Cursed is that which makes you strong
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Cursed is that which makes you strong |
| Original title | The Lords of Discipline |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1983 |
| length | 103 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Franc Roddam |
| script |
Lloyd Fonvielle , Thomas Pope |
| production | Herb Jaffe , Gabriel Katzka |
| music | Howard Blake |
| camera | Brian Tufano |
| cut | Michael Ellis |
| occupation | |
| |
Cursed is what makes you strong (Original title: The Lords of Discipline ) is an American film from 1983 , which deals with the subject of racism and inhumane treatment of cadets. It is based on the novel The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy and was directed by Franc Roddam . In addition to well-known actors such as David Keith , Judge Reinhold , Bill Paxton and Michael Biehn , the leading roles also include former boxer Mark Breland . The film was shot entirely in England, largely at Wellington College in Berkshire . The reason for this was that no American military academy was willing to allow shooting, as the film critically deals with racism in the American military.
action
The action takes place in 1964 at the Carolina Military Institute , a fictional military academy in the southern states, where Tom Pearce is the first African American to be accepted into the academy. Senior cadet Will McLean is hired by his mentor Lt. Col. Berrineau to assist Pearce. The tradition of the academy also includes the humiliation of young cadets as an initiation , these are fair game for the older cadets, so to speak, whereby Pearce is particularly insulted and humiliated because of his skin color; So the harassment often includes endangering life and limb, in addition Pearce is insulted as a "nigger", "nigger boy" or "boy". General Durrell, the director of the academy, lamented the moral decline of the United States in a sermon and asked the cadets to adhere to ethical principles.
Pearce and the overweight Poteete become the target of a clandestine association of cadets by the name of "The Ten", who try to harass what they believe to be "unsuitable" cadets to leave this academy; this harassment eventually leads to the death of Poteete. Since the Ten do not regard Pearce as full-fledged human beings for racist motives, they try by all means to disgust the African-American from the academy: Pearce is first deliberately cut and later physically attacked and receives death threats without getting help from comrades. Outwardly, however, the Academy and the Cadets show a camaraderie, Christian, and patriotic lifestyle.
After Pearce does not leave the academy despite the harassment, The Ten kidnap and torture him. Pignetti, whom the ten also have on the kerbholz, is charged with theft by an internal academy court of honor and dismissed from the academy. However, McLean succeeds in clearing up the conspiracy, noticing that his friends are also racists and it turns out that General Durrell is also involved in the conspiracy. Ultimately, McLean forces those responsible to resign, but promises not to raise the scandal.
Remarkable
- Pat Conroy, author of the novel The Lords of Discipline , is himself a graduate of The Citadel (officially: The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina ) in South Carolina, which served as the model for the academy in the film.
- The production cost of the film amounted to 3,011,932 US dollars , he started with 800 copies and was thanks to his business income of 11,787,127 US dollars in the US a considerable commercial success.
- Michael Biehn , Bill Paxton , Rick Rossovich and William Hope later starred in numerous films by James Cameron , and Biehn, Paxton and Rossovich played together in the 1990 film Navy Seals - The toughest elite group in the world .
Differences from the book
- Poteete hangs himself in the book, in the film he falls from the roof.
- After his "walk of shame", Pignetti commits suicide. In the film, however, he is expelled from the academy and part of McLean's deal with Durell is that he can return to the academy next year.
- The entire storyline with McLean and Annie Kate Gervais is completely absent from the film.
- In the novel, McLean and Pearce have no direct contact with each other.
criticism
- Janet Maslin rated the film rather negatively in her review in the New York Times. She mentioned the acting performance of Keith and Breland positively, but considered the film to be too shallow and a bit implausible, and she also found the torture scenes too brutal.
- In a critical review on imdb.com, James Kendrick praised Keith and Rossovich's acting performance. However, he criticizes that all the characters in the film are racists and that the director does not distance himself from racism credibly. Kendrick makes the film a series of military films that appeared in the early 1980s, such as The Cadets of Bunker Hill (1981) or An Officer and Gentleman (1983), but he criticizes that the film neither the idealism of the former would still have the romance of the latter film.
publication
The US premiere took place on February 18, 1983, in the Federal Republic of Germany the film was first released on video in January 1986 and was not released until later on July 30, 1987.
Individual evidence
- ^ Article by Conroy on The Citadel
- ↑ Janet Maslin : Movie Review RODDAM'S 'LORDS OF DISCIPLINE'. In: The New York Times. Retrieved January 16, 2012 .
- ↑ James Kendrick: 'LORDS OF DISCIPLINE'. Retrieved January 16, 2012 .
- ↑ Publication information in the imdb
- ↑ Cursed is that which makes you strong. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
Web links
- The Lords of Discipline in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Damn what makes you strong in the online film database