The Lords of Discipline (1983)

Let me start to say that i never read the acclaimed novel by Pat Conroy which this film is based on, so i'm judging only the movie itself. "The Lords of Discipline" came out in a time this kind of "Military School" flicks were the latest popular trend in Hollywood, after the excellent "Taps", directed by Harold Becker and the surprise hit "An Officer and a Gentleman", directed by Taylor Hackford co-starred by David Keith playing Richard Gere's ill-fated best friend who was switched for his first leading role in this movie. Keith delivered an acceptable performance as Cadet Will McLean, when starting his Senior year at Carolina Military Institute in 1964, he's assigned by his mentor, Lt. Col. "Bear" Berrineau (a very good & committed performance by Robert Prosky) to keep an eye on Tom Pearce, the first black student admitted in the Academy, to protect him from the bigotry of some of his fellow alumni. Around the same time, a secret organization within the school, called themselves "The Ten", are acting illegally forcing the undesired students, through the practice of torture and violence, to quit...Franc Roddam's "The Lords of Discipline" moves at a nice pace, it's well filmed and the young actors (some of them gave here their first steps in the acting biz such as Michael Biehn, Rick Rossovich, Bill Paxton, Judge Reinhold, Matt Frewer or Jason Connery) are all superbly directed and convincing in their roles. The weakest part is the not very well structured screenplay and the inability of Roddam to introduce a feeling of eerie and mystery to the whole, which could have lifted this movie to a higher appreciation. Some plot points got their resolution too fast in the III Act, leaving some unanswered questions and the mystery beyond "The Ten", the phantom society within the walls of the Academy, could have been more explored and handled better.Nevertheless, this movie still delivers a solid piece of entertainment to the viewer with its well staged scenes such as the "Walk of Shame" and Michael Biehn's fans of his ruthless character of Johnny Ringo in "Tombstone" should check his vileness here. Curiously, this was the first movie of a group of actors who would be frequent collaborators for several films in the future like Biehn, Paxton and Rossovich in James Cameron's "The Terminator" & Lewis Teague's "Navy Seals"; Biehn, Paxton and William Hope in Cameron's "Aliens"; Biehn & Paxton in Pan Cosmatos' "Tombstone" and so on...

The Lords of Discipline is a slow-moving, dull, boring, and badly acted 1980s film. The characters come off as cartoonish. David Keith is likable enough, and does a fair job considering what he has to deal with. The rest of the cast overplays their parts and none of them come across as real. The Southern accents are terrible, and it's hard to figure if this is a military college or a high school military school. Regardless, everyone in the cast is way to old to be students in either case. The worst scene is when Keith and his room mates kidnap a lawyer and tie him to a railroad track. The whole scene came across like a cartoon and the actor playing the lawyer gave a junior high school acting performance. Forget the Lords of Discipline.

It's 1964 at the Carolina Military Institute. Returning for his senior year as a cadet, hunky David Keith (as Will "Bubba" McClean) and his pals discover the freshman "Knobs" include, for the first time, a young black man. As you might expect, he is the victim of racial hatred. Old-timer Robert Prosky (as "the Bear") enlists Mr. Keith's help in watching over the black cadet, Mark Breland (as Pearce). Keith gets reluctant help from his three roommates - piano playing Mitchell Lichtenstein (as Tradd St. Croix), weight-lifting Rick Rossovich (as Dante "Pig" Pignetti), and Italian Elvis fan John Lavachielli (as Mark Santoro).Keith and his friends participate in "Hell Night" with the usual shenanigans. Of course, "scumbags," "maggots," and "faggots" are encouraged to vacate the premises. Overweight Malcolm Danare (as Poteete) is the first casualty. Then, a (not so) secret organization known as "The Ten" targets Mr. Breland. But, "The Lords of Discipline" isn't really about Breland or his race. Rather, it's a mystery thriller focusing on Keith and his roommates. And, even then, it's not much of a mystery. Most enjoyable are Keith and his three roommates, who manage to be appealing in some unappealing (and obvious) roles.****** The Lords of Discipline (2/18/83) Franc Roddam ~ David Keith, Mitchell Lichtenstein, Rick Rossovich, Robert Prosky

I enjoyed this movie thoroughly. Now i have never read the novel it is based on so i am not disillusioned by how "bland" an adaptation this is, but i must say that this was an interesting, intriguing and enjoyable film. It was deep and thought provoking and provided an insight into what was... and possibly still is considered to be the making of a man and a soldier.Also, the fact that it is a veritable melting pot of future stars and character actors doesn't hurt. David Keith as a likeable character? Michael Biehn and Bill Paxton, a year before making Terminator together, a few years before making Aliens and ages before making Tombstone. Judge Reinhold, Rick Rossovich (the guy from Roxanne and pacific blue), Matt Frewer (HE LOOKS SO YOUNG!!!), the fat guy out of Godzilla (he is great). It was interesting seeing all these people in these roles, big and small.Moral of the story, great flick :)