School Ties (1992)

Director:

Robert Mandel

Writers (WGA):

Dick Wolf (story)
Dick Wolf (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 September 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Tagline:

Just Because You're Accepted Doesn't Mean You Belong.

Plot:

A Jewish boy goes to an elite prep school in the 1950's and hides his religion until a jealous bigot forces it out in the open.

Plot Keywords:

School | 1950s | Prep School | Cheating | Jew

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Brendan Fraser	...	David Greene
Matt Damon	...	Charlie Dillon
Chris O'Donnell	...	Chris Reece
Randall Batinkoff	...	Rip Van Kelt
Andrew Lowery	...	'Mack' McGivern
Cole Hauser	...	Jack Connors
Ben Affleck	...	Chesty Smith
Anthony Rapp	...	Richard 'McGoo' Collins
Amy Locane	...	Sally Wheeler
Peter Donat	...	Headmaster Dr. Bartram
Zeljko Ivanek	...	Mr. Cleary
Kevin Tighe	...	Coach McDevitt
Michael Higgins	...	Mr. Gierasch
Ed Lauter	...	Alan Greene
Peter McRobbie	...	Chaplain

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Norway:15 | Spain:13 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Acton Indoor Tennis Club - 908 Main Street, Acton, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The gym scenes were shot at Worcester Academy prep school, Worcester, Massachusetts

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): After observing David's superior dancing skills at the ball, Dillon praises him for these skills, adding "I hope you're as fast on the floor as you are on the field." Presumably he means to say this the other way around, and he has already observed how fast Dillon is on the floor.

Quotes:

Mr. Gierasch: Be seated, gentlemen. It appears that someone in this class cheated on yesterday's history exam. Today is Saturday. Your next class is on Monday. Therefore, we are faced with a rather bleak situation. If the guilty party does not come forward, or is not identified by then, I shall be forced to fail the entire section.
Chris Reese: Isn't that unfair, sir? Only one of us cheated.
Mr. Gierasch: We have all been dishonored by this person and I will not tolerate it.
David Green: How can you be sure that someone cheated, sir?
Mr. Gierasch: I would prefer to keep the evidence to myself for the time being.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Family Guy: The Story on Page One (#2.19)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Love Me

Jewish middle-class boy gets into elite-highschool, and gets into trouble when he hides the fact that he's jewish.

Great drama with even greater performances from the relatively young and unknown cast. Especially Brendan Fraser's acting is really intense. One of his first roles, and in my opinion his best. He was not yet as famous as he is now ( after, for example, a film as 'the Mummy' ), but I think that his acting never had the intensity and credibility of that part.(In fact, I was shocked when I discovered that it was in fact Fraser in the horrible " George of the jungle' ! How could a fine actor like him accept such a terrible role ? ) Also Matt Damon (also an unknown actor at that time )and the other young actors are great. A terrific, subtle drama !

9 out of 10 !