User Reviews

I did not read the novel "The Lords of Discipline" by Pat Conroy so I cannot comment on how successful the movie is in terms of the original material, as some of the other comments are able to do.

But judging the movie on its own merits, its half a triumph, half disappointment. I saw it when it was first released, because I liked David Keith and, well, I saw everything.

This review openly discusses several plot points.

Keith plays Will, everyone's favorite. As he is returning to the Academy for senior year, he is welcomed by staff and classmates alike. This year is going to be slightly different, he finds out early, because a black student (Pierce, played by Mark Breland) has entered the school (its 1964 and we are in the South). He is asked by Bear (Robert Prosky) to keep an eye on this particular student. Will wants nothing more than to coast through his senior year, but Bear calls in old favors so Will is obligated.

On Hell Night, naturally all the white trash goes straight for Pierce. They also go for an overweight student called Poteete. Both boys are humiliated and tortured by the suffering does not end for Poteete, as he is kidnapped (sort of) by 'The Ten', a secret society of the ten best seniors. Their threats make a Hell Night hazing seem like a day at the beach. Poteete has to be talked down from a ledge, because he is so frightened by 'The Ten' and that he won't be able to survive the entire year. The next time he's on the ledge he successfully commits suicide. In the meantime, Pierce is also being singled out, but Will tells him to communicate what is going on, so at least he can report the cruelty that he is enduring.

Eventually Will decides 'The Ten' must be held responsible for their continuous torture. He recruits his roommates to help him. As they find out more and more, they are then singled out. Dante Pignetti (Rick Rossovich) is eventually expelled for something very trumped up and silly, but Will is still determined to get to the bottom of it.

The movie takes some questionable turns in the later innings. The characters played by Judge Reinhold, Bill Paxton and Michael Biehn are one-sided bigoted bullies and nothing else. They may as well all sleep under a rock, and most likely do not even deserve more than that, but its too easy to just show a future Grand Wizard of the KKK as being only that. Since Biehn reveals himself to be one of 'The Ten', its also extremely convenient that he is in a position to give demerits to the Will and his roommates, but it would have been more effective if he had been seen in that position BEFORE all the drama took place. Its also pretty lousy that the character of Poteete is only mentioned once after his suicide. There is no investigation from outside authorities, or even any motivation to 'get to the bottom of it' on his behalf. Its almost as if he's in the movie just so 'The Ten' can be introduced to the audience through his experience with them, and once he does that, he serves no purpose. But the character of Pierce dealt with them, also, so they would have been introduced through their cowardly treatment of him.

David Keith was very popular in the late 70's/early 80's. I saw most of his movies and am sorry he never had a lengthy career, but it seems as though Kurt Russell, Patrick Swayze, Dennis Quaid and Kevin Costner got all the parts David could have played. This was one of his only starring roles, and he's very good without overdoing it. He's always pretty believable, even when the movie isn't. 6/10.

It's hard to put into words how great this film is. I read the novel by Pat Conroy, and it became one of my all time favorites. Then, i rented the movie, somewhat afraid that it might not be as good.....or even good. But i was very wrong.....the movie was excellent....great chemistry of the actors, great direction, great screen writing. *Spoilers* Powerful seen when Pig is exiled from the Institute, they did a very good job with that.

A few changes in the story line, but great still. The acting's great, I'm a fan of Rick Rossovich and David Keith. I give this movie a full 10 out of 10 stars.....watch this movie, and read the book.....

Being a major Pat Conroy fan, Lords of Discipline is my favorite book that he has written. The story is masterfully written and includes many different subplots that all connect together to form the main plot. The film was a great film that told the point of the story very well. However, when watching the film, I feel that many major parts of the book are left out. *BOOK SPOILERS* Annie-Kate, a major character in the book is left out. It brings even more blame to Tradd St. Croix because he got her pregnant then deserted her and left Will to take care of her. It adds much more to how the enormous amount of crap(for lack of better words) Will unknowingly took on in Tradd's place. Also, Pignetti's death is a very vital part in the book that should have been put in the movie because it ties so closely to "The Ten" and the roommates' relationship.

Well thats enough of my complaining about what could have been done better in the film. For someone who has not read the book, it is a great film and displays a wonderful message that all people should hear. However, I suggest reading the book before seeing the film. It will explain a lot and show a lot of different sides of the character. Lords of Discipline, the film, gets an A+ in my book.

This movie requires some serious intestinal fortitude to watch. I could only wince as I heard the N-word used indiscriminately and see a young Black man being targeted for abuse. That was the apex of all things unjust in this movie, but they weren't the only things and he wasn't the only target. But any movie with serious injustice has the ability to have some glorious and righteous justice. The Lords of Discipline gave us both. We saw the wretched injustice of a military academy in the South as well as the actions of a courageous young man to right the wrongs.

1964 North Carolina wasn't known for tolerance. Their epic intolerance extended beyond ostracizing Blacks, they'd ostracize anyone different. When a military academy is integrated with its first Black cadet it was only a matter of time before the full weight of Southern inhospitality would come down on his neck. To his credit he bore the name calling and the general abuse with dignity and honor (if bearing abuse can be done with dignity and honor). What I mean is that he opted to go into the belly of the beast knowing what was in store for him and he took it like a soldier. That is until he was kidnapped by "The Ten."

"The Ten" were supposedly ten of the finest cadets of the graduating class and their job was to make sure that all undesirables were weeded out. They used any and all methods including kidnap and torture. Cadet Pearce (Mark Breland) was earmarked for such treatment until cadet Will (David Keith) risked his own future to save him.

It was an incredible act of bravery even if it wasn't done for Pearce's sake necessarily. You see, Will didn't have a soft spot for oppressed Black folks and didn't particularly care if Pearce made it through the academy or not, but what he did care about was the integrity of the academy. The academy always professed such high morals, values, and ethics that should they allow something so underhanded and dirty as "The Ten" then the high morals, values, and ethics weren't worth more than the paper they were printed on.

So, Will's actions to expose "The Ten" were beneficial to everyone. They were beneficial to the academy--to give it real prestige--they were beneficial to all of the cadets because now they could all compete to belong on equal footing, and by extension of that they were beneficial to Pearce who could now perform as a cadet without fear of torture or death. Yes, he would still have to put up with racists and bigots, but that was something he was dealing with already just living in the South.

This was before his big breakthrough in The Terminator, the following year. And he doesent dissapoint. Neither does David Keith in the lead (who looks exactly like a young Patrick Swayze) Bill Paxton and Rick Rossovich (in his biggest movie role as an actor (ever) are quite good as well.

Biehn who is very young here plays the main villain as the leader of a group of kadets in a military academy in 1964, known as the ten. Who kidnap and torture new privates to make them leave the academy. Biehn shows already here what a great actor he is. Being a very convincing menacing bully with out much more more than a mean smile here and there.

Bonus info. Biehn , Paxton and Rossovich were great friends, who probably met on the set of this movie. And throughout the 80'ies and up till 1993 they always appeared in Biehns movies.

Rossovich and Paxton had small parts in The Terminator, where Biehn played the heroic lead. Paxton played one of the leads alongside Biehn in Aliens. In Navy Seals, where Biehn played one of the leads, Rossovich and Paxton once more played supporting characters. And finally in Tombstone, where Biehn played one of the main villains, Paxton appeared one last time in a supporting role.

As for this movie, apart from one brutal torture scene, this felt like a lighter version of the much better Full Metal Jacket, that came out four years later. Which was obviousdly inspired by this movie, but took it to a more menacing level. F.M.J. is of course also a war movie, but its impossible not top compare the two. Especially, because one of the victims of the ten, reminds me a lot of the bullied fat private in F.M.J.

There are severeal plotholes, that doesnt make sense. But if you can look past them, you might enjoy this movie.

And its not a bad movie, but unless youre a Biehn fan, like me, you will probably find it boring.

Let me start to say that i never read the acclaimed novel by Pat Conroy which this film is based on, so i'm judging only the movie itself.

"The Lords of Discipline" came out in a time this kind of "Military School" flicks were the latest popular trend in Hollywood, after the excellent "Taps", directed by Harold Becker and the surprise hit "An Officer and a Gentleman", directed by Taylor Hackford co-starred by David Keith playing Richard Gere's ill-fated best friend who was switched for his first leading role in this movie.

Keith delivered an acceptable performance as Cadet Will McLean, when starting his Senior year at Carolina Military Institute in 1964, he's assigned by his mentor, Lt. Col. "Bear" Berrineau (a very good & committed performance by Robert Prosky) to keep an eye on Tom Pearce, the first black student admitted in the Academy, to protect him from the bigotry of some of his fellow alumni. Around the same time, a secret organization within the school, called themselves "The Ten", are acting illegally forcing the undesired students, through the practice of torture and violence, to quit...

Franc Roddam's "The Lords of Discipline" moves at a nice pace, it's well filmed and the young actors (some of them gave here their first steps in the acting biz such as Michael Biehn, Rick Rossovich, Bill Paxton, Judge Reinhold, Matt Frewer or Jason Connery) are all superbly directed and convincing in their roles.

The weakest part is the not very well structured screenplay and the inability of Roddam to introduce a feeling of eerie and mystery to the whole, which could have lifted this movie to a higher appreciation. Some plot points got their resolution too fast in the III Act, leaving some unanswered questions and the mystery beyond "The Ten", the phantom society within the walls of the Academy, could have been more explored and handled better.

Nevertheless, this movie still delivers a solid piece of entertainment to the viewer with its well staged scenes such as the "Walk of Shame" and Michael Biehn's fans of his ruthless character of Johnny Ringo in "Tombstone" should check his vileness here.

Curiously, this was the first movie of a group of actors who would be frequent collaborators for several films in the future like Biehn, Paxton and Rossovich in James Cameron's "The Terminator" & Lewis Teague's "Navy Seals"; Biehn, Paxton and William Hope in Cameron's "Aliens"; Biehn & Paxton in Pan Cosmatos' "Tombstone" and so on...

This was bay far Conroy's best novel and also the best movie adaptation of his work. It's a tight little thriller with the enchanting backdrop of Charleston, South Carolina. I made a pilgrimage to most of the places in his books, places he describes with such passion and clarity in his novels. Of course, The Citadel wouldn't allow the movie to be made at the school so they filmed Lords at the Virginia Military Institute. I can only imagine that these are horrible places to go to school.

The film is fast-paced and tells a compelling story of friendship, honor, and betrayal. The whole sadistic hazing bull is still a big part of military training but for what reason no one really seems to know. Treating people like animals and heaping abuse on people in training only serves to make petty and angry idiots, not leaders. I went to school when I was in the military with some West Points grads and they were the worst officers that I encountered in all of my service. I think the book and this film point this out.

I haven't read the book, but it has a rating of 4.27/5 from over 20,000 ratings (Pat Conroy), so I'm going to presume it's pretty good.

The movie? Not so much.

Set in the 60's, it follows a 4th year cadet through training (specifically hazing) who is given the job of looking out for the first black cadet allowed into the institute.

He completely fails to do so, finds out there's a secret group forcing out people they don't like through torture (the first 70 minutes). He reads a diary that helpfully lists all the members of the last 30 years and blackmails all his problems away (the last 20 minutes). Oh, and his best friend betrays him. The end.

"Wild" Bill Paxton (as credited) is as mediocre as the movie, so at least he fits in? He appears with Judge Reinhold, who was in his last movie (Stripes), and first time appearing with Michael Biehn, who was the best soldier actor in the movie. Someone must have agreed, because the following year, he got the role of Kyle Reece in The Terminator (Bill would get a bit part, as would Rick Rossovich).

Filming took place in London, and Bill Paxton met his future (and second) wife Louise Newbury on a #37 bus there.

TLDR; what a stupid movie.