The Lords of Discipline (1983)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Franc Roddam

Writers:

Pat Conroy (novel)
Thomas Pope (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 July 1983 (Australia)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

One hundred years of the finest school turning out the finest young men. IT WAS ALL A LIE. One cadet is about to expose the system.

Plot:

Will arrives for his last year at Military Academy, in the Deep South USA, in the 1960's. A black student...

Plot Keywords:

Torture | Racism | Secret Group | Ceremony | Military School

Cast

David Keith	...	Will
Robert Prosky	...	Bear
G.D. Spradlin	...	Gen. Bentley Durrell
Barbara Babcock	...	Abigail
Michael Biehn	...	John Alexander
Rick Rossovich	...	Dante `Pig` Pignetti
John Lavachielli	...	Mark
Mitchell Lichtenstein	...	Tradd
Mark Breland	...	Pearce
Malcolm Danare	...	Poteete
Judge Reinhold	...	Macabbee
Greg Webb	...	Braselton
Bill Paxton	...	Gilbreath (as 'Wild' Bill Paxton)
Dean R. Miller	...	Gooch (as Dean Miller)
Ed Bishop	...	Commerce

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Filming took place in London, and Bill Paxton met his future (and second) wife Louise Newbury on a #37 bus there.

Quotes:

Gilbreath: Do you know what this is, boy?
[Holds up a coin]
Gilbreath: Pop off!
Poteete: It's a quarter, sir.
Gilbreath: Shut up! Open your mouth and stick out your tongue.
[Poteete sticks out his tongue and Gilbreath places the coin on it]
Gilbreath: Swallow it!
[Gilbreath grabs Poteete's throatt, forcing him to swallow the coin]
Gilbreath: That's good boy, that's reeeal good. You're gonna be my little piggy-bank.

Moral

A movie about discipline, the Lords of Discipline is the wrong title to what could have been a great movie. David Keith stars in a Taps like movie where a coming of age drama turns into a thriller. Some interesting characters, that end up not going anywhere, the movie has a plot but no real story that drives the audience to keep watching. Issues of race and equality take a back seat to the overall story of discipline. Military schools are looked upon as either a wrong idea run by the wrong people, or the only real justice left. These questions are not answered as David Keith tries to lead his cast. Instead, a nice movie, but far from anything great. Much like David Keith's performance, the movie falls short of anything timeless.