One Eight Seven (1997)

15 months after being stabbed 9 times by a student at work as a high school teacher in NYC, Mr. Garfield is working in LA as a substitute teacher come full-time. He refuses to be a victim anymore.

Director:

Kevin Reynolds

Writer:

Scott Yagemann

Stars:

Samuel L. Jackson, John Heard, Kelly Rowan

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Trevor Garfield
John Heard	...	Dave Childress
Kelly Rowan	...	Ellen Henry
Clifton Collins Jr.	...	Cesar Sanchez (as Clifton Gonzalez Gonzalez)
Tony Plana	...	Principal Garcia
Karina Arroyave	...	Rita Martinez
Lobo Sebastian	...	Benny Chacon
Jack Kehler	...	Larry Hyland
Jonah Rooney	...	Stevie Littleton
Demetrius Navarro	...	Paco
Ebony Monique Solomon	...	Lakesia
Jonny Bogris	...	Barsek (as Yannis Bogris)
Dominic Hoffman	...	Victor
Martha Velez	...	Mrs. Chacon
Method Man	...	Dennis Broadway

Storyline

High school teacher Trevor Garfield is stabbed by bad-boy student. Fifteen months later, he moves to Los Angeles to the unruly, predominantly Latino school. He has to tame wolf-like students.

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Plot Keywords:

teacher as protagonist | teacher | high school | stabbing | new york city | 

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Taglines:

When schools become war zones and both sides start taking casualties, what then?

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, strong language, drug use and brief nudity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

30 July 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

187

Filming Locations:

Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,912,400, 3 August 1997, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$5,716,080, 7 September 1997

Company Credits

Production Co:

Icon Entertainment International,Icon Productions,R U Dun Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While riding his exercise bike, Trevor Garfield (Samuel L. Jackson) wears a Morehouse College sweatshirt, Jackson's alma mater.

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Goofs

When Cesar is walking alone and sees the dog, he says "stupid gato", which means stupid cat, not dog. This could just be because he is high as a kite though.

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Quotes

[first lines]
school official: Alright, let's go people, let's go. One minute until tardy lock-down... take your hat off, thank you... let's go, let's go. Everybody move inside, move inside... morning Trevor, good morning. Let's go, get inside... let her go! No smoking - I don't smoke, you don't smoke. Let's go people, today's a *good* day to learn.

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Crazy Credits

A teacher wrote this movie.

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Alternate Versions

When aired on USA Network, the scene where Rita is topless uses different camera angles to avoid nudity.

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Connections

References The Andy Griffith Show (1960)

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Soundtracks

Fables
Written and Performed by David Darling
Courtesy of ECM Records

User Reviews

What are you gonna do?

After a vicious assault on him, Trevor Garfield, a teacher, moves cities and works as a temp. However, he finds that things are even worse at his new school. Dealing with an important subject, this is immensely engaging and tense. While not based on any specific case, this was written by an actual teacher, and, frankly, it does feel terrifyingly authentic and realistic. The psychology is completely accurate, and this is not black and white. This is well-paced, and never boring. The plot is compelling throughout, and though you can figure some things out before they occur, this most likely *will* surprise you. Every acting performance is spot-on, and all roles are marvelously cast. Jackson is impeccable, and his particular knack for playing someone who holds anger and may lose control at any moment is excellent for this. This has a great soundtrack, with music that fits the environment(which is very nicely established; they found perfect locations and types of people), without making it appealing. The editing and cinematography are incredible, if dangerously close to being flashy. There is a bit of brutal, bloody violence, a lot of disturbing content, moderately frequent strong language and brief nudity in this. I recommend this to anyone mature enough to handle it. 7/10