Product Details

• Actors: Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Josh Hartnett, Shawn Hatosy
• Directors: Robert Rodriguez
• Writers: Bruce Kimmel, David Wechter, Kevin Williamson
• Producers: Bill Scott, Bob Weinstein, Elizabeth Avellan, Harvey Weinstein
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Dimension
• DVD Release Date: June 22, 1999
• Run Time: 104 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (319 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305428220
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #83,533 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "The Faculty" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Okay, you knew everyone in high school was just a little different: everyone looked at you strangely, the teachers were freaky, and you never could find the right groove to fit into. What if it turned out that it was all because your school was inhabited by creepy aliens from outer space? That's the enjoyably cheesy B-premise for this fun and scary flick from the pen of Scream's Kevin Williamson, the master of the post-modern teen horror film. Directed by Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi), it's The Breakfast Club meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers, as six disparate students from Herrington High School band together when they discover that an alien life form is invading both the student and faculty bodies, with plans to take over the world.

Each of the heroes represents a different high school type: popular babe (Jordana Brewster), picked-on geek (Elijah Wood), goth girl (Clea DuVall), sensitive jock (Shawn Hatosy), new kid in town (Laura Harris), and bad-boy rebel (Josh Hartnett). The plot isn't much--a basic kill-or-be-killed premise spiked with a healthy shot of paranoia--but Willliamson and Rodriguez do a great job of building the tension slowly but surely. The suspense set pieces are genuinely frightening, and the film pokes fun at itself without deflating its scares; Williamson is a master at shifting gears from comedy to horror quickly and adroitly. The young cast doesn't have a weak link among them (with special kudos to Wood, DuVall and heartthrob-in-the-making Hartnett), and Rodriguez gets maximum mileage from the titular faculty, which includes Jon Stewart, Piper Laurie, Salma Hayek, Bebe Neuwirth, and Robert Patrick of Terminator 2. Go to the head of the class, Mr. Williamson. --Mark Englehart

Product Description

This hip and edgy thriller from the director of FROM DUSK TILL DAWN and the writer of SCREAM and SCREAM 2 sizzles with a hot young cast including Elijah Wood (THE LORD OF THE RINGS Trilogy), Josh Hartnett (PEARL HARBOR), and R&B superstar Usher Raymond! When some very creepy things start happening around school, the kids at Herrington High make a chilling discovery that confirms their worst suspicions: their teachers really are from another planet! As mind-controlling parasites rapidly begin spreading from the faculty to the students' bodies, it's ultimately up to the few who are left -- an unlikely collection of loners, leaders, nerds, and jocks -- to save the world from alien domination! Also starring Robert Patrick (TERMINATOR 2), Famke Janssen (X-MEN), and Jon Stewart (TV's THE DAILY SHOW) in a great cast -- don't miss the unstoppable excitement of this unpredictably smart and scary hit!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 50's sci-fi meets 90's pop generation. August 4, 2000

By D. Litton

Format:DVD

Most people would think that the above combination would fail, but not at the hand of Kevin Williamson, writer of this wonderful science-fiction film brought to life by talented actors and from the director of "From Dusk Till Dawn." Opening with an intense scene in which the school principal is attacked and overtaken by two alien staff, the film only gets better, introducing us to the seperate lives of each of the students who will come together to stop the faculty, as well as the student body, from taking over the entire town. As more people become converted, the small band of "refugees" begin to discover their own clues, ultimately deducing that the queen alien must be eliminated if they are to save the town. Some might think the plot and material to be juvenile, yet it has a certain intelligence and thinking factor behind its young and fresh cast. Also, the film blends with its story many of the elements used in movies of the same genre from the fifties and sixties, which makes it even better for some reason. Let's just be blunt: everything in this movie works.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Get the original (Dimension) release instead April 13, 2011

By C. Cloutier

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is specifically about the technical aspects of the DVD, not the movie itself.

This DVD (ASIN B004P7CN7W, UPC 0-96009-75089-3) is the 2011 Echo Bridge Home Entertainment release of The Faculty, and it differs quite a bit from the 1999 Dimension release of the movie (ASIN 6305428220, UPC 7-17951-0022-8-0).

Video:
Echo Bridge = Anamorphic 16:9 widescreen, so it will take up the entire screen of your widescreen TV.
Dimension = Letterboxed widescreen in 4:3 format, so your widescreen TV will show a small picture with big black bars on all four sides.
Both releases are Region 1 NTSC (even though the Echo Bridge release does not specify this on the back sleeve).

Audio:
Echo Bridge = The movie is Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kbps). The menu has music in Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kbps).
Dimension = The movie is Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kbps). The menu does not have sound.
Both releases have one audio track only (English).

Subtitles and closed captioning:
Echo Bridge = No subtitles. No closed captioning.
Dimension = English subtitles available and closed captioning available.

Bonus features:
Echo Bridge = No bonus features.
Dimension = "Bonus features" are the theatrical trailer and film recommendations.

Other thoughts:
The chapter stops are in different places.

No, I did not make a mistake listing the audio details. This Echo Bridge release really does have Dolby Digital 5.1 in the menu, but only Dolby Digital 2.0 in the movie.

The only reason I gave this Echo Bridge release two stars instead of one is because it's anamorphic widescreen, so it takes up the full TV screen without having to zoom.

I can't understand why Echo Bridge would decide to release this with only 2-channel audio, no subtitles, and no closed captioning. For those reasons, I would recommend that people get the original (Dimension) release instead of this Echo Bridge release. However, if you only care about the video, and don't care about the audio or lack of subtitles, then you'll probably be happy with this Echo Bridge release.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Moral of the Story: Never Add Water to Anything January 8, 2003

By TorridlyBoredShopper TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

During a time when the cinematic bowels of horror ruptured and teen movies seemed to flood the market and become a dime a dozen, I opted to skip this film because of some very bad experiences that still didn't set very well with me. Like many of the people I knew, there were lingering doubts plaguing me as to whether a mainstreamed cast of this nature could actually approach the terrible in a convincing way and if a theme that echoed "aliens kidnapped my baby while at high school" could actually find a way to be new and diverse. After a time, however, I opted to buy it on an impulse, liking something I had seen about the making of the beast that all the trouble stems from in this tale. After countless rewatches, I have to say that this isn't what I first stereotyped it to be and, although it isn't original, is very appealing.

We begin in the confines of our little Ohio-based school system, introduced to the living representations of all our modern stereotypes of what students can be. From there we see the basic interactions and the bullying - the drug-use and subsequent salesmanship, and the athletics - as our gaze is focused through one "geek" (Elijah Woods). Thinking his life is difficult enough already, he finds himself shocked when, looking around on the football field, he discovers the dehydrated remains of what appears to be a new species. Odder still, is its ability to come to life when introduced to water. This leads down even more bizarre pathways for him, and he finds himself and this band of miscreants we spent time watching early becoming stars when thrust into the gears of what seems to be an alien invasion.

While the script was nothing new, the actors more made up for this by providing seamless performances that were sometimes dry and sometimes surprisingly funny. On top of this, the effects on this were, in a word, delightful, giving the watcher something to keep an eye out for. From the beast with rows of teeth that would make any dentist smile and sing songs of happiness to the aquarium-based lifeforms, the DVD version of this had a quality that was simply superb. Add all of this together and you get one thing; a movie that is enjoyably delectable.