Class of 1984 (1982)

Director:

Mark L. Lester

Writers:

Tom Holland (story)
Mark L. Lester (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

20 August 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Class of 1984. Is this the future?

Plot:

Andy is a new teacher and an inner city high school that is like nothing he has ever seen before. The...

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Knife | Teenage Boy | 1980s | Accidental Killing

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Perry King	...	Andrew Norris
Merrie Lynn Ross	...	Diane Norris
Timothy Van Patten	...	Peter Stegman
Roddy McDowall	...	Terry Corrigan
Stefan Arngrim	...	Drugstore
Michael J. Fox	...	Arthur (as Michael Fox)
Keith Knight	...	Barnyard
Lisa Langlois	...	Patsy
Neil Clifford	...	Fallon
Al Waxman	...	Detective Stewiski
Erin Noble	...	Deneen (as Erin Flannery)
David Gardner	...	Principal Morganthau
Steve Pernie	...	Rejack
Robert Reece	...	Leroy
Joseph Kelly	...	Jimmy
Elva Mai Hoover	...	Ellen Corrigan
Vincent Abbatino	...	Vinnie Contino
Evan Green	...	Student Usher
Linda Sorenson	...	Mrs. Stegman
Claude Rae	...	Doctor
Jack Lea	...	Cop
Tracy Kinsella	...	Mary
Helena Quinton	...	Sally
Don Buchsbaum	...	Security Guard
Darlene Burlie	...	Student
Michelle Kolman	...	Student
Roy T. Anderson	...	Student (as Roy [Tony] Anderson)
Teenage Head	...	Themselves

Directed by
Mark L. Lester		(as Mark Lester)

Writing credits
Tom Holland		(story)
Mark L. Lester		(screenplay) (as Mark Lester) and
John C.W. Saxton		(screenplay) (as John Saxton) &
Tom Holland		(screenplay)
Barry Schneider		uncredited

Produced by
Arthur Kent	....	producer
Mark L. Lester	....	executive producer (as Mark Lester)
Merrie Lynn Ross	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Lalo Schifrin

Cinematography by
Albert J. Dunk

Film Editing by
Howard Kunin

Casting by
Deirdre Bowen		(as Walker-Bowen)
Clare Walker		(as Walker-Bowen)

Art Direction by
Geoffrey Holmes
Edwin Watkins		(as Ted Watkins)

Set Decoration by
Hilton Rosemarin

Costume Design by
Lynne MacKay

Makeup Department
Ken Brooke	....	key makeup artist
Carol Davidson	....	makeup artist
Patricia Green	....	makeup artist
James Keeler	....	key hair stylist
Vittorio Monteleone	....	hair stylist
Albert Paradis	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Marilyn Stonehouse	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Libby Bowden	....	second assistant director
Peter Grundy	....	dgc trainee
Lee Knippelberg	....	third assistant director
Tony Lucibello	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Jacques M. Bradette	....	supervising set decorator (as Jacques Bradette)
James O. Cameron	....	laborer
Brian Carson	....	painter
Tom Doherty	....	first assistant art director
James Duffy	....	laborer
Earle Fiset	....	property master
Marlene Graham	....	second assistant art director
Joyce Liggett	....	property buyer
Susan Longmire	....	first assistant art director
Derek Stephenson	....	painter
Dan Wladyka	....	assistant property master

Sound Department
Bruce Carwardine	....	sound effects editor
Linda Davidson	....	assistant sound editor
Glen Gauthier	....	dialogue editor
Austin Grimaldi	....	sound re-recording mixer
Joe Grimaldi	....	sound re-recording mixer
Herb Heritage	....	boom operator
Allan Lee	....	assistant sound editor
Jayme S. Parker	....	supervising sound editor (as Jayme Parker)
Peter Shewchuk	....	sound recordist
Peter Tarshis	....	second boom operator
Peter Thilaye	....	sound effects editor (as Peter Thillaye)

Special Effects by
Colin Chilvers	....	special effects
Martin Malivoire	....	special effects

Stunts
Roy T. Anderson	....	stunts (as Roy Anderson)
Lutz Brode	....	stunts
Desmond Campbell	....	stunts
Shane Cardwell	....	stunts
Courtney Chang	....	stunts
Peter Cox	....	stunts
G.N. Ted Dentay	....	stunts
Rick Forsayeth	....	stunts
Jo-Anne Hannah	....	stunts (as Jo-Anne Lang-Hannah)
Robert Hannah	....	stunt coordinator (as R.L. 'Bobby' Hannah)
Robert Hannah	....	stunts (as Bobby Hannah)
Kim Hansen	....	stunts
Terry Leonard	....	stunt coordinator (as Terry J. Leonard)
Kevin Murrel	....	stunts
David E. Pamplin	....	stunts
Darryl Phillip	....	stunts
Branko Racki	....	stunts
Robert Reece	....	stunts
David Rigby	....	stunts
Barry Swatuk	....	stunts (as Barry E. Swatuk)
Sandy Watt	....	stunts
Danny White	....	stunts
William White	....	stunts
Mark Wilson	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Michael Beer	....	generator operator
Paul F. Birkett	....	camera operator: second unit
Paul Bolton	....	rigging gaffer
Ray Charles	....	assistant camera: second unit
Ron Chegwidden	....	electrician (as Ronnie Chegwiddin)
John Davidson	....	grip (as John Davidson Jr.)
Tony Eldridge	....	best boy electric
Ron Gillham	....	key grip (as Ronnie Gillham)
Glen Goodchild	....	best boy grip
Chris Holmes	....	gaffer
Sam Hughes	....	electrician
Joan Hutton	....	assistant camera: second unit
Ernie Kestler	....	assistant camera: second unit
Jay Kohne	....	second assistant camera
Gordon Langevin	....	first assistant camera
Harald Ortenburger	....	camera operator
Raul 'Rocket' Randla	....	assistant camera: second unit (as Paul Randla)
Robert Saad	....	camera operator: second unit
Shin Sugino	....	still photographer
Matt Tundo	....	camera operator: second unit
James B. Wood	....	grip
Daniel Pearl	....	additional photographer (uncredited)

Casting Department
Johanna Ray	....	additional casting (as Joanna Ray)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gail Filman	....	wardrobe assistant
Nadia Ongaro	....	wardrobe mistress

Editorial Department
Timothy Eaton	....	assistant editor (as Tim Eaton)
Gary Gegan	....	assistant editor
Gary Kunin	....	assistant editor
Howard Kunin	....	supervising editor
Florent Retz	....	assistant editor
Dennis White	....	negative cutter
Richard White	....	negative cutter

Music Department
Edward Karam	....	orchestrator (as Eddie Karim)

Transportation Department
Pat Brennan	....	driver
John Cocks	....	driver
Gary Flanagan	....	driver
Fred Ionson	....	driver captain
Jim Kennedy	....	driver co-captain
Joe Muscat	....	driver

Other crew
Simon Clery	....	production assistant
Lin Gibson	....	location assistant
Vicky Gliserman	....	craft service
Debra Goldstein	....	publicity coordinator
Mendel Green	....	legal counsel
David Hart	....	production assistant
Angela Heald	....	production coordinator
Lynn Jemison	....	production assistant
Barbara Kelly	....	location manager
Robert Lange	....	legal counsel (as Bob Lange)
Lyn Lucibello	....	production accountant
Heather McIntosh	....	production controller
Brigitte Parker	....	assistant accountant
Andrea Poulis	....	craft service
Dave Roberts	....	copyist
Pattie Robertson	....	continuity
Richard Spiegelman	....	office production assistant
Gabor Zinner	....	legal counsel

Thanks
John Toffan	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Guerilla High Productions

Distributors

• United Film Distribution Company (UFDC) (1982) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia-EMI-Warner (1983) (UK) (theatrical)
• American World Pictures (AWP) (2005) (worldwide) (all media)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Astro Distribution (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Astro Distribution (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Big Sky Video (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• Bridge Entertainment Group (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Citadel Films (1983) (Canada)
• Creswin Distribution (1983) (Canada)
• Home Entertainment Corporation PLC (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Les Productions Karim (Canada)
• Nordisk Film (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• PVB Editions (1982) (France) (DVD)
• Roadshow Home Video
• Succéfilm AB (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Thorn EMI (1983) (UK) (video)
• Vestron Video (video)

Also Known As:

Guerrilla High (Canada: English title) (working title)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:15 (DVD rating) (2006) (uncut) | Finland:(Banned) (heavily cut) (1984) | Norway:18 (DVD rating) (uncut) (2005) | USA:R (cut) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (2006) | Finland:(Banned) (uncut) (1982) (1983) (1986) | Australia:R | Denmark:15 | France:-16 | Germany:18 (cut version: 2002) | Iceland:(Banned) | New Zealand:R18 | Sweden:15 | UK:(Banned) (video rating) (1987) | UK:18 (original rating) (cut) | UK:18 (video re-rating) (2005) | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Central Tech. High School, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Guerilla High Productions

Trivia:

Upset at the violent content after a screening, screenwriter Barry Schneider had his name taken off the credits as a screenwriter of the final film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Perry puts the thug's arm on the table saw, the amount of blood, and its position, changes, depending on the shot.

Quotes:

Peter Stegman: Life is pain. Pain is everything.

Movie Connections:

References A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Soundtrack:

Let's Have a War

A horrific traffic accident of a movie.

"Class of 1984" is a highly memorable cult film depicting a high school of the "future" overridden by violence and crime. Sadly, this premise, while far-out at the time, turned out to be all too prophetic.

Perry King plays Andy Norris, the new music teacher at this high school. He's replacing a man named Goldstein who supposedly had an "accident". Almost immediately, Andy is butting heads with the kingpin of this school, a snot-nosed and deranged under-age creep named Peter Stegman (Timothy Van Patten). Andy refuses to be bullied by the young psychopath, and their war of wills reaches an inevitable breaking point when Stegman and his gang target Andy's pregnant wife (Merrie Lynn Ross).

Van Patten creates a very vivid and hissable villain who I had a lot of fun hating, but the real star of this movie is, for me, veteran Roddy McDowall. The "Planet of the Apes" series star is biology teacher Terry Corrigan, an embittered alcoholic despondent over the fact that he can't get his students to want to learn anything, and who is clearly just one step from a nervous breakdown. His highlight scene is the said breakdown, where he forces his students to answer biology questions at gunpoint.

Canadian legend Al Waxman pops in from time to time as the detective who is basically powerless to appropriately punish these young miscreants. And Michael J. Fox (billed here without the middle initial) makes an early screen appearance as a dorky little wise-guy.

Yes, this film is undeniably lurid and perverse trash. But it WORKS. The struggle between Andy and Stegman is too compelling to ignore, and the ultra-violent final battle had me on the edge of my seat, cheering on Andy as he handles things the Charles Bronson way.

Co-star Ross has little to do. Essentially, she seems to function more as a plot device than as a character - as in the plot device that will conclusively drive Andy over the edge.

The film is co-written with future film director Tom Holland, and features a song contribution by Alice Cooper ("I Am The Future").

"Class of 1984" is a sleazy, shameless cult film, possibly one of the best of its kind. Note that if you check out the external reviews link, even Roger Ebert had to admit that he enjoyed it! Probably one of the most potent "guilty pleasure" movies that I've ever watched. Until this gets released on DVD, I'll just make do with my taped-off-of-TV videotape version.

10/10