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That's the feeling you get when you plonk To Sir With
Love on the DVD player and squirm with rage as the excellent
Mr Thackeray (Sidney Poitier) battles to keep himself from
throttling the painfully obnoxious little swine in his inner-London
class.
And horrible they are too. Lippy, sullen, why-should-I types
who need a smack around the gills to let them know their appalling
behaviour is not tolerated in society.
So patient is Mr Thackeray that it's only when they burn
a girl's used sanitary pad in class that he loses his cool
and tells them what the world is really about.
The astonishing thing about To Sir With Love is that
a lot of the issues that are raised in this 1966 creation
from James Clavell would have been very close to the censor's
bone.
But, having done his block, Sir manages to find a way through
the protective layers of his working-class kids and finally
makes contact with the budding people within.
The cast - whether it be the shellshocked teachers or the
shellshocking pupils - is excellent and some pretty fine names
are included in the credits.
Aside from Poitier there is Geoffrey Bayldon (better known
as Catweazle), Patricia Routledge (Hyacinth Bucket), Suzy
Kendall, Judy Geeson, Lulu - who has a surprisingly good acting
debut - and Christian Roberts.
Speaking of Lulu, the title song (To Sir With Love,
if you hadn't sort of guessed) is just terrific and you can
easily waste 20 minutes or so going over the title scene just
to listen to her great voice.
To Sir With Love is a fantastic slice-of-life drama
that has very few flat moments.
Conclusion: Movie: 90% DVD Extras: 50%
Continued:
DVD details at a glance >
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