Hababam Sinifi

Hababam Sinifi is adopted from a novel by . Turkey's one of the most popular artists like Kemal Sunal, Sener Sen, Munir Ozkul, Halit Akcatepe, Adile Nasit, Tarik Akan, Sevket Altug, Perran Kutman played in all series. It's been on Turkish TV channels over and over again and still get high ratings. The whole series is a classic, the best parts go around "Güdük" Necmi and "Inek" Saban. Sener Sen is also great as the gym teacher "Badi" Ekrem. One of the greatest figures of Turkish cinema Münir Özkul and Adile Nasit take their parts as "Kel" Mahmut and Hafize Ana. Adile Nasit with her famous giggling draws a mother figure for the students... Anyways, I wonder if it was released in other countries but if you're Turkish you've already seen it a million times and would watch it again if there is nothing else on TV :)

Hababam Sýnýfý (Hababam Class)is a great comedy which reflects as the best example of 'the marvelous era of 70's comedies' of the Turkish cinema. It is about a class of highschool students in a private school. Their school tuition are paid by their ignorant parents who think that's all for them to get prepared for life. The students bond each other as a family. They are lazy, ignorant, funny and the worst nightmare of their teachers. Adile Ana (ana=mother) who is the attendant in the school is like their own mother and she accepts them as real sons.

Their kingdom over the school is challenged when a new principal (Munir Ozkul) comes. He doesn't have a family (says he didn't have time to found one while dealing with others education), and plays a role of though, disciplined, but deep inside a warm hearted teacher and principle.

The movie is full of hilariously funny scenes of the students' adventures between themselves, their teachers, other students and of course the principle who declared a war on them to get them disciplined.

It is funny but also a touchy film when they found the 'father' figure they lost in the principle.

There is one thing we should mention about the plot; the movie reflects the Turkish culture. Therefore there are not brutal gang members in the class terrorizing teachers and the school. They are just playing innocent jokes on everybody not harming anybody but their own future. They are still respectful to the elderly and teachers.

It is a great movie.

This is a great comedy but obviously a typical American won't laugh as much as a Turkish person. Kemal Sunal and his classmates play it in the same tradition like Jerry Lewis and Charlie Chaplin. I showed the movie to an American friend, and with some translation, he laughed and enjoyed it, too. So, it is normal for Turks to give it a 10 rating, and non-turks to give a 7.3, and the difference is due to something lost in the translation! The other thing is, the Turks don't laugh at actually what the characters are saying, but HOW they are saying... The facial expressions, the accent, body language.. all contribute... So you have to live for a while in Turkey to fully appreciate this movie...

This classic Turkish film (although some might wonder at this mainstream movie being called a film) is etched permanently into the psyche of Turkish culture. It's such a shame that there's no kind of film preservation society in Turkey. No One realizes that this film is going to disappear within the next decade or two. If I'm ever successful I've made a promise to my childhood that I'll find a good print of this film and put efforts forward to restore it and preserve it in various formats so that my kids and their kids can one day see it.

"Hababam" is a never-aging movie. I just watched it again last night (I don't remember how many times I watched it!) and I was on my knees, laughing with tears in my eyes. Sener Sen, Munir Ozkul, Adile Nasit, Kemal Sunal (Only Ozkul and Sen alive today) are among the greatest comedians in Turkish cinema and watching them in the same movie is undescribable joy! Movie's passing into a sadder region makes the onlooker feel that this is life itself. Before recovering a laugh coma the onlooker enters a sad valley. The original score is a great helper in these transitions. Composer Melih Kibar created one of his best works for Hababam Sinifi.

To sum up, Hababam Sinifi is like a drug when you feel gloomy, blue, sad. You can cheer up within minutes if you sit and watch it.