Die Zeit der Prüfungen

It's been almost 40 years since I entered law school during which this movie was released and viewed with great interest by just about everyone in my class. For some, it was a fairly accurate depiction of the emotional drain first year law school can bring about. We didn't see these folks again after the Christmas break.

For most, however, it was a bit 'over-the-top' fun - strategically useful to impress family and friends who always seemed to be oddly curious about the academic rigors involved in becoming a lawyer.

Our law school sponsored a frosh-night just before the first week of classes and, after the movie was released it was played as the highlight of the evening. For those of us in second and third-years who were also invited, it was great fun to observe the incoming, first-year students squirm and grimace as if it were they who were called-upon to recite the facts and finding in Carlill & Carbolic Smoke Ball.

Housman's performance, while undoubtedly brilliant and, indeed, a major dramatic focal-point of the film, would have been rather softened in reality. The students in my class (and no doubt the ones both before and after) were superbly aware of their own social rights and responsibilities and they certainly were no wall-flowers by any stretch. They would have very quickly and resoundingly stood-up to that sort of intimidation and it wouldn't have happened again.

And yet, now, some 40 years later, having just seen the movie again, I must say, upon reflection, it really does capture the essence of the law school experience. It is a jealous mistress; romantic relationships, sports, hobbies, casual fun - all of it becomes secondary to the almost overwhelming curricular demands. As is suggested in the film, it is not just a question of learning material, memorizing statutes and jurisprudence; it is more than that. It is a matter of changing the way one sees reality. To this day, even though I am a retired lawyer, I look at a vehicular accident and I think 'tortious liability'. I hear an ambulance and I think 'wills and estates'. I watch Dads alone and fumbling uncomfortably with their kids in MacDonald's on Saturday morning and I remember the 'custody and access' battles in which my clients were engaged.

To me, the movie is as fresh and evocative today as when I first saw it.

I started seeing a ton of movies in '73, which was mostly cause of "The Exorcist", which was an extremely big deal that year. I saw it twice the night I graduated from grammar school so after that, my Mother could hardly say that anything else was too 'mature' for a 13 year old.

1973 was also an interesting year for movies in general. Several 'low-key' movies like "Scarecrow", "Cinderella Liberty" and "The Paper Chase" represent the year (for me) much more than one of the most puzzling Best Picture winners, "The Sting."

I had enjoyed Timothy Bottoms in "The Last Picture Show" and sensed this deep, inner sadness in the characters he portrayed. I never felt that coming from another actor. Its like he's brooding to the nth degree, but you don't mind.

Four things happen: (1) Timothy goes to law school, a class run by John Houseman (2) Timothy tries to have a relationship with Lindsay Wagner (3) Timothy obsesses about John Houseman, and (4) Timothy goes to study group and socializes w/some study group buddies, It may sound dull but for some reason the movie is extremely watchable. And for some reason I found it fascinating that someone would brush their teeth and shave while in the shower, and have been doing both ever since I first saw this movie. 8/10.

I had dropped out of Harvard Law school in 1969, not because of a girl, but because I wanted to see life before I saw Vietnam. I later found out about the Marine Reserves and avoided Vietnam, but I had always wondered if I had made a BIG mistake (I did have a successful career in data processing, however).

When I saw this film, I immediately knew I had made the right choice. Most of my professors were just blustering blowhards who were trying as much to intimidate me as teach me (Kingsfield must have taken lessons from one professor of mine in particular, although Houseman was not half as intimidating as he was!).

Hart's realization that experience is almost as important as education( although sometimes not as lucrative) was a turning point in my life, and I have never looked back.

Not enough credit is given to Lindsay Wagner in without a doubt what was her best performance--brava!

So, you're planning on starting law school in the fall, are you? Even if it's not Harvard, you should definitely watch this movie to see what the Socratic method is all about and why you should carefully choose your study group members. Even though this movie was made nearly 20 years ago, it still rings true and feels current. John Houseman gives a terrific performance as the terrifying Professor Kingsfield. An absolutely outstanding movie!

I have friends who have gone to law school and their subjective descriptions of how intense an experience that was seem to be validated in this now 30-year-old film. Houseman and Bottoms shine, the rest of the cast (while a bit too stuffy) seem to compliment them without flaw. I liked seeing a very young (unspoiled) Lindsey Wagner in her pre-bionic woman days. Truthfully, though certainly dated at this point, this film still held my interest. I was, however, disappointed in the last scene, for although it may have meant to be liberating for the Bottoms character to shift his priorities the timing, (upon receipt of his final grades) seemed ill chosen. Still, one can't help but root for him through all of this. In the end one wonders if while retaining his idealism he sacrificed his sanity.