"Blackboard Jungle", now on DVD

bigbazza · May 17, 2005

One for the oldies, and on my list of "DVD's to get". Just released apparently.

Link as follows.

http://www.playcentric.com/dvd/product.asp?product_id=D%5FR%
5F012569690325&shopper_id=HL3G2WGFRXVN9G8Q0D84H4K4C8QNF8FE&artist_id=57839&artist_name=DVD

Prices on various sites range from USD$14 to USD$20. Above link includes free International air mail. I have used them often. No complaints.

Extracts as follows.

This provocative portrait of juvenile delinqency in a 1950s inner-city high school was based on the best-selling novel by Evan Hunter. Groundbreaking in its gritty realism and its use of rock & roll on the soundtrack, BLACKBOARD JUNGLE paved the way for such realistic and tough adolescent pictures as WEST SIDE STORY and REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE.
BLACKBOARD JUNGLE was withdrawn from the 1955 Venice Film Festival at the request of Ambassador Clare Boothe Luce, who felt the film was an unflattering look at American school life. The use of the song "Rock Around the Clock" had a tremendous impact on audiences around the world, setting the groundwork for a revolution in popular music. Future director Paul Mazursky and future M*A*S*H star Jamie Farr (billed here as Jameel Farah) appear as students in the film.

This controversial film, based on Evan Hunter's best-selling novel, is widely recognized as a groundbreaking and innovative portrait of juvenile delinquency in the 1950s. Glenn Ford stars as Richard Dadier, an idealistic new teacher struggling to make a difference at a rough prisonlike school in New York city. His new school--located in one of the poorest ethnic districts--is a magnet for delinquent students, hoodlums, and ruffians. Sidney Poitier and Vic Morrow costar as young rebels in Dadier's classroom who are angry, violent, and itching to defy authority. Rock & roll came to the big screen in a major way as Bill Haley and the Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" bopped over the opening credits.

From memory, I think it was Harry Belafonte's debut film, as well. Could be wrong there.

Bazza
Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Log in or Sign up

"Blackboard Jungle", now on DVD

bigbazza R.I.P. 14/12/2011 - Good Onya Geek