School Ties

This movie is definitely made "the way they used to make 'em," as some would say - and most reviewers do not mention that Dick Wolf, of "Law and Order" fame, is the creator of the story, which concerns a Jewish high school boy getting the golden opportunity to excel in sports and academics at an elite boarding school. It's superbly made - the music by Maurice Jarre, one of the great film composers - is just one of the stand outs of this terrific film. The acting is genuine, heart felt, and strong. I wish Brendan Fraser had made more films like this, playing a real man, not the action hero kinds of things he did later. He really excels here - and so does Matt Damon, in a terrific, complex turn, echoing his later role in "The Talented Mr. Ripley," as a self-described "mediocrity," riding the coattails of his much more talented father and brother. Amy Locane, radiant here, is another superb actress we have not seen enough of in roles like this one. Unlike so many contemporary movies, which never seem to end, and have no sense of pace or story, "School Ties" has no fat at all: it's beautiful directed and photographed, beautifully scored, wonderfully acted and written. And its message, though sometimes overstated, is still applicable today: prejudice, in whatever form it takes, destroys lives and damages and diminishes all of us. This theme, together with other themes in the picture of religious faith, loyalty to friends and family, the meaning of hard work, marks this as a very unusual picture for its time, right at the cusp of the greedy '90's, and there probably hasn't been as good a picture on this subject since. This is a minor classic, without a doubt. One of those films you return to time and again, like an old friend, for the reassurance of decency and trying to do good in an often cold and harsh world. The closing moments of this picture are among my favorites in any film I've ever seen. This deserves a re-release, with a 15th anniversary approaching, and some great extras and interviews. It's a very fine picture!

The media could not be loaded. School TiesIs Fantastic MovieWell made and so moving and leaves the viewer at the end of watching with a feeling of a wonderful movie, a feeling of satisfaction and pleasure and an exciting story of that time. Everything is delivered with precision as if it were real from reality itself. What can be said: simple: Masterpiece ProductionThis is one of the movies everyone must haveFit to all agesmovie that leaves the viewer with inspiration and learn from itSo that he can apply what he learned in his own life

Excellent condition. Movie is great

"School ties" is the story of David Green (Brendan Fraser), a working-class Jewish boy from PA who wins a football scholarship to a prestigious New England prep school during the 1950s.David is smart, hard-working, and tries to fit in with his wealthier, privileged, well-connected classmates. He studies, makes friends, helps the football team defeat a rival, wins a girlfriend from a neighboring girls' boarding school, and does it by being himself, except that he hides his Jewish faith.A rival teammate, Charlie Dillon (Matt Damon), discovers that David is Jewish, and everything changes. Friends (including his girlfriend) drop him, there are anti-Semitic slurs, including finding a Swastika hanging on his wall. Only his roommate (Chris O'Donnell) shows signs of maturity and of accepting him.An infraction of the school's honor code during an exam brings the whole issue to a head, and David is the likely scapegoat. Honor (and honesty) does prevail, and the irony of the whole matter is that David is by far the best representative of the boarding school's values, far better than any of his wealthier, Christian classmates.Excellent story, cast, and acting. Highly recommended.

Classism and racism (if you call being Jewish a race) are exposed when a working class Jewish teen gets an athletic scholarship to an elite Eastern prep school. Well acted and thought-provoking.

Wanted to use it for my high school class but there were a few words in it that would not have passed inspection. Too bad because it was a story worth telling.

I've loved Mr Fraser since I first saw this movie. One of his earlier serious roles, it allowed him to flex his muscles as a dramatic actor, which he did rather well. He shared the screen with the likes of Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Chris O'Donnell, and Cole Hauser, addressing anti-semitism, racism, elitism, and peer pressure, to name a few.Another of Mr Fraser's underrated films, yet I would still recommend it to one and all.

This movie was so good! Has a lot of actors that were just starting out, that are very popular today. We both loved it! Arrived on time, well packaged. Have recommended this movie to everyone!