrs. Robinson” alone. The film has seen a slow but steady uptake in its reception over the years, a moderate success at first but now considered one of the greater American films of this century.

The film’s pop cultural relativity alone makes it important. If one were to look at the list of trivia and references in the pop culture of just the last 20 years, you’d find that the film has affected comedies, dramas, and even spawned a three year run on stage.

The book from which it was adapted written by Charles Webb was released in 1963, four years before th film, and is expected to finally see its sequel released this coming summer in the UK. The film rights to the sequel are owned by Frances Studio Canal+ and it’s yet to be seen if a film sequel will be made.

Mike Nichol’s adaption of the novel was immensely successful though, so one can only imagine that with the mannerisms of Hollywood and film in general, we’ll be seeing a new Graduate film in the next few years.