Based on his comments about the movie, director Mark L. Lester would have you believe "Class of 1984" is the most prophetic and significant social commentary on the state of disaffected youth since "A Clockwork Orange," which is sort of funny because, while "Class" occasionally looks and feels like a low-rent variation of "Clockwork," at its heart it's no more than sleazoid revenge flick, but it's a really entertaining sleazoid revenge flick...vulgar, violent, nasty and over-the-top. It's the kind of lurid trash that's a lot of fun to watch, even though you'll hate yourself for enjoying it.

Andy Norris (Perry King) is a peppy, square-peg music teacher who takes a position at Lincoln High, where drugs, crime & violence are rampant and the staff consists of burn-outs who turn the other cheek; his only friend is cynical biology teacher Terry Corrigan(Roddy McDowell), who offers naive Norris plenty of pessimistic advice on how to survive teaching urban high school (he also keeps a gun in his briefcase, which later becomes quite an effective teaching tool). The chief ringleader of the students is the brilliant-but-psychotic Peter Stegman (Timothy Van Patten), who, along with his gang of punk cronies, pretty much run the school, dealing drugs, running a prostitution ring & extorting other kids. Though he's sort of a musical prodigy, he's cruel and dangerous, and almost immediately begins to terrorize Norris, making his life a living hell. The police and administration to nothing to help out; despite Norris' insistence that Stegman is a menace to everyone in school, the kid is seldom seen actually committing these increasingly cruel crimes, and when he is, he's good at shutting any witnesses up. Stegman's antics turn violent when he kills all of Corrigan's animals, leading Corrigan to a classroom confrontation in which he uses his gun to coax test answers from students. It's the best scene in the movie, and probably its most well-remembered. Still, the police do nothing. Finally, after Stegman's group gang-rapes Norris' wife and sends him a photo of the event, Norris takes matters into his own hands the film's brutal-but-rousing climax. "Class of 1984" is one of those love-it-or-hate-it movies. Either you're totally offended by the sensationalistic depths in which it plunges, or you accept the movie for what it is...a cheap but effectively manipulative revenge movie more akin to "Death Wish" than "Clockwork Orange." Any so-called social commentary about the state of education is briefly-but-heavy-handedly touched upon before being gleefully tossed aside to revel in depravity & violence. Even 24 years later, the movie's brutality packs a wallop. But it needs to in order to allow the audience a rousing "HELL YEAH!" when Norris begins to exact his revenge. There are also a lot of cheeky moments in which both the dialogue and performances approach high camp, but the cast is quite good (especially McDowell), probably better than most movies of this type need (or usually deserve). Director Lester directs with the thing with all the subtlety of a hammer, but he manages to keep things lively and the movie never plods along.

The picture is offered in enhanced 1.77:1 widescreen. While the image is much better than previous VHS editions, it's still sort of muddy. But then, I seem to remember the picture quality wasn't all that great in theaters, so this disc probably offers the best picture possible. At the very least, it's fairly free of scratches. The audio is rendered in 5.1 Dolby Digital, and for the most part, it sounds great, with decent balance, and little noticeable distortion or hissing.

Lester does a pretty good full-length commentary, though he wraps the film in more social significance than it probably deserves. Still, fans of the film will like it. 'Blood and Blackboards' is a new 30 minute featurette (also mostly featuring King, Lester & co-star/co-producer Merrie Lynn Ross), which dedicates a good deal of time drawing comparisons to "Class of 1984" and the high school violence making headlines today. Also included is a Mark Lester bio (and when you see his list of credits, you'll understand why he's right in claiming "Class" as his best film), trailers & TV spots, a still & poster gallery, and the original screenplay for DVD-ROM.

A minor cult classic, "Class of 1984" isn't a great movie by any stretch, but it's definitely a guilty pleasure...a thuggish, fast-moving and morbidly satisfying revenge fantasy that still stands up pretty well, considering when it was made. Put the kids to bed early and get your jollies. Useless Trivia: "Class of 1984" was originally banned in Finland, Iceland and the U.K. Lester also directed "Class of 1999," a sequel, of sorts, only this time the teachers are the villains. And they're robots (!). Similar Films: "The Blackboard Jungle"; "A Clockwork Orange"; "Death Wish"; "The Principal"; "187"