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Another little known, rarely mentioned film that for unknown reasons fell between the cracks. When atrocities like The Wild Wild West and Men In Black I & II make hundreds of millions, it is an enigma that great films such as Three O'clock High languish in obscurity. I am an avid film buff but have no recollection of this movie ever being released. It only made 3.7 mil. at the box office, I wonder if the director stepped on the wrong toes and someone intentionally tanked the project? IMDb trivia says Stephen Spielberg executive produced it, but had his name removed from the credits. That is always a negative thing in Hollywood, something done in protest. Joanou's trivia says he once punched out a studio executive on the set, could this be that set? Very strange, and what a pity, because this is a very good film. I gave it a 10 to up it's IMDb rating, though it is probably more like an 8. It has it's moments, however, that are well worth checking out, that occasionally make it worthy of a 10.

One of the more enjoyable elements of this film is the photography. Director Joanou, who started in music videos, teams up with Barry Sonnenfeld, of Coen brothers fame, and makes for some highly stylized cinematography. Though some of it might seem passé today, keep in mind at the time it was made (1987) nobody was doing anything like it. Guy Ritchie seems to have been influenced by it... 13 years later.

Superb performances by the two leads, Casey Siemaszko and especially Richard Tyson as the bully. The only time I have seen Tyson match his caliber here was in, of all things, Something About Mary, but I still think he has it in him. He plays a great heavy. The film is a bit slow now and then. Certain bits could be completely removed and the film would be better off without it. Overall it is a good film and, save a little language, safe for kids. Also, great soundtrack by Tangerine Dream. Check it out.

You sense you're in for something a bit different when you hear the ticking of the clock in the first few seconds of the movie - a countdown to a personal doomsday for Jerry Mitchell (Siemaszko), in charge of the high school bookstore and a writer for the school paper. He's assigned to write an article on the new kid, Buddy Revell (Tyson). Only Revell is no kid; he's a hulking mass of unstoppable destruction and patently psychotic. As mentioned beforehand in the picture, he's also a 'touch-freak' so when Mitchell makes the fatal error in the bathroom, it's so foolish of him, you might think he deserves his fate. But no one deserves the amount of psychological torture he endures for the next few hours. Does all this sound like a comedy? Probably not, but it is - a dark satire on high school comedies. And it works like crazy.

As you watch Mitchell spiral downward further and further into an abyss, you begin to wonder where he'll end up. His many efforts to free himself, involving school security, robbery, pay-offs, and teacher seduction, only further entangle him in a nightmarish situation, heightened by various hints of how bloody his beating will be. You slowly realize, as the clock ticks towards an inevitable showdown, that Mitchell will get no sympathy, even from his friends; it's a stunning depiction of how necessary is an individual's self-reliance and self-direction of their own destiny. The whole thing would've fallen apart if there hadn't been a showdown, if Mitchell managed to avoid the confrontation. But there is a Showdown, with all the spectacle of a Roman coliseum and the roar of crowds - it's an exciting climax. The funniest scene for me was Mitchell in the office of 'Voytek Dolinsky', the school's gestapo disciplinarian.

3 O'Clock High is a wonderful film. It bears little resemblance to the 80's teen archetypes, such as _Fast Times at Ridgemond High_ or the Hughes films, excellent as those films may be. 3 O'Clock is purely plot-based; a sensitive view of teenage angst can be found elsewhere.

The basic plot: Jerry Mitchell, everyman adolescent, manages to get himself into an after-school fight with the school psychopath Buddy Revell by 8:00 am, and spends the next 7 hours contriving every scheme to escape the certain flogging which awaits him at 3pm. The film opens with a clicking alarm clock (peculiar for an electric clock) and ends with an image of the school clock; in between, clock dials, and class bells serve as symbolic death watch beetles.

Jerry's gradual disintegration amongst his friends, the school administration, and the school store manager as well as his physical and moral decline as the day wears on is very amusing.

What's memorable about the film is its radical cinematography which we presume is the contribution of long-time Coen collaborator cinematographer Barry Sonenfeld. Extreme wide-angle shots, and a clever technique of high-speed crane shots make for a very distinctive look (which I have never seen duplicated). While clever technique this could create a ponderous over-theatrical look (like some of Spielberg's 80's work as viewed today) or a vapid MTV look, Joanou uses the showy technique to great effect and the film looks as fresh today as it did nearly 20 years ago.

The enigmatic Buddy Revell is a wonderful creation, masterfully introduced by a continuous moving shot following, in succession, three sets of exchanges between students recounting Buddy's legendary reputation for psychotic violence. The roving camera threads through each group of students as deftly as if in a Fellini film, (at the risk of being bombastic).

As well as a sharp plot and dialog, and an innovative technique and excellent production values, the assembled cast is uniformly superb. Casey Siemaszko is perfect for the role, and Richard Tyson gives an absolutely straight interpretation of Buddy Revell. Seconday roles are played by character actors Jeffrey Tambor, John P. Ryan, Mitch Pileggi among others.

In conclusion, you know it's a special film because so many of the images and the dialog stick in one's mind. The cheerleaders tearing apart the effigy and skull as the horrified Jerry watches, the library shelves toppling like dominoes to reveal Jerry and Vince cowering in the corner, all of the scenes with "The Duker", the Dean of Discipline's dungeon of an office, the educational 8mm insect film, the sinister retelling of the Iliad, Jerry frantically attempting to break open a cash register using a world globe and fire extinguisher.

The film probably didn't make it big because no big names were connected to it. Joanou would go on to do a curiously unrelated string of projects, some music videos, television documentaries, and even sitcom work. He did do another mainstream film _State of Grace_ (1990) with Sean Penn, another excellent and underrated film.

I have just discovered this film recently. It was never very popular, and I don't know why. I am surprised that a few people can't stand this film. After viewing the DVD a few times, I can honestly say that overall this is not a bad film. The directing is superb. I liked the way the director uses time...the passage of time...and shows its relationship and importance to the story. I also liked the camera blocking, and angles. My favorite shot is of the bully walking out of the school just before the fight: The camera zooms in and tilts up at a low level. A technique taught in film school to show a subject as "larger-than-life", or menacing over something. The acting was also excellent. Richard Tyson is great as the bully. His deep voice is well suited for this role, and is especially noted if you have a subwoofer. Yeah, I wouldn't want to fight him, either... Although the story is "typical", I like the plot-line. Throughout the whole story, the plot slowly builds to an amazing climax, then drops suddenly, and levels off. Its a perfect plot-line. Although, some parts of the story are "far-fetched". Such as, Jerry pretending to fall in love with his English teacher. One thing to remember, though, this is fiction. Sometimes in fiction, things happen that are unlikely in real life. That's why its called "fiction". Other than the bland "typical" story, I could not find anything wrong with this film. I have yet to even find so much as a continuity error. In conclusion, if you are looking for "content" you will be disappointed with this film. However, if you are looking for a well-directed film with good use of camera blocking and angles, and actor positioning, you will find this to be a very enjoyable film. ACTING: 9.1 / 10 DIRECTING: 9.4 / 10 STORY: 8.8 / 10

AVERAGE: 9.1 / 10 A lost Gem, and a must see for "film people".

When I think of the eighties teen genre, I think about John Hughes and John Cusack...and a little movie called Three O'Clock High. Three O'Clock High is the greatest eighties movie that no one knows about. It does, in fact, blow The Breakfast Club out of the water. Casey Siemaszko is perfect in the lead as Jerry Mitchell and he is the ultimate underdog. You can't help but love his character. He definitely has a large degree of untapped talent. The most unforgettable character however, is Richard Tyson's infamous Buddy Revell. I won't say that he completely steals the show, but he does come close to it. Revell has many a one-liner and I quote him on a weekly basis. And who could forget Tangerine Dream's score. They are also an integral ingredient of the eighties flick. This is a truly brilliant piece of comedy. Three O'Clock High is a comic gem as well as a must see.

"You and me, we're gonna have a fight-today-after school-3 O'Clock-in the parking lot. You try and run, I'm gonna track you down. You go to a teacher, it's only gonna get worse. You sneak home, I'll be under your bed. You and me...3 O'Clock."