Class of 1984 (1982)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1982
	Director: Mark Lester
	Actors: Perry King, Roddy McDowall, Timothy van Patten, Lisa Langlois
	Country: CDN
	Genre: Action, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 28.07.2018, Streaming, English version
Synopsis: Andrew Norris (King) is a new teacher in an downtown high school that is like nothing he has ever seen before. This school is so dangerous that the students have to go through a metal detector at the front door and almost everything is run by a punk gang lead by a delinquent named Peter Stegman (van Patten). On the first day of music course, Norris and Stegman clash and Stegman will stop at nothing to protect his turf and drug dealing business.
Review: I came to that movie after President El Trumpo came to the idea to train teachers at school on weapons (New-York Times article). I reminded some movie seen on TV as a kid and found it on youtube here.  The story is well built with an ever increasing violence and tension. All because none of the two sides accept to give up and to loose the face. And between these two self exited parties the few who just wanted peace and did not want to participate finish badly. This reflects the fear of the conservative American society toward its children and their music, the punk in the early 80s. Mark Lester even introduces an association to Neo-nazi mentality by letting the Stegman gang make the nazi sign, wearing tshirts with the Swastika. The main message that I understood is about the justice failing at arresting criminals if no evidence and no testimony is given. One dramatic sentence is given a the end of the movie SPOILER Andy Norris was not prosecuted because the police could not find anyone who actually saw this happen.  The acting of Perry King does not really make it. His role in Riptide matched better. By luck the bad guys and especially Timothy van Patten and Lisa Langlois are convincing and have charisma on the scene. And the teacher Terry (McDowall) is very convincing in avoiding conflicts and in the way he is affected by the murder of his cat. By the way Michael J. Fox has a good role in times before Back to the Future.
Rating: 6 /10