Teachers (1984)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Arthur Hiller

Writer:

W.R. McKinney (written by)

Release Date:

5 October 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

They fall asleep in class. Throw ink on each other. Never come in Mondays. And they're just the teachers.

Plot:

A teacher overcomes his frustration in a high-school full of flunkies. As he attempts to educate his students...

Plot Keywords:

Student | Teacher | High School | Female Nudity | White Panties

Cast

Nick Nolte	...	Alex Jurel
JoBeth Williams	...	Lisa Hammond
Judd Hirsch	...	Roger Rubell
Ralph Macchio	...	Eddie Pilikian
Allen Garfield	...	Carl Rosenberg
Lee Grant	...	Dr. Donna Burke
Richard Mulligan	...	Herbert Gower
Royal Dano	...	Ditto Stiles
William Schallert	...	Horn
Art Metrano	...	Troy
Laura Dern	...	Diane
Crispin Glover	...	Danny
Morgan Freeman	...	Lewis
Madeleine Sherwood	...	Grace
Steven Hill	...	Sloan

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Iceland:L | West Germany:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Columbus, Ohio, USA

Company:

United Artists

Trivia:

This movie was filmed at Central High School in Columbus, Ohio. Since that time, Central High School was renovated to become the new site of COSI (Center for Science and Industry).

Goofs:

Continuity: In the hallway scene following the locker search, Alex Jurel's hair mysterious transforms from neat to extremely messed up, in what is obviously an additional shot added later.

Quotes:

Alex Jurel: There's nothing worse than a female lawyer with a cause.
Lisa: Except a male teacher without one.

Soundtrack:

Can't Stop The Fire

Fun, silly and semi-relevant movie...

I just wanted to comment on the previous/first commenter's comments. You mentioned that you didn't think there was any point to having the teacher who doesn't teach & sleeps all day in class. You couldn't possibly be more mistaken! Of course there was a point -- his LACK of teaching/presence makes one think about who is teaching our kids. I am a teacher, in fact, and I can tell you that there are many teachers out there who are ONE step away from retirement & choose to "not" teach every day in their classrooms. What's interesting is seeing what the students do in the absence of a really good, effective teacher.

This move was "over the top" and felt pretty cheesy at times, but overall, it has a good, interesting, and important message about what real teaching is about. The needs of our youth have changed in the past 20, 30, 40+ years. This movie is TWENTY-THREE years old and yet it was onto something -- kids need teachers who are REAL people. They need teachers who maintain high standards of both work habits AND personal behavior BUT who also model what being a REAL human being/adult looks like.

Nolte's character definitely got himself into hot water -- and nowadays, it could have been much hotter actually -- and overstepped many, many boundaries in his attempt to help his struggling students. But, overall, what he did to inspire and connect with them definitely outweighed the mistakes.

Anyway, give it a shot and watch this. I grew up in the '80s but for some reason, never caught this one. If you want to revisit the era of cheese -- typical 80s soundtrack, 80s style, actors (Ralph Macchio, Crispin Glover, Laura Dern) and actually get a little insight into what it means to be a public high school teacher, check it out.