Ten years after leaving school, Cox, bullied and constantly humiliated in his schooldays, seeks out his former classmates in order to be revenged.Ten years after leaving school, Cox, bullied and constantly humiliated in his schooldays, seeks out his former classmates in order to be revenged.Ten years after leaving school, Cox, bullied and constantly humiliated in his schooldays, seeks out his former classmates in order to be revenged.
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- TriviaThe crowd of boys cheering in the rugby scene were from Dr. Challoner's Grammar School, which is close to where it was filmed.
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losers lose
I saw this as a teenager in the early 80s on VHS. It stuck in memory. I then came across this on Youtube many years later. I went to boarding school in England the 80s. It was only on re-watching that I appreciated that this film characterises every type of boy that went (or goes?) to these schools. There are two protagonists - one is a loser who knows it (and knows who to blames), the other is a loser who doesn't know it and only realises this at the end. Both lose in the end. The most pathetic figure is the thick Niles. Really believing he is one of the gang, either too stupid (or in denial) to realise that it is only his sporting proneness that leads to him being included in the gang. The film brilliantly captures the loneliness and fear of the bullied Cox. At the beginning there are tragic scenes where Cox is forced to and then tries to ingratiate himself with the schools sportsmen. Anton Lesser is fantastic. He switches between cowered victim to futile obsessed avenger. Martyn Stanbridge is brilliant as the hapless Niles. The bullies are clever, witty (Colenso) but one dimensional. They inflict humiliation on Cox without even thinking about it - it is just something they do when the situation arises. I thought the dramatisation of the the bystanders- grinning as more humiliation is inflicted in Cox and then inflicting it themselves - was wholly accurate. It is the constant grinding humiliation of Cox that sticks in the mind as well as indifference the bullies show to their victims (including Niles) - treating them as objects and 'other' from them.
So watch this on Youtube. There are no satisfying denouements (as in real life): the arrogant and privileged win and losers lose. The picture quality is lousy, but this will stick in your mind especially if you went to one of these schools. However, my brother, who went to regular secondary school saw it once and loved it. Channel 4 -repeat this now. The main soundtrack - just one song by Cream - is inspired.
So watch this on Youtube. There are no satisfying denouements (as in real life): the arrogant and privileged win and losers lose. The picture quality is lousy, but this will stick in your mind especially if you went to one of these schools. However, my brother, who went to regular secondary school saw it once and loved it. Channel 4 -repeat this now. The main soundtrack - just one song by Cream - is inspired.
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- tobyhjames
- Sep 10, 2017
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What was the official certification given to Good and Bad at Games (1983) in the United Kingdom?
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