The Chocolate War (film)
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| The Chocolate War | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Keith Gordon |
| Produced by | Jonathan D. Krane |
| Written by | Robert Cormier Keith Gordon |
| Starring | John Glover Ilan Mitchell-Smith Doug Hutchison |
| Cinematography | Tom Richmond |
| Editing by | Jeff Wishengrad |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Saul Zaentz |
| Release date(s) | November 18, 1988 |
| Running time | 104 min. |
| Country |  |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15,000 |
| Gross revenue | $303,624 |
| IMDb profile | |
The Chocolate War is a 1988 drama film based on the celebrated novel of the same name about a young man who rebels against the ingrained hierarchy of an elite Catholic school. The film was directed by Keith Gordon (also his directorial debut), and stars John Glover, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, and Doug Hutchison. Jonathan D. Krane produced it after seeing Static, a short film Gordon wrote.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
A surreal modern-day portrait of a Catholic private school and it's all hierarchy. New student Jerry Renault (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) must submit to the bizarre rituals of his peers and the expectations of the school's administration by selling chocolates. Unlike the book, Jerry does not fight Emile Janza. Janza is subsituted by Archie Costello, because Archie picked out a black marble for him. Therefore, Jerry had to fight Archie. Jerry eventually wins the fight, knocking two teeth out of Archie. However, Jerry feels regret after winning, and feels that he should have sold the chocolates instead. Since Archie lost the fight, he and Obie Jameson switched jobs. Obie started giving out assignments from then on.
[edit] Cast
- John Glover as Brother Leon
- Ilan Mitchell-Smith as Jerry Renault
- Doug Hutchison as Obie Jameson
- Wallace Langham as Archie Costello
- Corey Gunnestad as Goober
- Brent David Fraser as Emile Janza
- Robert Davenport as Brian Cochran
- Jenny Wright as Lisa
- Bud Cort as Brother Jacques
- Adam Baldwin as Bill Carter
- Ethan Sandler as David Caroni
[edit] Trivia
- Doug Hutchison, who portrayed 16-year-old Obie Jameson, was 27 when this movie was filming.
- The film had a paltry music budget of about $15,000. Most of the artists featured on the soundtrack allowed the filmmakers to use their songs at bargain basement prices. David Bowie, however, asked for $100,000 to utilize his song "Heroes" during the final scene and credits, so Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" was substituted.
[edit] DVD release
The film was released on DVD on April 17, 2007. The special features consist of:
- Audio commentary by director Keith Gordon
- Interview with director Keith Gordon
