The Paper Chase
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.45 You Save: $6.53 (65%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $3.44 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Paper Chase
Movie Review: Classy movie
Summary: 5 Stars
It's a "must see" if you liked the book and the TV show!!...or see it again!! Worth every minute!!Movie Review: The Paper Chase
Summary: 5 Stars
A classic film that was good to share with my 14 year-old son. Fast delviery - good price.Movie Review: Watch this before you go to law school
Summary: 4 Stars
There are plenty of movies with a little romance, a little drama, and a little comedy. This movie is special because it portrays law school is such an entertaining, and somewhat accurate manner. It also explores the themes that we all constantly wrestle with, our natural intelligence, hard work, or ultimate capabililties, and what we are willing to sacrifice to get ahead.
The feckless and overly orthodox law professors that pollute the halls and classrooms of our nation's institutes of higher legal learning won't teach you as much about law school as this film will. The professor who appears in this film acutally explains his teaching methodology, the antiquated Socratic Method, which inspires students to learn and read through fear, which amounts to pointless question and answer sessions, which baffles students who once believed themselves to be intelligent before they were humiliated in front of their class!
Professor Kingsfield's lectures and question and answer sessions in this film are frightening and are timeless displays of eloquence, much like Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket. This movie, like no other, explores the fear and stress that law school students feel as they try to chase the paper, as they try to chase the grade.
Our protaganist goes through the same struggles as real law students, as he must decide between personal and school. Will he chase the girl that he is falling in love with? Or will he spend the weekend studying? Will he become the silent law school student that hopes that he does not get called on, or will he burn the midnight oil and become part of the upper echelon of law school students that savor the spotlight and volunteer to be participants in the feared Socratic nightmare? Will he fall prey to the paper chase and sell his sould to get the grade? You'll see law students crack, you'll see friendships fail, you'll see betrayal and competition, and you'll see disappointment in the face of the student that just can't hack it.
You'll get a sense of the conflict that is played out in the minds of those students who have the natural ability, but are conflicted whether or not they want to put in the work and take the pain that is necessary to succeed in law school and be at the top of their class.
The movie is entertaining, humorous, and the best part of all are the interactions between students and the sharp, aggressive law professor.
Movie Review: Still Fun and Entertaining after almost 40 years!!
Summary: 4 Stars
This film was a sleeper hit in the early 70's, and in some ways it still is as a DVD. While there are some obvious brief moments where the film is dated, the big themes of human interaction and the struggle to achieve success against long odds are universal and timeless. Too many "critics" try to pick apart this film for silly reasons (such as that it only shows the students in one professor's class, contract law), but they are completely missing the point. "The Paper Chase" is not a primer on going to law school, it is an entertaining couple of hours about human nature, and most people in most walks of life can see some direct correlation to a similar period of their own lives. You don't have to go to law school or be a lawyer to enjoy this film, but I'm told that many law schools to this day recommend that their incoming first-year law students see "The Paper Chase", mostly to set the stage for what they will deal with in their quest to achieve their goals. Of course, not every law school is Harvard Law, but it is the Harvard legend that makes this film so fascinating. The two most redeeming features of this really entertaining movie are John Houseman and Timothy Bottoms, both of whom are superbly cast and play off of one another brilliantly. This was Houseman's "breakthrough" role at age 71, and he went on to great fame and fortune as a result of this one film. A beautiful young Lindsay Wagner also adds a nice touch as Timothy Bottoms' on-again/off-again love interest with a twist. All in all, highly recommended, especially if you've ever been a college student (and even if you have not). A really good respite from the endlessly frenzied and violent "action movies" that seem to have overwhelmed most of our theatres and viewing habits in recent years.Movie Review: Bogus Hollywood Moment: Throwing Grades into Sea
Summary: 4 Stars
Yeah, great film, holds up well over the years. But no Harvard law student would have thrown his unopened grades into the ocean. Particularly one that was as dedicated and competitive as Hart. It would be like a lawyer trying a case and leaving the courtroom before hearing the verdict. One can understand and, in a mercenary way, perhaps admire Hart if he pretended not to care about the grades for the sake of impressing his erratic, anti-establishment/anti-hippy girlfriend. She doesn't make much sense, but she is cute and alluring. But to actually throw the grades into the sea? No. Apart from that, the scenes of the workings of law school are pretty terrific. The characters of the study group are, for good and bad, very similar to people you actually find at law school. Particularly Bell. (By the way, did anyone notice that Hart's 3rd year advisor was Thirtysomething's Miles Drentell? He is exactly the type that would say, "Grades matter.") Yet, like lawyers themselves, they're not on the whole really awful people. Ford, the quintessential Harvard prepster, bails out James Naughton's character in class and even goes so far as to say that the subject is very difficult to understand. Hart himself is obviously very decent. And Kingsfield is meant to be feared, but moreover respected and admired.
So the romance is a bit unrealistic, but nothing approaching Ally McBeal silliness. That aside, it's a solid film worth seeing more than once.