Customer Reviews

Stand and Deliver/Lean on Me

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

You simply can't go wrong with this DVD containing two outstanding films on educators who inspire their students in two utterly different ways.

In "Stand and Deliver" Edward James Olmos, almost unrecognizable, rightly earned an Oscar Nomination for his portrayal of an idealistic teacher in a run-down school. He makes extraordinary efforts to connect and motivate his students. He is a shining example of that cliche term "No one cares how much you know until the know how much you care." Olmos's character cares more than any teacher I have ever met myself. Awesomely inspiring!

Morgan Freeman's role in "Lean on Me" is typical of the kind of roles he's particularly good at: "My way or the highway." He nearly sinks his own efforts to turn around a failing school by acting as if he ALONE is the only one that can. This is a lesson for every administrator out there: Trust Your Staff/Facutly. Give your staff and facutly the respect they are entitled to and they will work for you and the students much better than if you brow beat them and circumvent their authority as professional educators. It is only when Freeman's character learns this that things begin to go his well-intentioned way.

As a 16 year veteran teacher I love nothing more than inspirational stories about education. Both of these films are now available in one package and definitely worth the purchase! If you are moved by other stories in the same vein, then check out "Mr. Holland's Opus", "To Sir with Love", "The Blackboard Jungle", "Dead Poet's Society", "Take the Lead", and "Akeelah and the Bee."

I bought this disk for "Stand and Deliver", which I knew was a great story, and got "Lean on Me" - another excellent truth-based education story - as a bonus. It was also the only listing I've seen for a "Stand and Deliver" DVD in 1.66:1 widescreen (although filmed that way).

I originally complained that the DVD was presented in 4:3 TV ratio despite the "Product Details":

# Language: English
# Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
# Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
# Number of discs: 1

I have since discovered that these films, like many from the same period, were filmed using the full 35mm negative, but intended to be cropped to modest widescreen in *projection*. This can be approximated with your widescreen TV (Panasonic anyway) by "Zoom" to fill the screen horizontally - giving you 1.78:1 W/S, and approximately what the director intended.

[ASIN:B000K2UGZM Stand and Deliver/Lean on Me] I volunteer in a juvenile detention facility, usually helping teenagers with their school work. They are not allowed newspapers or television, but they do watch videos. I purchased these because they are based on true stories and I hoped they might be inspiring for the kids.

Not only do they inspire the kids, but they seem to inspire the teachers as well!

I believe these DVDs would be excellent for any parent and preteen-to-teenage child.

It is well worth the cost to purchase these.

I purchased this mainly to get Lean On Me. I viewed the DVD and found it contained Stand and Deliver only. There was only one DVD in the packet, so I thought there might be a main menu to select the movie that I wanted to see. After Stand and Deliver was over, there was a menu, but it was only to view Stand and DEliver again. I tried flipping the DVD over, but it did not work. I notified Amazon about this, and the promptly sent me another copy. It was exactly the same. I ended up having to mail both copies back to Amazon. They refunded me only partially of what I initially paid. I don't understand this, as I did not get the product I thought I was purchasing. It indeed was false advertising.

Both of these movies show that one person can make a difference in the life of young people. Garfield High School and Eastside High School are more like ghettos than actual schools. Jaime Escalante and Joe Clark have different approaches to improve their schools: Escalante uses practical examples to motivate his students while Clark takes a more authoritarian approach. Both men meet with opposition from students, parents, other teachers, and administration. They believe that their students can accomplish their goals but need the proper motivation. These movies are perfect for beginning teachers in urban areas.

These were two great inspirational movies, based on true events. Amazon had the best deal on time. At their price you can't go worng.

The movies are amazing. Once I showed the movie to my younger brother. He has taken education more seriously. These two movies are very motivational and inspirational to young or older people. I recommend all parents to show the movie to there kids.

I selected this product as a Christmas present for my sister-in-law because she is a teacher. Since teaching is a tough job I selected these movies because I believed that she would be encouraged and inspired to make the most of her opportunity as a teacher.

The products arrive quickly and in excellent shape.

I was extremely satisfied with my experience!

I purchased this set to use in a math lab class I teach to motivate my students. They loved both videos and found them to be very relevant.

A bargain on Two Great movies every teacher should have in their video library. The Acting is excellent, and I have been a fan of Morgan Freeman's Work since I saw him on PBS as a little child. The man gives electric performances in even the smallest of parts.RevMikeReview