Plot
Fraternity and sorority members clash with the other students at a historically black university in this politically charged musical, which marked the sophomore feature from director Spike Lee. Dap (Laurence Fishburne) is a politically conscious brother who leads anti-apartheid demonstrations and eschews the social climbing of the Greek system. But Half-Pint (Lee), his craven young cousin, is willing to endure any humiliation to join the manly Gamma fraternity. As Half-Pint tries unsuccessfully to impress the Gammas with his inept womanizing, Dap engages in philosophical debates with Rachel (Kyme), his girlfriend. Meanwhile, the light-skinned, straight-haired sisters of the Gamma Ray sorority battle it out in a beauty parlor with their darker-skinned, Afro-headed fellow coeds. Eventually, Half-Pint gets the chance to join the frat, but only after a degrading episode with Jane (Tisha Campbell), the soon-to-be ex-girlfriend of his house president, causes Dap to lose all respect for him. Based in part on the director's experiences at Atlanta's Morehouse College, School Daze was also written and produced by Lee. Despite production numbers that included "Straight and Nappy," a dis-fest between the "wannabes" and "jigaboos" on campus, the biggest hit on the film's soundtrack was the go-go anthem "Da Butt," E.U.'s ode to shaking one's backside. Supporting players Kadeem Hardison and Jasmine Guy also co-starred on the TV comedy A Different World, another look at life on a primarily African-American campus. ~ Brian J. Dillard, RoviReview
Spike Lee's second feature boldly went where no film had gone before, to explore the subtleties of prejudice within the African-American community. Lee's petri dish for this experiment is a historically black college, and his subjects are the fraternities and sororities whose membership is largely determined by skin hue. With a large and lively cast, several energetically staged musical production numbers, and plenty of low comedy, Lee effortlessly illustrates his message -- that the most insidious kind of racism comes from within his community -- in a variety of ways. This was a huge leap in ambition over Lee's debut feature, the more ingratiating She's Gotta Have It, and like his brilliant Get on the Bus, which dealt with many of the same topics in the context of the Million Man March, it was sadly undervalued by filmgoers on its initial release. ~ Tom Wiener, RoviCast
- Laurence Fishburne - Vaughn "Dap" Dunlap
- Giancarlo Esposito - Julian "Big Brother Almighty" Eaves
- Tisha Campbell - Jane Toussaint
- Kyme - Rachel Meadows
- Joe Seneca - President McPherson
- Ossie Davis - Coach Odom
Credit
Allan Trumpler - Art Director, Stu Deutsch - Boom Operator, Robi Reed - Casting, Otis Sallid - Choreography, Loretha C. Jones - Co-producer, Spike Lee - Co-producer, Monty Ross - Co-producer, Ruth E. Carter - Costume Designer, William Smith - Costume Designer, Randy Fletcher - First Assistant Director, Spike Lee - Director, Barry Alexander Brown - Editor, Grace Blake - Executive Producer, Teddy Jenkins - Hair Styles, Bill Lee - Composer (Music Score), Uzee Brown - Songwriter, Tina Harris - Songwriter, Raymond Jones - Songwriter, Marcus Miller - Songwriter, Consuela Lee Morehead - Songwriter, Lenny White - Songwriter, Stevie Wonder - Songwriter, Bill Lee - Songwriter, Mark Stevens - Songwriter, Teddy Jenkins - Makeup, Frank Prinzi - Camera Operator, Leroy Patton - Camera Operator, Sam Enriquez - Camera Operator, Wynn P. Thomas - Production Designer, Ernest R. Dickerson - Cinematographer, Matia Karrell - Production Manager, Grace Blake - Producer, Lynn Wolverten - Set Designer, Maurice Schell - Sound/Sound Designer, Rolf Pardula - Sound/Sound Designer, Kevin Lee - Sound Editor, Ira Spiegel - Sound Editor, Peter Odabashian - Sound Editor, Zelmer "Z-Dog" Bothic - Technical Advisor, Brian O'Kelly - Unit Production Manager, Spike Lee - Screenwriter, Mike West - Additional Cinematography, Pam E. Stephens - Production Assistant, Marcus Turner - Production Assistant, Jeff Cooper - Production Assistant, Mustafa Khan - Second Unit Camera, Willa Clinton - Unit Publicist, Norman Andrews - First Assistant Camera, Karma Stanley - First Assistant Camera, Larry Banks - Gaffer, Bill Bennett - Grip, Daniel Aguar - Grip, Robert Shuford - Grip, Todd Mcnichol - Key Grip, Louis Cerborino - Music Editor, Terence Blanchard - Musical Performer, Branford Marsalis - Musical Performer, Suzi Margolin - Properties Master, Tom Fleischman - Re-Recording Mixer, Mindy Rodman - Script Supervisor, David Taylor - Second Assistant Director, Alton Brown - Steadicam Operator, David Lee - Still Photographer, Janay Shabbaz - Assistant Hair, Larry Cherry - Assistant Makeup, Janay Shabbaz - Assistant Makeup, Ali Howard-Smith - Assistant Production Coordinator, Christine Soloperto - Assistant Properties, Leo Trombetta - Assistant Sound Editor, J. Kathleen Gibson - Assistant Sound Editor, Brunilda Torres - Assistant Sound Editor, Alex Steyermark - Assistant Sound Editor, Kenton Jakub - Assistant Sound Editor, Rudy Gaskins - Assistant Sound Editor, Dan Korintus - Assistant Sound Editor, Mark Moore - Best Boy Electric, Tully McCulloch - Best Boy Grip, Hillary Francais - Casting Assistant, Mikki Powell - Casting Assistant, Irby Langley - Construction Coordinator, Jennifer Ingram - Costumes Supervisor, Scott Leftridge - Dolly Grip, Meredith Woods - First Assistant Editor, Bruce Kitzmeyer - Foley Editor, Alba Leone - Leadman, George Balomes - Scenic Artist, Gretchen Kibbe - Scenic Artist, Suzanne Silver - Scenic Artist, Mark Welch - Scenic Artist, Samuel Henriques - Second Assistant Camera, Ron Goldsmith - Set Dresser, Richard Webster - Set Dresser, Michael Shannon - Set Dresser, Stephanie Astalos Jones - Set Production Assistant, Mustafa Khan - Set Production Assistant, Joe Rodman - Set Production Assistant, Albert Cooper - Transportation Coordinator, Dyane Harvey - Assistant Choreographer, Dennis Peterson - Generator Operator, Noelle Penraat - Negative Cutter, Tracey Willard - Production Secretary| School Days With a Pig (2008 Film), School Days (1921 Film) | |
| School Killer (2001 Film), School Spirit (1985 Film) |
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