By the mid-90s Peter Bogdanovich had lost his star and Sidney Poitier still knew how to bring class, style and charisma to productions that had his services. The director and the star (also director, eye) joined their paths in a unexpected and forgettable sequel to a classic of the 60s for the domestic market, ‘Classroom Rebellion 2‘.
Dangerous minds
In the mid-1990s the world of cinema was still exploiting the rebellions in the classrooms from every possible angle. ‘Dangerous minds‘had been a success, Gus Van Sant had served one of the favorite movies of a couple of generations with ‘The Indomitable Will Hunting’, including Academy Awards and even the David Zucker troop did the same with the hilarious ‘Learn as you can’.
The sequel to the James Clavell film, based on the novel by ER Braithwaite, came 30 years later, direct to video and without anyone asking for it. Bogdanovich, old fox who a few years earlier had done the same with ‘Texasville‘, the belated sequel to the film that elevated him as a director, seemed like a logical choice at the time.
Poitier, who chose his roles carefully, came from contribute your extraordinary talent in titles that he magnified with his presence. ‘Shoot to kill’, ‘Sneakers (The Snoops)’ or ‘Spies without identity‘benefited from a star that bridged generations as far apart in time as these two films about troubled students.
Philip Rosenberg’s script was somewhat ahead of the fashion of these sequels separated by several decades, such as ‘Halloween’ or, if you hurry me, ‘The Matrix’. During the first act, Bogdanovich relives the 1967 film through ghostly overlapping flashbacks and the performance of Lulu, who 30 years later repeats the song in an act of tribute.
Because, despite the softness of the proposal and its flat and television formal aspect, the film serves as tribute to a legendary character who knew how to keep the peace in the troubled 60s and who volunteered to do the same in the troubled era of arms in American schools.
Veteran Thackeray announces his retirement plan change to jump the pond and teach America at Chicago high school. The proposal saves a couple of surprises in the plot, as the real reason for the old professor’s trip, the treatment of pimping between classes (!) or the silent filler character of a very young Michael Peña in one of his early works.
Obviously, ‘Classroom Rebellion 2’ is a movie destined for instant oblivion, even outright contempt, but it’s a good way to remember that these two stars came to work together at two very different moments in their careers.