Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

MusicChat It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

DeuceWild_77 The teen movies of the 80's decade were dominated by the cheesy / romantic / well-intentioned cinema of John Hughes; the "Lemon Popsicle" sex teen movies clones such as Bob Clark's "Porky's" trilogy, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" or "The Last American Virgin" and the Spielberg's executive produced adventure / fantasy teen flicks such as "Back to the Future" or "The Goonies".Phil Joanou's first venture as a director was an unconventional teen comedy for its time called "Three O'Clock High", set in an all american High School like the majority of Hughes' (and non-Hughes) flicks of this genre, inspired by the classic western "High Noon" starring Gary Cooper (in an Oscar winner role) and Grace Kelly and based in real life situations of the two screenwriters during their High School years.Joanou, a fan of Scorsese's "After Hours", released 2 years prior and also an unusual comedy, but set in the adult world, based its directing style and fancy cinematography straight for the teen movie genre with the help of the inovator cinematographer, Barry Sonnenfeld (an usual collaborator of the Coen brothers at that time) to acquire a 'cartoon-ish' / comic book style through stylized camera angles and proper lightning effects resulting in a visually nifty film which also benefited from a skillful editing giving the movie its congruous frantic pace.Besides the greatness of its technical aspects, the movie is also clever in its storytelling, the rivalry between the nerd, Jerry Mitchell and the "new kid on the block", the bad boy, Buddy Revell changes stereotypes through the course of the action with Mitchell being accused of theft, illegal weapon possession and even for cheating at the exam and Buddy, the long-haired' black leather jacket outsider being more smart & sensitive than people would give him credit for.Casey Siemaszko, after a string of good supporting roles in famous teen movies such as "Back to the Future", "Secret Admirer" and "Stand by Me" was given the lead role of Jerry Mitchell and he's perfectly cast giving life to his character, a nervous, unpopular & nerdy high schooler about to face his rite of passage to becoming a confident young man after his feud with the troubled misfit, played here by Richard Tyson, in his debut role, who delivered an interesting (and imposing) performance as Buddy Revell, even if his screentime is kind of short.The supporting players are filled with great character actors such as the always sinister, the late John P. Ryan ("Runaway Train", "Avenging Force", "Class of 1999"); Jeffrey Tambor and Mitch Pileggi (future Wes Craven's "Shocker" and better known as Skinner in the hit TV show, "The X-Files").Some may say, including the late Roger Ebert in his review, that this movie resembles a lot of an early teen movie starring Chris Makepeace, Adam Baldwin & Matt Dillon called "My Bodyguard", which is a great (and earlier) entry on the High School genre, but ultimately, "Three O'Clock High" is way more creative, memorable and well paced and much more worthy in the rewatchable factor.Steven Spielberg, who executive produced this movie, ordered to get his name removed from the credits after he watched a rough cut of this. Apparently, the big bearded wanted another "The Karate Kid" or a more conventional / cheesy High School teen flick and this kind of offbeat comedy startled him. He had already done the same two years before with "Fandango", the debut movie of director Kevin Reynolds which featured a young Kevin Costner in his first leading role. In my point of view, Spielberg made a big mistake of disowned both films, because they're way original and inventive and still hold up well today and maybe with the Spielberg name envolved, they could have had more chances at the box office, instead of being flops that ran into obscurity (only cinephiles know the existence).Also worthy of a mention is the memorable music score by Tangerine Dream and the additional music provided by Sylvester Levay.In short, "Three O'Clock High" deserves to be in the Top 10 of the best High School teen movies from the 80's, it's a great watch and one of the last breath of a genre that started the downfall in popularity at the same time as the end of the decade was approaching...On a side note, the hit TV Show for Fox Network that premiered in '90, "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" stole the concept, ideas, the cinematography and directing style of this one. Universal Pictures and Joanou should have sued Columbia Pictures Television for producing such a blatant rip-off.

Moviecritic Just a really fun movie with a simple premise, but high energy directing and fun characters. Great 80s memories. The style could easily be Scorsese. Surprised it never got more praise and recognition.

Woodyanders Meek Jerry Mitchell (an excellent and engaging performance by Casey Siemaszko) gets challenged by scary and brutish bully Buddy Revell (a fearsome portrayal by the brawny Richard Tyson) to a big fight after school. Will Jerry come through when it counts most or try to find a way out of this nightmarish predicament? Director Phil Joanou keeps the absorbing story hurtling along at a breakneck pace, builds plenty of tension, offers a spot-on depiction of high school as a fascist prison-like hell on earth, pulls out the flashy stylistic stops with rip-snorting brio and breathtaking precision, and tops everything off with a wickedly sharp sense of fierce self-mocking humor. The smart and insightful script by Richard Christian Matheson and Tom Szolossi astutely presents a key male adolescent rite of passage in which a weak and passive boy learns how to become a much more strong and assertive man by standing up for himself and fighting his own battles instead of either running away from them or having someone else fight said battles for him.The fine acting from the ace cast keeps this movie humming: Annie Ryan as Jerry's kooky proto-Goth girlfriend Franny, Stacey Glick as Jerry's snarky sister Brei, Jonathan Wise as nerdy pal Vincent, Liza Morrow as sultry hot babe Karen, Jeffrey Tambor as amiable school store manager Mr. Rice, John P. Ryan as no-nonsense principal Mr. O'Rourke, Charles Macauley as stern disciplinarian Voytek Dolinski, Mitch Pileggi as overzealous security guard Duke Herman, Caitlin O'Heaney as prim English teacher Miss Farmer, and Philip Baker Hall as the hard-nosed Detective Mulvahill. Further energized by Tangerine Dream's vibrant pulsating score and bravura dynamic cinematography by Barry Sonnenfield, this baby rates highly as one of the best teen comedies from the 1980's.

zardoz-13 Sophomore helmer Phil Joanou made an entertaining, occasionally exciting, and often suspenseful little high school "Three O'clock High" with Casey Siemaszko and Richard Tyson. When trouble making, rebel student Buddy Revell (Tyson) arrives at his new high school, the school newspaper asks our hero, Jerry Mitchell (Siemaszko), to write a story about him. Jerry tries to interview Buddy, but in the process touches him. Buddy has a phobia about being touched. Hechallenges Jerry to a fight at 3 P.M. in the parking lot. Desperately, Jerry pays another student from the till of the student store to beat Buddy up so he won't have to confront him. Guess what? The big, strapping dude that Jerry hires, Craig Mattey (Mike Jolly), is decked in a second by Buddy. This scene occurs in the library, and Craig slams backwards into the book shelves. When Craig topples one book shelf, he set off a domino effect. Our beleaguered hero tries to flee the campus, but Jerry discovers that his mom's car no longer has an engine. When he tries to leave on foot, Jerry runs into a school security officer, Duke Herman (Mitch Pileggi of "Gun Shy"), and Duke confiscates a switchblade knife from him. Joanou does a terrific job of staging the action and milking it for all the suspense he can muster. Richard Tyson is exceptional as Buddy with is go-to-hell cool. Siemaszko scores as the miltquoast student who struggles to elude Buddy. When the school principal tries to intervene, Buddy decks him, and Jerry is tries to fight him. Jerry is a terrible pugilist but he tackles Buddy. The Security Officer tries to take down Buddy, but Buddy takes him down. Jerry finally faces off with Buddy while his classmates cheer him on. Jerry gets in a punch or two. Buddy pulls out his brass knuckles and moves in to polish Jerry off. Jerry friend interferes and keeps Buddy from slamming the brass knuckles down his throat. Jerry gets Buddy's brass knuckles and drops the big lout. This movie was a lot of fun.