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School Daze (1988)

Laurence Fishburne , Giancarlo Esposito , Spike Lee  |  R |  DVD
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)

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Frequently Bought Together

School Daze + Spike Lee Joint Collection (Clockers/ Jungle Fever/ Do the Right Thing/ Mo` Better Blues/ Crooklyn) + Malcolm X (Two-Disc Special Edition)
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Product Details

  • Actors: Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Kyme, Joe Seneca
  • Directors: Spike Lee
  • Writers: Spike Lee
  • Producers: Spike Lee, Grace Blake, Loretha C. Jones, Monty Ross
  • Format: Full Screen, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
  • Language: English
  • Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
  • Dubbed: French, Spanish
  • Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated: R (Restricted)
  • Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: January 30, 2001
  • Run Time: 121 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000051YMS
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,529 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • Learn more about "School Daze" on IMDb

Special Features

None.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Spike Lee's follow-up to his unlikely hit She's Gotta Have It was this ambitious--some would say too ambitious--attempt at a musical about college life. But Lee, ever the provocateur, doesn't settle for a simple college comedy. Rather, he wants to make a point about the social divisions within all-black colleges: between the socializers and the socially conscious, and between light and dark-skinned blacks. Laurence Fishburne plays a politically aware student trying to bring his fellow students together; Giancarlo Esposito plays the fraternity boss who constantly seeks to insert a wedge between the haves and have-nots. Lee himself plays a pawn in the middle, a would-be frat boy undergoing a wicked Hell Week as a pledge. The story doesn't pull together and the musical numbers--more spoof than anything else--only serve to fragment it. While it offers interesting points, it never does so in a particularly cohesive way. --Marshall Fine

Product Description

Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito. Two rival factions at an all-black college do battle in Spike Lee's second feature, a striking blend of music, comedy and social commentary. 1987/color/114 min/R.

Customer Reviews

It would have made some of the scenes easier to understand. Michelle  |  4 reviewers made a similar statement
I'll let you buy the DVD to find out why. H. Harvey  |  2 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
57 of 60 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars One of Lee's Best January 25, 2001
Format:DVD
I once heard on a TV talk show that you don't have to be a parent to know about kids. This was uttered by a single female with tons of doctorate credentials. As I listened, having kids of my own, I found her comments clinical and devoid of those fundamentals any parent experiences during daily contact with their offspring. I subsequently disregarded most of her observations with the exception of the obvious. Some things do have to be experienced. With that said, Spike Lee's School Daze had to be experienced to really appreciate the social comments being made. Being a graduate of Howard University (an Afro-American college since federal inception) in Washington, D.C., I could readily identify with the life and social levels depicted. This movie is FUBU (For Us By Us). The distinction between light skinned and dark skinned, "good hair" and "kinks", "Greeked" (Fraternity/Sorority) and outsiders, upper-class, middle-class and no-class, may be lost in an already segmented society. However, it hits home to anyone (irregardless of ethnic background) who has attended historically rooted colleges and universiies. The voluntary (and involuntary!) sub-segmentation on campus is real and extant. Spike Lee's direction, musical scenes and comedic comment, gives us a laugh at these really stupid concepts. Laurence Fishburne as usual gives an excellent performance as a politically aware student, trying to change a system that cannot be changed, and personally changing because of it. Spike Lee plays his usual "Baby, baby, pleaseee baby, baby" self-depreciating character caught-up in fraternity life but willing to play for the perceived rewards of acceptance. Giancarlo Esposito is the fraternity leader and movie antagonist bent maintaining class/segment separation.... Read more ›
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26 of 29 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Tough Pill to Swallow April 10, 2001
Format:DVD
As an African American, fraternity member I found this movie not only entertaining, but also convicting. Being a man of Omega (those familiar with the Black Greek system know what I mean) I was a little offended by Gamma Phi Gamma's dipiction of the "dogs." More often than once I felt he was referring to the "dogs of Purple and Gold." Yet, once I got beyond my petty sensitivities, Lee's underlying critique of the social ills plaguing the African American community revolving around issues of social consciousness, skin color, hair texture, education, etc., made this movie provocative and challenging. Also, it's depiction of homecoming, pledging, parties and general "college life" made for an entertaining walk down memory lane. I found his attempt at making this a musical production to be somewhat forced, although the lyrics of the songs were pointedly appropriate.

I may not completely agree with Lee's conclusion concerning the advantages (or disadvantages) of participating in the Black Greek System. However, I appreciate his candid attempt to "tell it like it is." My mother used to say, "Don't air the dirty laundry in public." This is exactly what Lee has done, and unfortunately it is about time.

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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars College Life From The Black Perspective September 30, 2000
Format:VHS Tape
I have seen this film a few times. Although parts of it are a bit overdone, it basically shows that African Americans each have varying views on their own identity. The scene in the fast food restaurant where the locals and the the college kids clash shows that even African Americans have issues amongst each other. African Americans just like any other race or religious group need to accept each others differences and get along. Spike Lee and Lawrence Fishbourne give excellent portrayals of two conflicting characters in this movie and send a very powerful message especially in the final scene.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Spike NAILED the HBCU experience! March 20, 2006
Format:DVD
It takes an HBCU graduate to write about the HBCU experience, period. Just look at "A Different World" and how bad the first season was. Debbie Allen (a Howard grad, I believe) stepped in and gave the show the authenticity it sorely needed. So it's no surprise that Spike Lee, the Morehouse man, would make a movie that sparked so much emotion on both sides of the coin. I'm not saying that you had to attend an HBCU to UNDERSTAND "School Daze", but you had to have attended one to get the real "flavor" of what it was like. And you have to have an open mind.

Any HBCU alum saying that this film wasn't realistic is flat-out lying. Yes, it hit on some things that the old folks call "dirty laundry" (such as hazing, color issues, those who think that getting an education makes you "white", and so on), but those things are real at HBCUs - yes, even today. (Major props to Spike for having that ONE dark-skinned sista in the Gamma Rays. Isn't that ALWAYS the way?) And there are no "good" people or bad people; Spike leaves that decision up to you. Julian had his good points (his intelligence, leadership and pride in his town, school, etc) and Dap had his bad points (his blatant bigotry and bullying), and both of them had legitimate points.

One thing Spike nailed right on was the confrontations that the students tended to have on a regular basis. No offense to whites or anyone who graduated from a PWC, but in my experience at a predominately white high school, I noticed that students there were a lot more subtle with their dislike; they particpated in a more "destroying from within" kind of system, and grew wide-eyed and offended when confronted, even with solid proof. ("I would NEVER spread rumors about you/sleep with your boyfriend/steal your term paper!
... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my Faves
One of my favorite Spike Lee Joints, was very happy to be able to catch this classic at a great price.
Published 29 days ago by Jessica Lewis
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic
A tale of Historical Black College and University (HBCU) life can be like, but with a twist of adding song and dance to the storyline. Read more
Published 1 month ago by LaGigs
5.0 out of 5 stars From A Morganite...
As a former student of Morgan State University, I saw the whole thing go down in real time in 1972. This movie depicts a real issue among Blacks and the divisive inhumanities some... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jinx Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars Spike Lee a school Daze
This was a great movie that was quite synonymous with my own Historically Black College, Howard University. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Marrsail Bailey
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Old School Spike Lee
This movie is a classic old school Spike Lee movie with lots of imagery and a deep message. Love It.
Published 3 months ago by chicole38
4.0 out of 5 stars A classic Spike Lee Joint!
An entertaining musical spoof, on historical black college life and how select student groups search for social acceptance while navigating through the diversities of black... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Monique Sorel-Dominguez
5.0 out of 5 stars Still so good
I watched it first when I was a kids and was starry eyed about college life. I have long since graduated and it still was extremely entertaining. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Elana Simpson
3.0 out of 5 stars Greeks Is This a Joke?
I have to say I enjoy this movie. With that being said, I also feel that it did a poor job of depicting us black greeks. Read more
Published 3 months ago by M. Gibson
4.0 out of 5 stars Good
I order the movie because my boyfriend asked me to. It was my first time seeing this movie and it was actually better then I thought. Read more
Published 3 months ago by NyBoogie
3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed
This movie was a disappointment in that the movie dragged along and it tried to say too much. Spike Lee's character was very annoying.
Published 4 months ago by Darryl K Stapleton
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Why 2 discs?
NOTHING MAJOR THIS VERSION CONTAINS THE MOVIE + THE SDTK ON THE 2ND DISC & THE COVER IS DIFFERENT (THAT'S ALL)!
Mar 25, 2007 by MS JERSEY |  See all 2 posts
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