Blood and Blackboards (2006 Video) User Reviews

A fascinating and illuminating retrospective documentary on the cult classic "Class of 1984"

[Woodyanders · 9/10 · 15 January 2009]

This bang-up 35 minute documentary covers a lot of interesting and informative ground concerning the excellent and controversial exploitation cult classic "Class of 1984." Director/co-writer Mark L. Lester, star Perry King, and female lead/executive producer Merrie Lynn Ross share a wealth of nifty trivia about the picture: the movie was ahead of its time with its scarily accurate prediction of rampant teen violence in high schools (Lester openly admits that such previous movies as "Blackboard Jungle" and "A Clockwork Orange" were major influences on his film), the flick was shot in 42 days on location in Toronto with Canadian tax shelter money, the famous teaching at gunpoint scene was inspired by a true story, the detective's inability to easily bust the juvenile hoodlums was likewise based on factual research, the punks in the club scene were the authentic rowdy article, the shrewd and charismatic lead villain Peter Stegman wasn't your generic dumb thug type, Stegman actually killed himself in the original less satisfying ending (Lester did a hasty reshoot with King punching his fist at the camera to fix said ending). and the movie was a huge hit at the box office despite receiving largely harsh reviews from a majority of film credits. Moreover, everyone points out that Roddy McDowall was a marvelous consummate professional, Vincent Van Patten portrayed Stegman with great intensity (King amusingly notes that he and Van Patten got along quite well off screen), and Michael J. Fox showed tremendous promise right at the very start of his career. King admits that he had some trepidation about doing the notorious table saw scene and Ross confesses that she was genuinely scared when she performed the brutal rape sequence. Recommended viewing for hardcore aficionados of "Class of 1984."

Making Class of 1984

[Michael_Elliott · 23 January 2016]

Blood and Blackboards (2006)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Director Mark L. Lestor, producer Merrie Lynn Ross and actor Perry King are interviewed about the making of CLASS OF 1984, the 1982 cult classic. At thirty-six minutes we get to hear all about the production from the how Lestor got the idea in his head to how they eventually got the movie made. All aspects of the filmmaking are covered including how the casting was done and everyone shares their stories about the various controversy that happened. If you're a fan of the film then you're certainly going to enjoy hearing all of these stories as there are some great ones told. Some of the highlights include the casting of Michael J. Fox plus the preview screenings where the ending was questioned. A lot of nice stories are told here so fans should really enjoy it.