School Daze

I love School Daze remind me of my college daysLove the reviews ....

I am biased toward musicals, which may not be everyone's cup of tea, but even without the very original and enjoyable singing and dancing this movie could be an entertaining way to enlighten a lot of people about the caste system, which is universal (whether imposed by authority, tradition or oneself) to ALL races, and thus foster greater understanding and tolerance as we realize we have more in common with others than we think, that unity breeds strength and satisfaction, and that both positive and negative traits are part of the entire human race. The college scenes strike me as quite accurate, the pledging displays perhaps a bit over the top, but best of all, to the director's credit, there was not the usual emphasis on alcohol and drugs that one sees in so many films of college life. Spike Lee is a most intelligent director as well as a super-talented actor. I have enjoyed several of his unique films immensely.

This review is of the DVD release of 2001, not of School Daze itself, which is a fantastic film. So fantastic, in fact, that I wanted to view it in its original aspect ratio. The description of the DVD indicates that this edition is widescreen. It is not: it has been pan-and-scanned to a fullscreen aspect ratio. Unless your TV was made at around the same time as this film, make sure not to get this edition of the film. Two stars because the shipment was very quick and the product was in perfect condition.

So to comment on the movie itself: It was a great movie! I'm glad I finally saw it (watched the Amazon on Demand rental). The characters are natural and the entire thing feels real, not contrived. You can tell the cast and crew put their work in trying to create a real college experience on-screen. And as a 2008 graduate of Spelman, I enjoyed seeing the recognizable campus locations filmed in the earlier parts of the movie :) The musical numbers were just weird, though; with the exception of Tisha Campbell's number and the scene at the bathing suit party, they seemed out of place and kind of wacky. Interesting, definitely, but I wasn't expecting them.I will say this. When I was in high school all everyone could talk about was School Daze and how they couldn't wait to go to college and pledge partially because of what they saw here. I did go to an HBCU in the mid-2000s, but some of the experiences in the movie made me go "huh". I know that Lee's Morehouse experience happened in the mid-to-late 70s, and this movie was filmed in the late 80s, so I think a lot of things at HBCUs and with Greeks in particular were different - especially given that pledging was above-ground then and is mostly underground now. You don't see a line of Pyramids or Sphinxmen all dressed alike in public anymore. But more importantly, I don't feel like my HBCU experience (Morehouse-Spelman-Clark Atlanta community) had the same timbre that Lee's maybe did in the 70s or that was portrayed here in the 80s - this sort of disjointed, fractured black community. I had Greek friends even though I'm not Greek; colorism wasn't as much of an issue; and pretty much everyone on campus was involved in the community and political activism in some way. So I only saw parts of my experience reflected here - the crazy themed homecoming party, the homecoming game (and losing badly).Still great movie!

I loved it!

A must have for your collection!

Tisha Campbell is a young college student in this movie and great to see some of her first roles such as this. It had a lot of stars in it, but I bought it to see the Black Guy that was in The Chorus Line Movie. He was in it only briefly, I wanted to see a lot more of him, but was so surprised to see so many actors that have come a long way since this movie, like Tisha and Lawrence Fishburne. Spike Lee and his sister were in it too. Spike has a way of showing the sad side of life, the controversial issues, and the thrilling side of life. A lot of dancing and dance offs are in it too! The beautiful girl in It's a Different World was in it too. I believe her name is Jasmine Guy. Action, trickery and sadness are in this. If you are a Tisha and Lawrence fan, you will be happy. Thank you.

I'm 37 years old and just finished watching this movie for the first time on Amazon Prime. I liked every minute of it from beginning to end. Great cast, so many recognizable faces, and cameos from actors that probably weren't so famous at the time of the film that are megastars today. I liked the films take on the perspective of a historical Black college. Lawrence Fishburne is really good in this film. This is a Spike Lee film I think is largely underrated by the media.

Spike Lee at his best! Although the sorority and "pledging" stuff is purely American, it is a FANTASTIC film! I am not a big fan of musicals, but this film has stayed in my heart since I first saw it back in ??????!!!!! I had to get a copy on DVD. Eclectic and memorable - all with a poignant message; go Spike!!WARNING: The songs will stay in your head - forever!!

Great movie even after all these years. This really took me back to the late 80s. Great director and cast, plus the soundtrack is dope. Think of an old-school, maturer 'high school musical' - for adults!

Very Good old skool film that has not been redone or bettered, it's a very deep film that a lot of viewers will not understand.

Watched this years ago, and wanted a copy.

Okay