Genre Grandeur – Taps (1981) – MovieRob

For this month’s next entry and my first (of four) for Genre Grandeur February – Coming of Age movie’s, here’s a review of Taps (1981).

Thanks again to Justine of Justine’s movie blog for choosing this month’s genre.

Next month’s Genre, chosen by  Anna of Film Grimoire will be Latin Director movies. To participate, send me your review to latin@movierob.net by 25th Mar.  Thanks to Anna for a great and diverse choice.

Let’s see what I thought of this movie:

“We have a home here. We think it’s something worth defending.” – Brian Moreland

Number of Times Seen – Between 5-10 times (numerous times on cable, video and 23 Feb 2015)

Brief Synopsis – When a military academy is slated for closure, the cadets take matters into their own hands

My Take on it – When trying to decide which movie to highlight as my favorite in the coming of age genre, I was quite conflicted, so as you will see, all 4 of my choices are very diverse stances on the genre of coming of age movie.

I recall seeing this movie as a kid on cable snd being enthralled by the story it tells.

I obviously didnt understand it then as well as I do now, but I still was able to see that there was definitely something special happening before my eyes.

This movie is all about honor, duty and standing up for your rights, but it is also about how youths would run their own society (similar to Lord of the Flies) within the framework of duty and honor.

It’s amazing how the very young cast made names for themselves in the 34 years since it came out.

Has anyone heard of the name Timothy Hutton? Sean Penn? Tom Cruise? Evan Handler? or Carlos Esposito?

They all have prominent and pivotal roles in this movie.

This movie perfectly shows what can happen when kids form their own society for the wrong reasons and how adults and kids see diverse solutions to similar problems.

Bottom Line -Great early performances from Hutton, Cruise, Penn, Esposito and Handler.  Excellent film about honor and duty and the different viewpoints between youths and adults. Highly recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The scene where Timothy Hutton and Ronny Cox’s characters are discussing terms was shot with three to four cameras, one of them operated by Director of Photography Owen Roizman. Roizman made a bet with Director Harold Becker for $75.00 that his close-up shots would make the final cut of the film. It was Roizman’s tight close up shots that made the final cut of the film, and Roizman who is $75.00 richer. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy

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