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Re: DETENTION (Sidney J. Furie, 2003)

PostPosted: 05 Nov 2012, 14:48
by leigh1975
Possibly one of my least favorite Dolph movies.

Re: DETENTION (Sidney J. Furie, 2003)

PostPosted: 27 Dec 2012, 05:48
by savagesketch
I noticed that this one had virtually the exact same production team working behind the scenes as DIRECT ACTION... Was this purely a coincidence, or did Dolph and crew have a multi-production deal? If the latter was the case, then why did they both have different distributors? DETENTION -- Lions Gate, DIRECT ACTION -- First Look...

On a somewhat related note, I remember reading that Sidney Furie was slated to direct THE DEFENDER before falling ill... Was that also planned to have the same production team, or did Dolph and Furie build a great working relationship?

Re: DETENTION (Sidney J. Furie, 2003)

PostPosted: 27 Dec 2012, 10:58
by Jox
It's a combination of several factors, for the most part is that Sydney Furie likes to hire the same cast and crew over and over (even to day if you look at his latest films) and had already made several films with co-producer Gary Howsam, who then produced a bunch of movies with Nu Image. DETENTION was already a 10 year-old script when it was made, was at Moonstone Entertainment (HIDDEN AGENDA) first before landing at Nu Image with GFT (Gary Howsam) producing.

The project came at a time when several Dolph projects fell out, Damian Lee's LEGION (that he wisely chose not to do), and ALIEN AGENT, that was the first project he was set to do with Furie. But both movies came about separately, and when Furie started developing DA he called Dolph and things came together with the same people and deals. As for U.S. distribution Nu Image sold one to Lionsgate and the other to First Look the year after that's all, but in some markets it's the same distributors.

But yes, they got a long very well and had sort of a father/son or mentor/student relationship and Furie had a lot of faith in Dolph which is how he made him so involved in the production and editing of DIRECT ACTION, and that's Furie we have to thank for telling to the producers to let Dolph direct THE DEFENDER when he had some sort of stroke...

Re: DETENTION (Sidney J. Furie, 2003)

PostPosted: 18 Apr 2013, 11:28
by Jox
I saw DETENTION again a couple days ago as I was to interview one of the crew members, and I can't believe how bored I was.

Yet technically it's far from being the worst film he's done. It got good production value, good lighting and good camera moves (better than DIRECT ACTION which had less people in the camera crew headed by the same DP who did all on DA and couldn't afford to spend as much time on stylized lighting and camera operating), decent editing (although I suspect it could have worked better with less cuts and more continuous takes in some scenes because the editing gets annoying)...

But the characters are not really likable, the dialogs are too phony and on the nose (we gotta show these are rebellious tough kids so we'll make talk like puppets saying "fuck you" to each other or "who gives a shit about history". The bad guys sport ridiculous post-punk looks, the two brothers are stupid and the leader acts totally gay while making it seem he's doing his accomplice... Even the action, while not bad per say, doesn't spark your interest even when Dolph looks cool. And I'm not mentioning the ridiculous gratuitous things like the car crashing and motorcycle vs wheel chair chase in the school...

So I don't know, the script was written in the late 80s (and very surprisingly had not been victim of much re-writing in the 12-15 years it was in development and turn-over - except for the added Bosnia prologue), would have worked better then? Dolph Anyway, as it is it's just hard to care and I stand by the fact that with less budget and being more minimalist, DIRECT ACTION is far more likable and looks like masterpiece next to it.

Re: DETENTION (Sidney J. Furie, 2003)

PostPosted: 18 Apr 2013, 17:11
by leigh1975
I think it's one of my least favorite Dolph films... it just feels phoney. Theres no passion or life in the film. It just lays there like a dead dog, even though there is plenty of action. It's just soulless and dull.

Re: DETENTION (Sidney J. Furie, 2003)

PostPosted: 19 Apr 2013, 18:01
by DRC2013
I wouldn't necessarily rank Detention in Dolph's absolute worst, but it's definitely not among the best either.

It's one of those movies I put on if I have a slow afternoon and I got something to do around the house and want to get some Dolphage going, I'll glance at it occasionally.

It's not a movie I would sit down and watch from beginning to end, too boring for that.

Re: DETENTION (Sidney J. Furie, 2003)

PostPosted: 05 Dec 2013, 15:29
by Jox
Korean theatrical poster
Image

Re: DETENTION (Sidney J. Furie, 2003)

PostPosted: 20 Feb 2014, 23:46
by Jox
Trailer in 720p from Millnenium Films channel

Re: DETENTION (Sidney J. Furie, 2003)

PostPosted: 01 Aug 2015, 12:27
by Jox
DETENTION on Blu-ray October 2 from EuroVideo

http://www.eurovideo.de/dvd-bluray,de,9 ... -film.html
http://www.bluray-disc.de/blu-ray-filme ... u-ray-disc

(Not sure what to expect from them quality wise, it can be good or bad, possibly 1080i...)

Re: DETENTION (Sidney J. Furie, 2003)

PostPosted: 04 Aug 2015, 19:38
by Jox
Jox wrote:DETENTION on Blu-ray October 2 from EuroVideo

http://www.eurovideo.de/dvd-bluray,de,9 ... -film.html
http://www.bluray-disc.de/blu-ray-filme ... u-ray-disc

(Not sure what to expect from them quality wise, it can be good or bad, possibly 1080i...)

Blu-ray cover

Image

Re: DETENTION (Sidney J. Furie, 2003)

PostPosted: 06 Oct 2015, 17:30
by Jox
It's confirmed that the new German Blu-ray is cut, running only 92 mins... :(
(which even in 25 fps / 1080i is 2 mins shorter than the 2003 PAL DVD which for once wasn't censored in Germany)

Re: DETENTION (Sidney J. Furie, 2003)

PostPosted: 22 Jan 2016, 23:13
by Jox
An in-depth book tackling Sidney Furie's career and contribution to filmmaking which reportedly influenced the likes of Kubrik, Scorcese and Tarantino
http://www.amazon.com/Sidney-J-Furie-Sc ... dney+furie

"How wonderful that there is finally a book about Sidney J. Furie, one of the best directors in the whole of my career . . . and one of my greatest friends. I wouldn't have had a career without him!"
―Michael Caine


Image

Author Daniel Kremer who also has a documentary on Furie in post-production

Re: DETENTION (Sidney J. Furie, 2003)

PostPosted: 06 Apr 2017, 10:31
by Jox

Re: DETENTION (Sidney J. Furie, 2003)

PostPosted: 01 Jun 2017, 18:43
by Scifibuff5
It's currently showing non-stop on FLIX, the Showtime owned premium cable channel. Pretty wild how 13 years later Dolph would revisit the whole Toy Soldiers/The Substitute/Die Hard in a school formula in the DTV sequel Kindergarten Cop. :mrgreen:

Re: DETENTION (Sidney J. Furie, 2003)

PostPosted: 01 Jun 2017, 20:03
by Jox
I did not realise KC2 marked his second role as a teacher...

Regarding DETENTION, it shows that the script was actually written in the mid-late 80's (and revived a couple times in the 90's), so even by 2003 (and especially after 9/11) it felt very dated and the writing and characters rather cheesy (should have been dramatic and intense to work well).