Taps (1981)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Harold Becker

Writers:

Devery Freeman (novel)
Robert Mark Kamen (writer)

Release Date:

20 December 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

This school is our home, we think it's worth defending.

Plot:

Military cadets take extreme measures to insure the future of their academy when its existence is threatened by local condo developers.

Plot Keywords:

Military | Military Academy | Tragic Events | School Closing | Teen

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

George C. Scott	...	General Harlan Bache
Timothy Hutton	...	Cadet Major Brian Moreland
Ronny Cox	...	Colonel Kerby
Sean Penn	...	Cadet Captain Alex Dwyer
Tom Cruise	...	Cadet Captain David Shawn
Brendan Ward	...	Charlie Auden
Evan Handler	...	Edward West
John P. Navin Jr.	...	Derek Mellott
Billy Van Zandt	...	Bug
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Cadet Captain J.C. Pierce
Donald Kimmel	...	Billy Harris
Tim Wahrer	...	Cadet Major John Cooper
Tim Riley	...	Hulk
Jeff Rochlin	...	Shovel
Rusty Jacobs	...	Rusty

Also Known As:

The Siege at Bunker Hill: T.A.P.S (UK) (TV title)

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #26439) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Ronny Cox was Harold Becker's original choice to play Colonel, but another unnamed actor was chosen and then fired two days into shooting his scenes. Producer Stanley R. Jaffe immediately called Cox, who flew down the very next day to begin shooting his scenes.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When taking inventory of the armory, the man counting the weapons states they are ".45 millimeter caliber 1911's". M1911 pistols are .45 caliber, meaning the bore is .45 inches in diameter, and not the metric measurement of 45 millimeters (a significantly larger measurement, to the point where they would be classed as artillery, rather than small arms). In countries which issued the M1911 (or copies), and to whom the Metric system was common, the cartridge was referred to as 11.43x23mm.

Quotes:

Brian Moreland: They want us to be good little boys now so we can fight some war for them in the future. Some war they'll decide on. We'd rather fight our own war right now.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Home Improvement: Taps (#6.24)" (1997)

Artistically sound, unnecessarilly brutal

TAPS has some excellent photography. Many shots of the academy are well done. Sadly, TAPS will be better known as having co-star Tom Cruise with a squeaky voice. Amusing to not see him in the opening credits. TAPS has some dull moments but toward the end, the drama and events are extremely brutal and may shock some. Especially since TAPS is a PG movie, there are far more powerful moments than you may anticipate later in the movie.

After 141 years in service, the Bunker Hill Military School is going to be bulldozed to make room for some new condominiums. After a mishap puts the General into custody and later into the hospital, the young cadets take matters into their own hands and take over the school. To them it is their home and everyone outside of those walls is a problem.

Superb photography sells TAPS. The camera direction, the acting and direction are all above average. This does not save TAPS from being dull though and a bit too long in parts. Everyone knows what will happen next and what the outcome would be. TAPS has some very harsh moments toward the end, but seeing a young Tom Cruise and Sean Penn and some half-decent artistic work may be worth the watch.