The Lords of Discipline 4K 1983 Ultra HD 2160p

This powerful drama takes place at a military academy in South Carolina in 1964. David Keith plays a senior cadet who, at the request of his superiors, is assigned to look after the academy's first black cadet (Brelend), who is systematically subjected to brutal torture and abuse by members of a secret racist society called “The Ten.” The brilliant, inspired performances of all the actors are noteworthy. Many of them, then so young and almost unknown (Bill Paxton, Matt Frewer, Sophie Ward), have now achieved great success in cinema.

User Review

“A group of white cadets cruelly bully a black cadet, trying to force him to leave the school.” It's hard to keep a straight face when reading such a vulgar synopsis. At first, I wanted to skip the film and continue following David Keith's career. But then I thought, where else would I see this ugly guy in the lead role, and it's clearly not a sin to give propaganda films a low rating.

As it turned out, the film is not about that at all. No, alas, the issue of white racism is raised, but it is secondary. This is primarily a story about hazing, the cancerous tumor of any organization, be it the army or a stamp collectors' club. The creators expose the repugnance of a system that consistently churns out new generations of jackals. People without compassion, incapable of either resisting lawlessness or refraining from it. They endure humiliation instead of uniting in the face of a common threat — I can understand that, as there is a critically low percentage of strong-willed people in life, especially in a military environment. But how can you mock a recruit, knowing full well from personal experience how much he suffers from your actions? “Because we went through it too,” replies a cadet with the telling surname Pignetti. Well, yes, as they say, neither to yourself nor to others.

The main character, Will, oddly enough, is... a normal person. There are no rebellious stickers on his car, no joint in his teeth, he doesn't engage in anti-racist agitation, and he himself would not mind if the black guy left the university. What bothers him is hazing, as well as the obvious approval of it by the school administration. As for his three friends, they are generally indifferent to the fate of their classmates, and the only black student in particular. Crowe whines all the time about “stay home, sharpen your stirrups”; Pignetti is just a thug who wants to oppress anyone, regardless of race; Santoro doesn't say a word. These guys helped Will because of their complex about “true” friendship, not because of lofty ideals. It was nice to realize that our heroes are not fanatics, but bored kids who decided to seek adventure at the twilight of their youth. However, the plot development is a little annoying. No, this is not what the clash between the Man of Honor and the Great Evil looks like. In “Do It Once,” the narrative was more realistic. However, how can you compare a military unit in the midst of perestroika with a prestigious university in what was still Old America? Lords of Discipline is a more mainstream product, it is easier to watch and leaves you with hope for something good.

I can't stand the phrase “they don't make movies like that anymore,” but in this case, it's 100% accurate. It was leftist propaganda of the 80s, soft and barely noticeable, but if the film were to be remade, it would cause such an uproar that the average white person would want to jump into a vat of black paint out of guilt.

Info Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265 (84.9 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Info Audio

#English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
#English: FLAC 2.0
#English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Commentary by critics Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson with Pat Conroy historian Lynn Smith)

Info Subtitles