Class of 1984 (Collector’s Edition): Blu-Ray Review
Arriving this week on Collector’s Edition Blu-ray is 1982’s “Class of 1984”, courtesy of Scream Factory. Directed by Mark Lester (“Firestarter”, “Commando”), and co-written by Tom Holland (“Fright Night”, “Child’s Play”), “Class of 1984” pits music teacher against punk students in this dark and violent cult classic. Although it spawned two sequels (“Class of 1999” and “Class of 1999 II: The Substitute”, it is the original that is most remembered.
Set in 1984 (obviously), Andrew Norris (Perry King) is a music teacher who just transferred to Lincoln High, one of the most dangerous schools in the country. It doesn’t take long for Mr. Norris to butt heads with Peter Stegman (Timothy Van Patten), a sadistic student/ drug dealer who is not too fond of his new teacher.
“Class of 1984” is still fun more than three decades later, although it does seem cheesier like most films of the genre from the 80s. We also get a nice dose of the late Roddy McDowall, who always makes everything better. Also for those who don’t know, “Class of 1984” marks the feature film debut for Michael J. Fox, even though he had done quite a bit of television work prior. If you are a fan of “Class of 1984” this disk is worth picking up. It includes a nice selection of bonus features which you can see below.
Bonus Features
• New High-Definition Transfer Of The Film From The Interpositive
• New Interviews With Director Mark Lester, Actors Lisa Langlois And Erin Noble And Composer Lalo Schifrin
• New Career Retrospective Interview With Perry King
• Audio Commentary With Mark Lester
• Blood And Blackboards Featurette – Featuring Interviews With Director Mark Lester, Actors Perry King And Merrie Lynn Ross
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spots
• Still Gallery
By: Marc Ferman