School Daze (1988) User Reviews

It's not a good movie because you didn't go to a Black school?

[bwhyte17 · 7/10 · 27 June 2006]

So what if you went to Harvard and not Hampton, this film is still well-shot, well-acted and damn funny. If you can't understand the light vs. dark, town vs. gown, Greeks vs. GDI conflicts, maybe you don't... under... stand... English... well. I never saw the movie in its entirety until I was about 20 (and pledging at an HBCU, but that's another story) but it just got better as I got older. This movie is like many of Spike's: it's for a group of people (Black ones) that rarely get to tell their own stories. If other people get it, super. On a sidenote, what's so "universal" about Dirty Dancing? I've never had to drop out of a contest because of my botched abortion that Lenny from Law & Order had to come help me out with. I've also never been a small, Jewish man in New York City, but people seem to find Woody Allen's movies "universal" enough. Why don't these issues come up with movies made by whi... (ahem) other filmmakers?

School Daze declares today's society must "Wake Up!"

[JonTMarin · 7/10 · 7 August 2004]

(SOME SPOILERS) Coming off the heels of the successful "She's Gotta Have It", Spike Lee examines tension between blacks in "School Daze". When "School Daze" was originally released it caused an uproar in the African American community. African Americans accused Lee for "airing dirty laundry". A lot of this happened because "School Daze" showcases the tension between light skinned African Americans and dark skin African Americans. A lot of this true. This is seen more recently in music videos. A lot of models with darker complexion complain that women with lighter skin get all the spotlight. This has been going on for a long time in the African American community. This is seen in the rivalry between Tisha Campbell's character Jane and Kyme's character Rachel. They even get into an entertaining musical titled "Good or Bad Hair". The funny thing about that scene is that the darker women is in the group called Nappy and the lighter women is in the group Straight. This is also carried on in the feud between Dap (Laurence Fishburne) and Julian (Giancarlo Esposito). There is also a very thought provoking ending that is a must see (common Spike Lee trademark) With "School Daze" you get three in one, it's a frat comedy that turns into a musical that turns into a social statement. But nonetheless, this film is entertaining form beginning to end. Watch out for a lot of familiar faces, most of the cast went on to be huge stars.

School Daze- rated R *** out of ****

Wake Up!

[Prismark10 · 5/10 · 19 August 2019]

Spike Lee's second full length feature film is a musical comedy drama set in an all black college.

It is polished but it also feels raw and undercooked with a sprawling story and the surreal ending never quiet comes off.

The film is mainly about two cousins. Dap (Larry Fishburne) is a black solidarity activist at the campus of Mission College. He is making a stand against apartheid in South Africa as this all black college still has investments in the country when Ivy League colleges have divested away.

Half-Pint (Spike Lee) is undergoing hazing to join the school's main fraternity led by Julian (Giancarlo Esposito) the 'Dean Big Brother Almighty.' Julian cares little about politics or racial identity. His hazing is not dissimilar to that carried out in white colleges, he is happy to humiliate his fellow black man

Spike Lee as filmmaker does care about racial identity. Dap's gang are black, dark skinned with afro hair. Julian's gang are lighter skinned, the women called the Gamma Rays straighten their hair. This is a theme that will be continued by Lee in other films such as Malcolm X.

There is an nostalgic and energetic air about this film. It is part Animal House and West Side Story with its song and dance numbers. The rivalry between Dap's gang and Julian's. Two sides of the black coin.

There is a scene in a fast food joint where a group of unemployed black men led by Samuel L Jackson who are unimpressed by Dap's bourgeoise activism and put him down. In a white society Dap even with all his education will always be an outsider and is rapidly becoming one within his own community, they are taking jobs away from Jackson and his friends.

As for the ending, my take is Julian's girlfriend came to self harm after what he made her do. A better explanation than Fishburne repeatedly shouting 'Wake Up!' Lee should had closed out his film in a more satisfying manner.

Another weakness in the film is Spike Lee the actor, he is not very good in comparison with his co-stars. Although Fishburne was 27 years old when this film was made, he was already a veteran having made movies since he was a kid with the likes of Francis Coppola. Many of the actors were also too old to be playing college students. Spike Lee was 30 and Bill Nunn was 35.

Nostalgic treat

[stonedog23 · 12 November 2001]

I had not seen Spike Lee's School Daze in 13 years, the first weekend of its release. This movie has a very special meaning to African Americans like me who were college students in the 80s. The school setting acts as a microcosm of black life as a whole. The social issues it tackles are all too familiar to black life: light skin vs. dark skin, college kids vs. the surrounding economically disadvantage community, and the social responsibility of African Americans to Africans across the entire black diaspora among others.

Watching it in 1988 I thought the dance sequences were too long, but in 2001 I now see their worth. The DVD is visually beautiful, while being gritty in spots where it should thanks to the beautiful work of the great Ernest Dickerson. This was a huge leap for Spike as a director, coming from a $175,000 budget for She's Got To Have It to School Daze.

This film does a great job of giving us some of the inner workings of Black Greek letter organizations. It also shows what abuse people will go through to belong. I was actually living School Daze when I saw it in 1988, so I come from that perspective. It was thrilling to figuratively see myself on that screen in 1988.

If you are looking for Academy Award winning performances, then this isn't the film for you, although there are some really fine actors in the film. If you haven't ever lived this existence, it is really hard to appreciate School Daze. I have a great appreciation for Spike, the era, and the story Spike has written and brought to the screen.

Most folks don't get the ending "Wake Up" scene, but it absolutely belongs. The entire movie and most of Spike's works are wake up calls to America, but specifically to the black community.

A Dive into Black College Life

[view_and_review · 7/10 · 20 September 2019]

Football games, rallies, parties, demonstrations, parades, fraternities and sororities; these are all the markers of college life. School Daze, written, produced, and directed by Spike Lee, showed all of that as done on a Black college campus.

School Daze addresses some very sensitive issues pertaining to African-Americans/Black-Americans (that's one of the issues). It's a conscious movie or, to use a '10's term, it's a woke movie. This is an early Spike Lee flick with the peculiarities of a Spike Lee flick.

One of the main issues elucidated in the movie was that of the term African-American vis-a-vis Black. The term wasn't at issue so much as the Africanness of Black-Americans. One side stressed the importance of Black people connecting with their African roots and reclaiming their African heritage. The opposing side of that point is that Black people have no real connection to Africa besides skin color and physical attributes. Both sides have compelling arguments and I would say both sides are right and I appreciated it being brought up on film.

Another issue which plagues African-Americans is the issue of "good" hair versus natural hair. The term "bad" hair is never used but it is directly implied when calling straighter finer hair "good" hair. This hang up afflicts women more than men for obvious reasons and Spike Lee had two groups of women face off in the movie to highlight the beef. Unfortunately, those with "good" hair sank to the level of calling the darker natural haired women "jigaboos." In my book that term is only second to the N-word in despicableness. Unlike the first issue, this matter has a right and wrong.

Spike also brought up light-skinned versus dark-skinned. Again, another highly divisive and highly sensitive issue. And again I think it also has a right and wrong.

One of the biggest issues, which was a central theme, was that of fraternity pledges versus non-pledges. I think it was used, at times, symbolically to represent the internal strifes between African-Americans (conscious v. sleep, dark v. light, "good" hair v. natural hair, African v. Black), but at other times it seemed to be simply frat life v. non-frat life. The pledges were depicted as being mindless pathetic pawns. They performed one demeaning humiliating task after another all for the chance to be part of a fraternity. I really don't know the benefits of fraternity brotherhood but it can't be worth what the Mission College Gamma Phi Gamma pledges put themselves through.

As the movie winded through a diorama of major school functions and events to depict the typical school year at an HBCU (Historically Black College/University) it inevitably had to end. Endings are not a specialty of Spike Lee's. After nearly two hours of a drama/musical showing us the issues amongst Black people generally and the issues on a Black college campus more specifically, the movie abruptly ended. It more than abruptly ended, it abruptly ended with a breaking of the fourth wall.

The final message: "Wake up!"

"Wake up" as a message is excellent, but there is something wrong with your movie if you have to explicitly tell your audience to wake up. I thought that was implicitly understood. Instead of writing in a conflict resolution, like most decent movies do, with an implied message he decided, "This movie has been running long enough. I think I'll stop here and just tell the people to wake up." That is unorthodox to say the least while lazy is probably a better description.

Spike spilled coffee all over the nice rug that was his film. It was like he was writing a good book, was nearing the end, spilled ink all over the last page and decided to stop and publish the book as is. Spike would go on to do a similar awkward ending in Jungle Fever except overall that movie was a lot worse. School Daze tackled some deep issues in a fairly creative manner, it's just too bad Spike got a case of writer's block at the end.

There was a message butt....

[jgreed-49807 · 6/10 · 24 May 2021]

I kinda got the message, not really I was just there for the jokes which honestly besides the nostalgia was the only pleasure I got. But somewhere within the movie I could almost grasp the deep meaning, but between the sex, fighting and the doing of the butt, it was too fuzzy and I just couldn't quite appreciate it. But a lot of ppl like to think spike is real deep, me however think he is woody Allen like, just little eccentric, dry comedies. Wake up!!

Lee's sophomore effort is far from great, but it's a fine effort nonetheless

[Quinoa1984 · 7/10 · 12 July 2008]

School Daze isn't something that is exclusive to those who went to all-black colleges, despite what some other commenters have said on IMDb. Coming from an average state school, there's still nothing *big* in the movie that comes from specifically being all-black, as there are many things like fraternities/sororities, male and female camaraderie, sex, fashion, insults, sports and rituals in general that are common to any college experience. Spike Lee captures that, when he's at his best here, very well. If you *did* go to an all-black college ala Lee's alma mater Moorehouse, then I'm sure it will have more relevance. But in general, Lee's made a solid, technically wild college comedy/musical/drama, with some major missteps.

There are some messages thrown about in School Daze, mostly around sexism, not so much racism (there's barely a white person to be seen in the film so it's not really an issue to deal with per-say), but they're all used in relativity with the story and characters, which is good. We're given Mission college, an all-black college down south, where classes are pretty much moot and everything revolves around cliques of various sorts: the Greek frat, which Half-Pint (Spike Lee) is trying to join, and his cousin Dap (Fishburne) who definitely is not and is defiant against a lot of things on campus, which nearly get him expelled. There are also the jigaboo's and the wannabes, two sets of girls on campus who are certainly opposed (as we see, brilliantly, in one of the better musical numbers).

While Lee's plot isn't always connected together, there's so much that works when he keeps the dialog moving along. He has a great sense of the characters, the BS that binds guys together and how the rhythm of a conversation with these 18-22 year olds goes, and about the ambivalence between the opposing sexes, leading up to the dramatic climax. Even most of the actors, close to all of them their first time in a Lee joint (Esposito, Davis, Bill Nunn), are terrific when given the chance showing off how absurd and, in retrospect in life, abstract all of this becomes. What keeps it down from being a lot better- and, sadly, what makes it look a lot more like an exercise in style (which, granted, was Lee's first movie with a budget above 100 grand and for a studio)- are the padded musical performances, and specifically those that don't contribute anything to the story. The first sequence is dynamite as the actresses all perform in an energetic performance about the differences between the sororities. After that, it's more or less (more for the one scene with the singer intercut with the sex) just filler that is shot well but empty.

Nevertheless, School Daze shows a filmmaker ready and hungry behind the lens to try and do things and show us bits and pieces of life that haven't been much in American movies, and at best it's riveting and entertaining. For this it's commendable, but it's also a stepping stone for Do the Right Thing. 7.5/10

Boring and meaningless

[KnightsofNi11 · 3/10 · 1 December 2010]

This movie is a mess. Hardly anything works. There are too many story lines going on with no clear direction or focus to it. It is a crude mishmash of story lines, all of which are equally uninteresting. School Daze is Spike Lee's second feature film. It is set at the fictional black college Mission University where there are two opposing groups of students who can't accept the differences between each other. Laurence Fishburne plays an unpopular student who opposes pledging to fraternities in a school where that kind of thing is the social norm. The most prestigious of these fraternities is the Gamma Phi Gamma fraternity which Spike Lee's character, Half Pint, is trying to become a part of. There are many other story lines about other underdeveloped characters, but in the end I got no entertainment out of a single one so they are hardly worth noting or remembering.

School Daze is a poorly stirred mixture of genres that confuses more than entertains. It is dominated by aspects of drama with some unfunny comedy mixed in. The jokes for the most part aren't even amusing and the drama is useless and uninteresting. Oh yeah and it's also a musical. I knew almost nothing about this film going into other than the fact that it was a Spike Lee film, so I engaged in some hefty head scratching when the first musical number kicked in about 25 minutes into the film, which should be a big no no in the musical genre. School Daze is the only musical I can think of that doesn't open with a big production number. However, what songs there are in this film are sparse and unmemorable. All the dance numbers seem awkward and every song feels out of place. I think this film could have done slightly better if the musical aspect had been dropped completely. The songs appear at the most random and scattered moments of the film and contribute nothing to the film, story wise or artistically.

Honestly, School Daze is a pretty boring film. Nothing much happens and scene after scene makes the film as a whole feel more pointless and misguided. I felt like I was accomplishing nothing by watching this film, which can be OK as long as the film has some entertainment value, which School Daze has none of. The film supposedly has a deep seated and heartfelt message about African American relations, but I didn't feel this at all until the cheesy and abrupt ending of the film where I once again proceeded to scratch my head in confusion. Maybe I missed some of the more important aspects of the film amidst my boredom, but it was hard to stay mildly interested in these mediocre characters and dull story lines.

Overall I can respect Spike Lee for trying to make an important and relevant film, but the execution of his idea went horribly wrong. I couldn't get into this movie at all. There was nothing interesting about School Daze. It was a jumbled mess of story lines and characters that had little motivation or development. There were times when a certain character that we hadn't spent any time previously developing would all of the sudden pop up and be important. But really everything towards the end of this film didn't resonate with me in any way because I was already fed up with the movie and wanted nothing more than for it to end. I truly wanted to enjoy this film, but it was just impossible. School Daze was a major disappointment.

Fascinating, flawed but compulsively watchable

[ceebeegee · 9/10 · 14 April 2008]

School Daze is billed as a musical comedy but is better described as a comedy-drama with musical numbers as commentary--the only non-diegetic number is "Good and Bad Hair," Lee's all-girl fantasy homage to West Side Story that addresses colorism between the "paper bag-light" sorority Gamma Rays and the darker activist girls. Ebert wrote that this was the first movie he'd seen in a while where the black characters relate to each other instead of a hypothetical white audience--it is this that gives the movie its engrossing authenticity. (If it matters, I'm white.)

As funny as the movie can be, it's also incredibly hard-hitting--there's a sequence in the last 20 minutes where Julian, "Big Brother Al-migh-tee," insists his girlfriend "prove" her love, that's almost unwatchable and yet brutally honest. Lee has been called sexist for his underwritten female characters--there may be some truth to that but School Daze is far more critical of the men than the women. Rachel, Dap's girlfriend, is perhaps the most levelheaded, likable character in the movie, and is strong and supportive of Dap while still maintaining her independence. Even the Gamma Rays, who come off as shallow and colorist in the beginning, are sympathetic as they stand up for and try to aid the pledges during hazing. The characters who come off the worst are the GPG brothers who are, almost to a man, brutish, sadistic and crude. Julian in particular is unredeemable--clever, manipulative and almost sociopathic in his treatment of Jane. Lee supposedly based the movie on his observations at Morehouse and the movie stands as a scathing indictment against the black fraternity system and its abuse of the women's auxiliaries (aka "Little Sisters").

The movie has structural weaknesses (the ending is problematic and seems to come out of nowhere although it fits thematically) but its biggest problem is Lee's flat performance as Half-Pint (and, frankly, he looks a little too old for it). I love Lee's movies but his early tendency to cast himself in major roles was a real weakness--he's just not a good enough actor and his performance always jerks me out of the story. The rest of the cast is fantastic, though, especially Tisha Campbell as Jane and Giancarlo Esposito as Julian. Notice must also be given to Bill Lee's wonderful score. Ultimately it's a movie whose heart and imagination overcome its flaws.

Not Spike's best, but a good film nonetheless

[guyfromjerzee · 7/10 · 4 August 2004]

I'm a fan of Spike Lee and look up to him, being an aspiring director. I wouldn't rank this film up there with "Do the Right Thing," since it has its flaws, but I still found it entertaining and the characters generally engaging. Spike has a knack for writing, as well as directing. The minor problems I had with "School Daze" were that it dragged a bit (quite a few scenes could've used trimming), some of the acting is wooden, the occasional music numbers seemed forced (this is also considering I'm not a big fan of musicals) and the ending didn't satisfy me. Aside from the end scene being pretentious, it seemed way too forced in an otherwise realistic film. Laurence Fishburne, who's a naturally brilliant actor that never disappoints, gives the best performance of the film. He compensates for some of the more amateurish members of the cast. By the way, expect to see a lot of Spike's regulars--including Bill Nunn, Ossie Davis and Samuel L. Jackson in a nice bit part. Also, expect to see several actors from "A Different World." It's evident that Spike was probably in a frat back in his college days, since the film feels authentic and the frat scenes are rich with detail. I recommend "School Daze," if you're a Spike fan like me, though it's nowhere near as powerful as most of his work. (7 out of 10)

what a boring movie , and worthless

[fanan450 · 1/10 · 12 April 2019]

Oh god , this movie doesn't deserve a review or even a comment. stupidity and dull is all that movie about, the most boring movie I ever saw, I turn it off after half hour , because my time is priceless more than this garbage . not recommended at all.

1/10

Powerful, but only for Adults (or Mature Teens)

[michaelwilsonthesecond · 9/10 · 17 February 2016]

I pray that racism isn't the reason this film has such a low rating on here.

I'm a black college student who used to be in a white fraternity and this film is actually fairly accurate to the ideas those organizations promote.

The acting is stellar, Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, Tisha Champbell, and Spike Lee steal the show but as much effort is put into almost every supporting role.

The cinematography is done pretty well, not flawless but as a film buff I appreciated it. The music is awesome and keeps you engaged, it really serves as a nice break for the more dramatic scenes.

The storyline is overall about finding yourself in college which is a very difficult task and even more difficult now in the age of social media.

The only complaint I had about this film is that the actors don't really look like college students, but it's minuscule in comparison to the film's themes.

I would recommend this film, but the primary audience is adults and I would keep high school students away from this film unless they're exceptionally mature for their age.

Go into School Daze with an open mind and be prepared for a powerful film that sticks in your mind well after your initial viewing.

surreality drift

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 26 January 2019]

Mission College is a leading black college in Atlanta. Dap (Laurence Fishburne) leads the politically active group advocating for the school to divest from South Africa. He is opposed by the head of the college fraternity, Julian Eaves (Giancarlo Esposito). Jane Toussaint (Tisha Campbell-Martin) is Julian's girlfriend. Dap's cousin Darrell (Spike Lee) is actually a lowly pledge at the fraternity. Along with their girlfriends and the school faculty, most of the population is divided into two camps based on their political views, skin color, and even hair.

It's real interesting that Spike Lee is exploring black consciousness within their own community. It tackles some important black social divides. Lee's often surreal touches do detracts from the main topic and don't get me started with the musical aspect. The old Hollywood musical scenes completely take the movie out of its time and place. The story starts to lose its anchor to reality. The beginning with the South Africa protest has such a great sense of time. It does hurt to see the movie drift from time to time.

Ehh

[michaeltrivedi · 3/10 · 10 September 2020]

The only thing worth watching in this movie is Spike Lee's character. Will he be able to bring a girl to the frat house in the end, and be accepted into the frat? It's the only thing I'm concerned about. The rest is trash.

Not worth my time

3 stars

A Breath of Fresh Air

[FWTxrunner · 21 October 2004]

I am only 18 years old and I just saw the movie School Daze. I do not attend a H.B.C.U., but I have friends that tell me what goes on there. To the older people out there, can you believe that that type of stuff is still going on?! My friends and I were just talking the other day about how this guy on her campus would only date lighter skinned girls. If that is his thing, than it is, however, he would not date them because of their personality. He said they just "looked better on his arm." My mother and I always discuss the future of African-Americans and I am going to tell the truth. I am scared. We hurt each other more than any other race and we have to stop. I am a dark-skinned female and I just learnd to love myself. I thank Spike Lee for not being ashamed to call us out when we needed it. No, I do not think that the movie was an Oscar winner, but I do know that it was a mind opener and should be a lesson to all of us on how we allowed the European standard of beauty to shape our self-worth.

Not Lee's best work

[jed-estes · 6/10 · 20 August 2006]

I like this film only because it is an early effort by the master Spike Lee before he hit his stride with Do The Right Thing in 1989. I believe one reason this film baffles me is that I come from Kentucky and as far as I know there are no immediate black colleges in my area which is a sorta of a shame. I never experienced life on a African American campus and this film is just over my head. I feel that Lee new what he was talking about he just should have made the film a little more open for the general public to follow. I know he could have done better as the show A Different World which is about the same subject matter and is overly entertaining to watch. It also includes most of the cast Lee brings to this film. Lee makes other inspired casting choices in this film with then named Larry Fishburn, Bill Nunn, Ginocarlo Espasito, Tisia Cambell, and an early, early appearance by Sam L. Jackson outside of the KFC. This actors bring a lot the table and somewhat pull it off. I just think the film should have been a little more open as Spike's latter films are. I guess you gotta learn somewhere. Rock on Spike.

slice of 80's life

[John Bethea · 7/10 · 3 December 2000]

I don't really enjoy many of Spike Lee's films, but I did enjoy this one. I was in college when it came out, and I always considered it a pretty accurate depiction of college campuses, and of the political and social undercurrents existing everywhere in the late 80's(apartheid, integration vs desegregation, viability of black campuses). I think it was pretty bold to make a quasi-musical in only his second film; much bolder than making the race-sensitive accusatory dramas he's been making since Do The Right Thing. I think Spike is potentially a great movie maker if he can get past these issues he seems to be so stuck on: white people are evil, white people(especially jews) are plotting the death of the black man, it's okay to denigrate and hate whites cause "they" did that to us in the past. School Daze will allow you to gaze at the talent that was, and could be, Spike Lee.

HVCC Student Yuchen Bai Review

[nbbaiyuchen · 7/10 · 6 May 2016]

I like musicals, but I don't know if that was really a good way to present this material. That, and only one of the numbers really grabbed me. I will say that the stomp competition sequence was well choreographed and executed though. The performances are good, and you can see Lee's innovations and techniques getting better and better, but the film is a little weak structurally and leaves a few too many loose ends. However, it is entertaining, and makes some important contributions cinematically (but most culturally and socially) It's not too bad i think. I admire Spike's efforts, Spike Lee's Version of college life was real, funny, and I could relate to this film.

A Look Inside The American Black Culture!

[g-bodyl · 8/10 · 13 June 2014]

Spike Lee's School Daze is an interesting film, one that reveals the struggle of black society in the 1980's. This was the time period when they were struggling to keep their head afloat in this world despite the civil rights movement some decades before. This film has many flaws, but it's not a letdown thanks to the clear message Spike Lee was able to bring across. The opening of this film is powerful as Lee is showing the history of his people and the end.....well it came out of nowhere but I think it's rightly justified.

Spike Lee's film takes place at a historically black college during homecoming weekend and it's about how the sororities and the fraternities clash against each other.

The acting is decent: nothing to rave home about, but nothing to be ashamed of either. Laurence Fishburne may have had the best role as the revolutionary leader who wants to change how his school is ran.

Overall, School Daze is very interesting and it sends the message to America and more specifically to black people, to wake up and be proud of their heritage. These morals are a strong presence throughout the film and quite frankly, they elevate the movie. For the music itself, it's quite enjoyable though some songs are a tad too long. Kudos to Spike Lee for going somewhere that directors rarely go. I rate this film 8/10.

If you aren't Black and/or you didn't go to an all-black university, you might not get it...

[chauncey_washington · 10/10 · 29 May 2001]

Spike pegged this. He couldn't get it all in, but he was darn close. The light-skinned vs. the dark-skinned, exclusionary syndrome perpetrated by Black Greeks to non-Greeks, Homecoming, the sweaty and hot parties, the rift/resentment between lower-class local Blacks and the students, sexuality... It was great. Unfortunately, my main man Spike failed to make it universal, so if you ain't what I mentioned in my one-line summary, you might not get it. God Bless the ones that try to understand the mentality instead of dogging out the man's obvious and enormous filmmaking talent. You can hate Kobe Bryant for taking all the darn shots, but you can't hate the young man's game! PEACE!

An examination of one of the worst forms of racism that African-Americans deal with!

[Deceptikon225 · 11 December 2002]

This film dealt with a lot of inner conflicts that African-Americans where unwilling to deal with at the time. Class struggles, light skinned vs. dark skinned and greeks vs. non-greeks. I just purchased it on DVD, but I remember seeing this film when it first came out in February of 1988 and it is just as powerful and entertaining now as it was then. It's amazing to look at this film now and see all of the actors who went on to successful careers afterwards, like Laurence(then Larry) Fishburne, Tisha Campbell, Giancarlo Esposito, Roger Guenveur Smith, Kadeem Hardison, Jasmine Guy, Darryl Bell, Rusty Cundieff(director of "Tales From The Hood"), Bill Nunn, Branford Marsalis, and of course I can't forget Samuel L. Jackson. Three years after this film came out a cousin from Seattle came to visit, I showed him this film and he was surprised to discover that there were actually historically black colleges and universities(HBCU's) in this country. He later attended Southern University here in Baton Rouge. That was the effect this film had and continues to have on young African-Americans and their views of HBCU's.

The Best Black College Movie of all time

[sisko2005 · 9/10 · 16 December 2004]

This was the best black college movie of all time! This movie went places that know other college movie to this date have yet to explore. I was eight when I first saw this movie and the message that Spike was making was over my head at the time I viewed this movie, but his message is still a point for our people today. I every once in awhile will set down to look at this great movie and come up with things to talk about with others. This movie made me want to attend a HBCU and I did Delaware State University and I even joined a frat. This movie comes with my highest recommendation. If you missed the message in the movie, its over your head and you need to watch it again.

Great movie but not for everyone

[shjones1 · 9/10 · 9 December 2005]

I loved this movie! I have it on VHS and DVD.

I always related to this movie. As an African American man who was actively pressuring the institution of "higher learning" that I was attending at the time to divest from South Africa, I felt like one of "Da fellas". My boys and I even went to see it in a raggedy Chevrolet.

I completely vibed with the whole frat versus GDI issue. As a student at a northern predominantly white institution some of the other issues around skin color were new to me.

A must see for any African American student attending or planning on attending college - especially if they plan on attending an Historically Black Colege or University.

My favorite movie of all time

[mikki727 · 17 September 2002]

This is my favorite movie of all time. I have seen it at least 300 times. I saw it the first time about a year after it came out. I was about ten years old and I was mesmerized. I really loved all the singing and dancing. But when I got older, thats when I got the message of movie. Thats what makes this movie such as classic. The only thing I don't like about it is that I read the book about the making of School Daze and Spike cut out so many scenes that would have been good for the movie. It would have made some of the scenes easier to understand. I wished he would've put them on the DVD. But still, one of the greatest black films of all time.

School Daze is Spike Lee's college autobiography

[orondejenkins · 10/10 · 13 April 2006]

Spike Lee is a weird little character; however, he is a brilliant filmmaker. School Daze captures every element of the Morehouse College experience, the school Lee graduated from (and I attended Morehouse last year.) The only thing different between the movie and reality is that the school in the movie was called Mission College, which merged Morehouse (a historically black, all-boys school) and Spelman College (the historically black, all-girls school across the street). Everything else is the same, from the fraternities and sororities, to the campus (it was filmed at Morehouse, Spelman, as well as two other HBCUs nearby) Spike brilliantly captured the experience of Morehouse and Spelman, added satire and awesome compositions, and merged it into a film that is timeless.