Sadly Over-hyped

Fresh and Exciting

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I was in school then. This is the only movie ever made that got it right. 30 feet a part would be kids who were fighting the war and kids who wanted no part of it. Transformations from innocence to dissident happened overnight. Karen Allen is the best actress ever and why the hell isn't she working every day? This came out in 1980 and I thought there would be many more like this but nope---just this one.It was a sweet time and every time I visit campus today, it's like a graveyard. Dull, calm, sane. I miss the charge that was in the air the 4 years I was in college, it's not there. Neither is the ambient sound track. Now everyone has speakers in their ears, not their dorm windows!

Movie that takes place at Harvard University in Cambridge MA from 1967 to 1971. Three students are starting at Harvard. Nick (Jameson Parker)-tall, handsome, muscular and serious; Leo (Brad Davis) a rebel who lashes out at everything) and Jess (Karen Allen) a sweet, serious and intelligent woman. Both Nick and Leo fall in love with Jess at various times and the film follows them through the four years at school and we see them change--in good ways and bad.This was filmed in Cambridge back in 1979. I remember because I grew up in Arlington--a town that borders Cambridge. I know what Harvard Square and Harvard University looked like back then and it was really great to see it captured on film. Also we see the great Orson Welles Cinema that was in Cambridge--a wonderful art house theatre that burnt down in 1985. I remember catching in a totally empty movie theatre in Boston back in 1980. The fact that it was locally filmed was advertised to the hilt--but nobody came. I can't see why because I LOVED it. I found it totally believable with interesting characters and situations. Seeing it again now all these years later I'm not as totally impressed with it as before. I found the situations and dialogue clichéd and too many unexplained events--WHY was that building chained shut at Harvard and the lottery wasn't explained either. Also, sadly, Parker is a terrible actor. He's tall, handsome and muscular but says every line with a blank look on his face. I seriously didn't know HOW to take some of his dialogue! Still, I DO like the film and recommend it. Allen and Davis give GREAT performances; it moves quickly (I was never once bored); the scenery is beautiful; the music score was incredible (it includes an instrumental of "Total Eclipse of the Heart") and it all ends in a totally unrealistic but happy ending. A must see for any Massachusetts residents who love Boston and Cambridge. Also future stars Daniel Stern and Shelley Long have small roles.

any baby boomer who lived through- and went to college during the late 60s will identify with this charming movie. The Motown music, the parties, waiting breathlessly glued to the TV set watching the draft lottery, the protests, ....oh, and the romances!...I have never seen a movie that captured that very special time better. You will fall in love with these characters who could have been your own friends and classmates. And you will almost wish to be back in that situation again. Because even though it was scary and painful, what some of us did, collectively, changed history, and that is an empowerment that is hard to come by these days. The movie does not strike me as dated, even though it authentically recreates the look and feel of the era. Today's 'young people' should discover this movie, and us aging folks should enjoy it again.

This film, and the principal people involved with it, have long held a special place in my life as I was an extra during the riot scene at "Harvard"(nee Bridgewater State College). While I don't have a truly memorable role in the finished film(although many close friends of mine do and were featured on two of the lobby cards from the film), I am part of the cluster of people on the main building's upper balcony(a most unsafe act as that creaky and once condemned balcony held about 15 of us at one point). Shooting went from 6 PM until 6 AM on a very rainy evening. All the rioters, with the exception of the principal actors, were student extras who raided their older sibling's closet to get the historical costumes. Real Boston MDC riot police were used, some of whom had been at the riots in the 60's. First take was particularly chaotic and bloody as students fought with the police who, acting upon instinct, violently did the same. Being part of the student press covering the event(with a story which, based on our notes, was picked up by AP), I got the opportunity to meet and greet the stars shortly before nationwide opening of the film. Filmed opened on a Wednesday and closed the following Tuesday. A great financial disappointment which truly hurt a burgeoning career for Cohen. Other brief notes: there are two familiar Steinman thematics running throughout the film. The first did become TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART while the second became a #1 hit for Air Supply, MAKING LOVE OUT OF NOTHING AT ALL. The reason that the film ended up at BSC did have to do with Harvard's exam schedule. As it turned out, this was the final scene in the film to be shot, leading studio execs to frantically find a suitable location in order to stay on shooting schedule and budget. Also, the "paddy wagon" seen rocking during the sequence(and featured prominently on one of the lobby cards) was actually rolled over onto it's roof during the first take. The student riding the vehicle is William Hoffman. Truly looking forward to seeing the DVD(first time the film, long out of print on VHS, will be in widescreen) and hearing Cohen's commentary on the while experience.