The
movie Stand and Deliver from Warner
Bros. Production Company is one of the most iconic inspirational films of the
1980s. Released in 1988 this film is a
Drama about a high school calculus professor who goes the extra mile to give
his inner city kids a chance to be more than criminals and maids in the
future. Director Ramón Menéndez does an
excellent job of bringing this story to life and inspiring everyone with his
masterpiece. The 103 minute movie is
rated PG and features such prominent actors as; Edward James Olmos, Estelle
Harris and Mark Phelan. This is a great
movie for all those who enjoy a true inspirational drama with a strong
message. This movie is also a perfect
example of what good production can do for a film and I give it a 9.5/10 rating
and think recommend everyone watch it.
Stand and Deliver
is based on the true story of high school teacher Jaime Escalante, portrayed
brilliantly by Edward James Olmos, a teacher from Garfield High School in Los
Angeles, California. The film follows Escalante
as he quits his job as a computer engineer to become a computers high school
professor in an east LA high school in one of the worst neighborhoods in the
city. Escalante is taken by surprise when
he finds himself teaching math instead because the school has no funds to buy
computers. After much struggling with
his students, department and even some parents he realizes how much he can do
for the kids in the school who are heading down a path that can only find them
in bad jobs, jail or even worst. After
Escalante has built a group of students he does the impossible to start a
calculus course in one of the worst schools in the city to help his students
believe in themselves and make something out of them. Through many problems ranging from bad moods,
to low budgets to gangs Escalante takes his students to take their AP Calculus
course where it will be determined if all of his students efforts were worth
it, this test will make them or break them.
This
film is a true gem of history and to this day retains its value being shown in
many schools across the country to inspire students. Many things make this movie no one things
jumps out so overall the production of the film is what captivates its viewers. The pre-production of the film is magnificent
in its outcome making the story and locations come to life. The script of the film is the result of
countless revisions until it was perfect, not only is the dialogue inspiring
but the use of authentic slang from the time and location are what transports
the audience. With words such as “kimo”
an shortened version of “kimosabe” a Hispanic slang for a know it all and
Escalante’s nickname from his students may seem made up to some, but to most
people familiar with the culture it is a connection with the diegetic world of
the film. Part of this preproduction is
also the search for different locations for the film, and here the Director
outdid himself by filming at two locations; 1) Roosevelt high school in LA, 2)
the very same Garfield high school where Escalante taught. This combination of script and locations
really exemplifies how much detail went into this movie before they even began
filming. The production of this film is
even more amazing in this sense, with a low budget the director and his crew
managed to turn out an amazing movie.
The cinematography uses very simple camera shots in order to augment the
meaning of the film such as when Escalante is in the car with Pancho talking
about choices in life, by focusing on the two passengers the camera is able to
mimic how Pancho doesn’t see how the choices he makes affect his future. The
true genius of the production however is in the amount of detail given to the
movement of the actors and the camera. The
amount of performer and actor blocking in this film must have been immense because
every shot is a work of art with even scenes such as Angel acting like Jesus on
the cross is perfectly set. Finally the
costumes and props are so well picked that they transport you to an inner city,
low income school in the middle of LA’s most poor Hispanic neighborhood where
the film is set. The final step in the
production of the film and what makes any movie shine is the post-production
which includes editing and sound.
Post-production for Stand and
Deliver was also an arduous step with lots of attention to detail. The cutting between scenes in the film is
almost flawless and achieves a fluidity that can be missed in some movies. Apart from this the scene sequences set up a
timeline that is neither too crowded nor missing parts; we can see a natural progression
from the beginning of the film to the end.
The sound editing and music in the film is not a major part of what
makes it such an icon but it aides in many ways, specially the sound effects we
see in the more intense scenes. These
effects are not always obvious but the small things such as Angel’s grandmothers
cough help set the mood. Overal the
production of Stand and Deliver is
top notch and has helped this film become and stay an icon of cinema.
Many
of the actors in this film deserve recognition for their roles and their
performance, but none as much as Edward James Olmos who plays Jaime Escalante. Olmos, who received a nomination for best
actor in the 61st academy awards thanks to this role, leaves his
heart on the screen when he plays the real life teacher. The emotion he puts behind the role is not
what you see in every film and it takes a very special actor to portray. It is my opinion that Olmos’ Mexican decent
(Born in the U.S. to a Mexican father and a Mexican/American mother) had a lot
to do with his role in the film and how much passion was behind it. Edward James Olmos should have won the Best
Actor Academy Award for the role of Jaime Escalante but was bested by Dustin
Hoffman for his role in Rain Man.
This
film is an absolute work of art and has the best production of its time which
can hold up to any modern movie. Everything
from the script to the acting is absolutely magnificent and the plot even
carries an uplifting message. It is not
a question of how good the film is or who liked it at this point, it is a question
of who has and has not seen the film and when will they fall in love with
everything in it. Because of it pretty
much everything in it, but still keeping my reservations about a few minor
things in the film I give Stand and
Deliver a 9.5/10 rating and recommend that anyone who has not had the
pleasure of seeing this film get their hands on a copy.
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