Class of 1984

Starring:Perry King, Merrie Lynn Ross, Timothy Van Patten, Roddy McDowall, Stefan Arngrim, Michael J. Fox, Keith Knight (II), Lisa Langlois, Neil Clifford, Al Waxman, Erin Noble, David Gardner, Steve Pernie, Robert Reece, Joseph Kelly, Elva Mai Hoover, Vincent Abbatino, Evan Green, Linda Sorenson, Claude Rae
Director: Mark L. Lester
Studio: Anchor Bay
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Description
They're all part of a typical day for the students of Lincoln High. Into this academic abyss arrives Andy Norris (Slaughterhouse Five's Perry King), an idealistic and naïve music teacher who has moved into the community with his pregnant wife Diane. Appalled by the crime-infested school, Norris soon crosses sabers with its teenage kingpin, the shrewd and sadistic Peter Stegman (The White Shadow's Timothy Van Patten). With Norris setting his sights on reforming Stegman, and the young miscreant declaring war on his teacher, the duo sets a fateful showdown into motion on the night of an important school orchestra performance. Directed and co-written by Mark L. Lester (Commando, Firestarter), CLASS OF 1984 is one of the seminal cult movies of the early 1980s. While its vision of a decaying, violence-plagued inner city school seemed over-the-top in 1982, it sadly prophesized the future of American education. Lester's film - which caused a stir at Cannes and reputedly offended one of its own screenwriters - is also notable for its cast, which includes Van Patten, Roddy McDowall and a very young Michael J. Fox. Alice Cooper performs the theme song, "I Am The Future". No longer are the students of Lincoln High the future, for the future has arrived!

The Times of Harvey Milk 1984
Average customer rating:

A Hero for Us

An Essential Documentary

Amazing. You laugh, you cry, and you try your best to live your life with hope.

Interesting documentary

Essential historical documentary

The Times of Harvey Milk 1984
Starring: Harvey Fierstein , Harvey Milk , Anne Kronenberg , Tory Hartmann , and Tom Ammiano
Director: Rob Epstein
Manufacturer: New Yorker Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Biography | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video
General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video
Gay & Lesbian | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video
Politics | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video
Fierstein, Harvey | ( F ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Epstein, Rob | ( E ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
All New Yorker Titles | New Yorker Films | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
( T ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B0001Y4LDW
Release Date: 2004-06-08

Amazon.com

A devastatingly skillful and emotionally compelling documentary, The Times of Harvey Milk charts the political rise and brutal slaying of the first openly gay city official in the United State, Harvey Milk. Ironically, the same election that brought Milk to the board of city supervisors of San Francisco also elected the man who killed him, a former police officer and fireman named Dan White. After White shot both Mayor George Moscone and Milk, his defense lawyers convinced the jury that White's judgment was impaired by depression and junk food, resulting in a conviction for manslaughter instead of murder--a verdict that prompted riots. With care and conviction, The Times of Harvey Milk captures not only Milk himself, but also the political and social landscape in which these events took place. The interviews--with friends, politicians, and journalists--are articulate and heartfelt, expressing the impact that Milk had upon this historical moment. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

A Hero for Us.......2006-12-31

"THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK"

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

One of the finest gay documentaries to come along in the last few years is undoubtedly "The Times of Harvey Milk". Through interviews with his friends, acquaintances and people from the world of politics, the film brings Milk to life and shows him to be the inspiration that he was when he was alive. The movie pens with a very moving shot of Diane Feinstein announcing that "Mayor Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk have been shot and killed. From here we re taken on a tour of Milk's life and find out who the man was. As we look at the life of Milk very strong emotions come into play and the gay perspective of an openly gay elected official shot down in his prime looms before us. There is no gay propaganda here and both sides of the coin are looked at with fairness.
It seems as if the goal of the film is turn Milk into a martyr, and in a sense he was. He knew he would be assassinated. Even though, when the announcement comes that he has been shot down, there s a shock to be felt, especially when you see the reporters who upon hearing the announcement cry out in disbelief. What is even more shocking is that Dan White, who shot Milk, was found guilty any of voluntary manslaughter and eventually set free after only five and a half years in jail.
This is a stunning film and it is quite remarkable the way the story of Milk's life s pieced together and retold. The film covers a piece of America that few know about and everyone should. The movie is for all people, not just gays. It is a film about politics or San Francisco. It is about a man who was murdered at the prime of his life who happened to be a gay San Franciscan politician. The move takes you in and shows you how Milk affected lives including the life of the man who assassinated him. Just as Harvey Milk's life is impotent to us, the aftermath of his death is jest as important as seen in this amazing film. As an openly gay politician, Milk filled an important place in history. Milk was an intense person as to how he dealt with human rights. How he fit into society is amazing.
The director, Robert Epstein, has made a movie he can be proud of and the fact that it won an Oscar is validation of that. This straightforward portrait of Harvey Milk is fascinating and inspirational. It shows the tenaciousness of a man who was articulate, charming and intelligent. With gay rights being the biggest issue facing him, he fought equally of other disenfranchised groups and recognized their need to come together to fight for the rights of all. He was a hero of the entire movement for human rights and the film shows how much has changed since the film was made in 1984. Harvey Milk is a part of the history that we as members of the GLBT community have to be proud of and as long as we have this film to remind us, we know that everything is possible.

An Essential Documentary.......2006-12-09

After watching this documentary on Harvey Milk, all I could think to myself was how this story escapes high school history books. Harvey Milk is the gay community's MLK, Jr. - everyone should know about his plight for justice.

Amazing. You laugh, you cry, and you try your best to live your life with hope........2006-11-16

I just finished watching The Times of Harvey Milk and I struggle to find the right words to express how amazing this documentary is.

Focusing on Harvey Milk in the context of San Francisco and California in the 1970's, this film is as much about the gay community as it is about Milk himself.

Yet it captures Milk's passion without portraying him as a saint. He has temper tantrums, he lacks patience at times, but he calls on ALL of us, gay or straight, as members of the human condition, to make our world a better place. He calls us to see the links between the oppression of gays, asians, blacks, women, the poor, etc and challenges us to rise up in our own communities and fight for every one of these causes because it is the right thing to do.

The film is exquisitely made, using photographs, news reports, radio broadcasts, and interviews with Milk's friends and political cohorts. It reaches down into you and tears at your heart, it enrages you when White doesn't really get the full brunt of the law, and it inspires you with that most difficult of things... hope.

Interesting documentary.......2006-08-14

I didn't know a lot about the murder of San Francisco Board of Supervisor Harvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone. At that time I was too busy raising my sons and wasn't politically minded at that time of my life. I wanted to learn more about this incident so I saw this movie.

Dan Brown (another supervisor) resigned from his position. Family, friends and supporters said he shouldn't have done that and he asked for his job back. When he heard he probably wouldn't be reinstated he killed them. He had a gun and bullets in his pockets. Yet a jury let him get away with pretty much a slap on the hand. He served only five years incarcerated. His defense was he was under pressure and eating too much junk food. The Twinkie Defense. As people said in the film, if he only assassinated Mayor George Moscone instead of also killing Harvey Milk (who was gay), he would have done hard time.

One of the faults I suppose of the jury system is that since it is a jury of your peers is that sometimes they will let you get away with a "hate crime". I feel that's is what happened in the OJ trail. I wish this could be fixed somehow.

Essential historical documentary.......2006-06-17

Robert Epstein and Richard Schmiechen have crafted an eloquent and touching documentary that brings to life a historically important political figure in our nation's history: Harvey Milk, the first openly gay public elected official in San Francisco. Milk, together with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, were assassinated in November 1978.

The film does not concentrate on a biographical portrait of Milk, but instead focuses on the eleven months he served as San Francisco supervisor. It brings life to history, albeit recent history, a quality that is lacking in so many historical documentaries. What makes this possible, in many ways, is the ample news footage that was available to trace the events that comprised those eleven months, and the personal commentary provided by witnesses and participants of the events documented. The additional footage and audio commentary that comprises this 2-DVD set sheds more light on the Harvey Milk legacy. Milk was a politician by nature, much in the same way as John Kennedy was, but without the money. It shows how much a charasmatic figure can accomplish when the mission seems clear. Milk's humor, candor, and intelligence shines through.

I first saw this film in the late 1980s on public television, and saw it a few times since. Watching it today, what shocked me the most is that Dan White, who served a little more than five years for the slayings, received no psychiatric treatment while incarcerated. White's defense attorney stated quite clearly in news footage that White was a suicide risk the day the verdict was announced. White killed himself less than two years after his release. I am clearly no apologist for Dan White, but he was failed by the very system that awarded him his freedom a scant five years after killing two men.

Milk was elected to public office in the few years after the notion of the "personal is political" became popular. Milk exemplified and capitalized on this notion brilliantly. What Milk's legacy shows me, today, is that personal authenticity is the most essential quality needed in our public officials. Integrity and intelligence springs from authenticity, as does clarity of purpose. And a sense of wit and humor is the second most essential quality. Milk possessed both.

P.S.: I thought of this after I originally posted my review. Milk was assassinated a few short years before the AIDS epidemic emerged as a public health threat within, and outside of, the gay community. Had Milk been on the scene at the time, I have no doubt he would have used his office and political power to the greatest extent possible to affect legislation and government accountibility in their response to the epidemic. His death really altered the course of history.

Average customer rating:

High School Horror
How Do You Like What You See?
Rare Laserdiscs - dvds Movies Collector.
Love this cult exploitation masterpiece but where is the old music?
Very Entertaining! I Laughed, I Cried!

Class of 1984
Starring: Perry King , Merrie Lynn Ross , Timothy Van Patten , Roddy McDowall , and Stefan Arngrim
Director: Mark L. Lester
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Crime | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Thrillers | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B0007WFXNK
Release Date: 2006-02-21

Description

They're all part of a typical day for the students of Lincoln High. Into this academic abyss arrives Andy Norris (Slaughterhouse Five's Perry King), an idealistic and naïve music teacher who has moved into the community with his pregnant wife Diane. Appalled by the crime-infested school, Norris soon crosses sabers with its teenage kingpin, the shrewd and sadistic Peter Stegman (The White Shadow's Timothy Van Patten). With Norris setting his sights on reforming Stegman, and the young miscreant declaring war on his teacher, the duo sets a fateful showdown into motion on the night of an important school orchestra performance. Directed and co-written by Mark L. Lester (Commando, Firestarter), CLASS OF 1984 is one of the seminal cult movies of the early 1980s. While its vision of a decaying, violence-plagued inner city school seemed over-the-top in 1982, it sadly prophesized the future of American education. Lester's film - which caused a stir at Cannes and reputedly offended one of its own screenwriters - is also notable for its cast, which includes Van Patten, Roddy McDowall and a very young Michael J. Fox. Alice Cooper performs the theme song, "I Am The Future". No longer are the students of Lincoln High the future, for the future has arrived!

Customer Reviews:

High School Horror.......2006-07-01

This movie is great. I first saw this movie back in the 80s on t.v. and I was glued to the screen. All the scenes in the movie have stayed with me all these years and it was fun to see them again this year (2006). Watching this movie when I was about nine or ten scared me so much at the time, that I wasn't to thrilled about the thought of eventually having to go to highschool. Even with all the hardcore scenes either edited or completley eliminated from t.v. it still was shocking. I assumed that being an adult I wouldn't view it the same, and yet this movie still maintains an original shock to it's scenes like no other movie that I've seen, even though it is a bit Clockwork Orangeish-which the director admitted to borrowing from. Very well directed, fast paced, and no borring character development. The story gets right to the point leaving the viewer feeling like a fly on the wall.

How Do You Like What You See?.......2006-04-17

Class Of 1984 has always been marketed as as a B exploitation film. Hell, I remember when I was a kid finding it in the "horror" section of the local video store! Though the film does have it's exploitation elements for sure, Class Of 1984 is a damn good movie. It could have been promoted as a more serious film(it actually was intended to be a more serious drama) and win over more critics, but like they mention in the documentary featurette, the scenes of violence and punk rockers and such were enough to prejudice some people into thinking the movie was something less than what it actually was. I never saw much of Perry King's work before or after this, but he's a very good choice as a kind of wimpy music teacher who thinks that through the power of knowledge, he can help the troubled teen, Timothy Van Patten. In fact, King's music class is probably the best behaved of the entire school with Van Patten as the only real rotten apple in the bunch...when he attends. Pretty boy Van Patten is kind of a teenage Godfather who runs drugs and hookers out of a punk rock club. His gang consists of three annoying thugs and one very annoying chick. When King pisses Van Patten off, the war begins. It starts off pretty simple with vandalism and practical jokes, but ends up being quite deadly. King goes through the movie in the role of dogooder throughout all of Van Patten's antics. I think most guys would have broken down long before King's character does, but when King does break down it's well worth the wait. If you let yourself get into the story, this movie will make your blood boil as you feel the frustration King feels. Whenever he retaliates, he's the one who gets in trouble, though you know he's really not doing anything wrong. It's like in real school where a guy would hit you with a spitball and no one would ever see him, but you'd be the one caught when you fired a spitball back. Plus the frustration mounts coz every rotten act Van Patten commits is brushed off coz "no one saw him do it" and the fact that he's a juvenile. The film builds to a fantastic final confrontation that gets downright brutal. Lots of great performances all around. Van Patten should have gone on to be a bigger star, but it never happened. He's does a great job as the evil, sly psychopath. Of course special praise must be given to Roddy McDowell. He's fantastic in this. They couldn't have picked a better guy for the job. Many thanks go out to Anchor Bay for putting this great film out on dvd. There's a good halfhour documentary on the disc that speaks mainly to director Lester, as well as two of the actors. Recommended very highly. Yesiree, Bob.

Rare Laserdiscs - dvds Movies Collector........2006-04-17

Class Of 1984 Grabbed me lol great Movie Drug Dealing,Gang Beatings Prostition,DO NOT MISS DA DVD Go get it at Amazon :P

Love this cult exploitation masterpiece but where is the old music?.......2006-04-16

Finally - one of my favorite movies has appeared on DVD. The version I had always known was the Australian VHS edition which features an entirely different score in the final reel when Perry King begins his killing spree.

The Anchor Bay and Australian DVDs of this movie both contain the original Lalo Schifrin score in the final reel, but the original Aussie VHS edition (and I presume theatrical edition) had different music - something that sounded like it could have been composed by John Carpenter in that era. Ticking, high-end percussion with a synth pulse beat accompanied by a rising and falling synth pad really gave the movie a momentum which is missing from Schifrin's score. It kicks in after Stegman's girlfriend utters the line "C'mon get it, teacher, teacher."
It's real "payback time" music that gets the pulse racing.

Not detracting anything from Schifrin, who is in fine form on this picture, but the music I remember from the past gave the final reel a totally different energy and dynamic. It really suited Perry King's violent rage as he viciously destroys the punks (by saw, by fire, bye bye). I wonder if this was something added to the "international" version of the movie that Lester discusses in his commentary. Not sure how many people have noticed this but I'm sure Australia was not the only territory in which this music alteration was made. Seems likely the original UK release would have been similar.

I'm glad the DVD contains the entire Schifrin score but it would have been great to have the option of the alternate audio added to a seperate track. I'd also love to know why the decision to change the music was made in the first place.

Great movie with terrific performances from the entire cast. It's really satisfying to watch the pain get dished out to these little pricks. They've totally earned their punishments and director Mark L.Lester really lets them have it. (A trait evident in his subsequent "Firestarter" and "Commando" in which hundreds of people are laid to waste in spectacular ways with carefree abandon.) Commando must have one of the greatest body counts of any 80s action movie.

Stegman - Tim Van Patten is now a director of "The Sopranos". Also worth checking is out Lester's insane out-of-control sequel "Class of 1999". Cyborg teachers unleash the pain on the youth population of Seattle with explosive results.

Don't miss Class of 1984 - finally in widescreen.

Very Entertaining! I Laughed, I Cried!.......2006-04-03

It is entertaining if you like over the top violence and laughable serious situations. It was truly a fun film to watch. Definately a Cult Classic that I am not sorry for purchasing. Think Bad Boys + The Warriors + Roddy McDowell acting abilities and there you have it.

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