We are the future! And Nothing Can Stop Us. Drug Dealing.
Gang Beatings.
Prostitution.
They're all part of a typical day for the students of Lincoln High. Into this academic abyss arrives Andy Norris (
Slaughterhouse Five's
Perry King), an idealistic and naive music teacher who has moved into the community with his pregnant wife Diane. Appalled by the crime-infested school, Norris soon crosses sabers with its teenage kingpin, the shrewd and sadistic Peter Stegman (
The White Shadow's Timothy Van Patten). With Norris setting his sights on reforming Stegman, and the young miscreant declaring war on his teacher, the duo sets a fateful showdown into motion on the night of an important school orchestra performance.
Directed and co-written by Mark L. Lester (
Commando, Firestarter),
Class of 1984 is one of the seminal cult movies of the early 1980s. While its vision of a decaying, violence-plagued inner city school seemed over-the-top in 1982, it sadly prophesized the future of American education. Lester's film - which caused a stir at Cannes and reputedly offended one of its own screenwriters - is also notable for its cast, which includes Van Patten, Roddy McDowall and a very young Michael J. Fox. Alice Cooper performs the theme song, "I Am The Future". No longer are the students of Lincoln High the future, for the future as arrived!
