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The Paper Chase: The Final Season [DVD]
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Genre | Drama/Television, Television |
Format | NTSC |
Contributor | John Houseman, James Keane, Tom Fitzsimmons, Betty Harford, James Stephens |
Language | English |
Number Of Discs | 2 |
Frequently bought together
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From the manufacturer
About Us
For almost 20 years, Shout! Factory has redefined what it means to be an entertainment company for fans, by fans. Through its beginnings lovingly releasing and reviving beloved cult films and classic TV series, Shout! cultivated an uncanny ability to rediscover great content and applied these skills to producing and distributing fan-driven new releases that set the bar for independent entertainment. Shout! Factory's extensive experience in a diverse array of genres has led to the launch of several well-respected properties, including Shout! Studios, Scream Factory, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Shout Kids, Shout Select and the streaming service Shout! Factory TV. Capitalizing on both traditional and emerging digital platforms, Shout! Factory is a media company devoted to producing, uncovering, preserving and revitalizing the very best of pop culture.
Product Description
Critically acclaimed for its complex and thoughtful storytelling, the final season of The Paper Chase: The Final Season is at long last available on DVD. Based on the 1973 film of the same name, The Paper Chase follows a dedicated class of Ivy League law students as they navigate the trials and tribulations of law and life. Under the tutelage of professor Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr. (John Houseman, reprising his Academy Award®-winning role), the idealistic James T. Hart (James Stephens) and his classmates explore the fierce competition and intense bonds that form in a high-pressure academic environment. As graduation day nears for Hart, he must decide between a Federal Second Circuit Court clerkship and an offered position in a private firm. Includes all five season four episodes.
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.33:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : NR (Not Rated)
- Product Dimensions : 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 1.6 ounces
- Media Format : NTSC
- Run time : 4 hours and 30 minutes
- Release date : January 23, 2018
- Actors : John Houseman, James Stephens, Tom Fitzsimmons, James Keane, Betty Harford
- Studio : SHOUT! FACTORY
- ASIN : B0765MNMLX
- Country of Origin : USA
- Number of discs : 2
- Best Sellers Rank: #11,119 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #6,133 in DVD
- Customer Reviews:
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When I received DVD Seasons 3 and 4, I decided to go back and rewatch seasons 1 and 2 again first, as I had not watched them in a while. I have spent the last 4 months of this year absorbed in watching the 59 episodes. I concluded my Paper Chase endeavor with the viewing of the precursor movie.
My initial thought is that the movie on its own merit is average. I think the performances of the main characters are outstanding, so that is not what drives the average rating. Rather it is the depth of the storyline which I find lacking. Many serious issues are touched on but only on the surface, leaving me at a loss. To me, the movie seemed like a love story set in the background of a law school. It lacked the depth I tend to enjoy when watching a movie. It simply seems the movie attempted to cover too much ground in one 2 hour sequence. It was a difficult task.
Setting that aside, perhaps the beauty of the movie is that it set the stage for what I consider to be one of the finest tv series in history. From episode 1, I found Kingsfield’s character to be much stronger in the tv series (does Housman need more accolades, probably not, for what more can I say that hasn’t already been expressed before). As a viewer, I found my emotions evolving episode by episode along with the students, from fear to respect to anger at the man. I was constantly at odds as to how I felt. I’m not sure if I’m explaining this well, but generally I would say the tv series had a big advantage in carrying the viewer’s emotions along the same wavelength as those of the students. In watching the series, I felt actively involved in their lives.
Stephens as Hart in the tv series was tremendous. Perhaps Bottoms (Hart in the movie version) could have continued Hart’s role in the series and performed admirably as well. I find the character of Hart very similar when comparing the earliest tv episodes to the movie version. Stephens was given an opportunity to develop the character of Hart, along with his acting skills, over the years. Hart’s an idyllic character, with traits I wish I had been able to mimic during my life. Driven for excellence in his life’s vocation, kind, courteous, not too funny but always willing to laugh along with others, hard-working, humble, and honest to a fault if that is possible, which it is not. I found it good to examine Hart as a person, and in doing so have come to realize how I fall short in virtue in so many ways.
The remaining cast of characters in the film did not seem real to me. I did not attend law school so maybe they are more realistic than I realize. That aside, this assessment of mine is not of the acting performances or the actors themselves, but of the characters. Ford, Bell and Anderson in particular were more appealing in the tv series as they seemed more like the guys I went to college with back in the 70s. Lindsey Wagner is a good actress. But her in character as Kingsfield’s daughter, aside from her impeccable dress code, didn’t seem to fit in. The discourse between her and Hart was not at the level of intelligence one would expect. It seemed weak, more in line with what you would expect from Juliet Roberts and Hugh Grant or Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. That’s ok for Notting Hillish films but not for a film based on elite students at Harvard Law School.
The tv series captured so many of the issues that I encountered back in my college years. Alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling addiction, suicide, cheating, stealing, on campus housing, off campus housing, the bar scene, student parties, academic pressures, test preparation, library visits, lazy students, less gifted students, test scores, course grades, favorite professors, professorial idiosyncrasies, students having affairs with professors, students helping others in need, unexpected pregnancies, the drama of love interests as they come and go, and graduation. All of these and more covered in the course of the 59 episodes, and for the most part, all covered very well.
I enjoyed the first season and became engrossed in the show and it’s characters. I was taken aback when the second season rolled around minus Logan and Anderson. Where was Gregarion, Hart’s nemesis? How could they do this, what were they thinking? Hart and Ford were now living in an apartment and Bell was an autocratic but still very funny and likeable resident assistant in the dorm? I didn’t like it at all. Who’s this Lehman character? Bring back Logan, I thought. But I soon adapted and grew to enjoy them all. The writers and directors knew what they were doing. Golden, Leiman, Harriman, Vivian Conway, Laura Kiernan, Rose Samuels, Zeiss, Stotz, Peter Ford (the younger brother), and Soloway. These were all great characters who I grew to appreciate and care about.
Do you sense I enjoyed this tv series? If you’ve gotten this far, I want to say thanks.
I’ll leave you with a question. Isn’t that what Kingsfield would do? If you had to choose two characters from all the characters (not actors) in this show that you would like to have had as friends in life, who would they be? For me, it would be Bell and Kiernan. Bell was such a funny, cranky and likable guy, not too smart but still intelligent, a guy who’d complain about it but would always be there for you, a guy you would always cheer for, a good soul. Kiernan was strong in some respects, vulnerable in others, encouraging, cute, discerning, brave, a girl you could really care for and cheer on, another good soul. These two, if I had to choose. Dispute my picks if you’d like. Who would you choose?
I now feel a bit down in the dumps, sort of like when I graduated many years ago. This movie and the tv show and it’s characters have been part of my existence for a number of months now. I express my sincere thanks to all the writers, directors, producers and actors who made it possible. And a special thanks to those who have made the entire catalog available to us again after a long wait of 30 years.
There are however, some problems. Notably, the copies used as Masters came from (of all places - Fox) and in their wisdom you get words (those naughty words that kids say to shock Mom and Dad, but which everyone uses and which appear with regularity on almost all programs these days) edited out and you see a character's mouth move, but hear no sound. It's obvious all the "hell's" and "damn's" not to mention a few others have been edited out. It's kind of like watching an old Japanese movie from the 1950's where the character's mouth moves for two minutes and then you hear a dubbed in, "yes, that's correct." Sadly, there were apparently no better copies available. And several of the episodes - which were obviously on videotape - do suffer from VHS creases or VHS rot.
Those problems notwithstanding, this whole series is such a credit to the creativity of the writers and actors - John Houseman as Professor Kingsfield is a true delight - that it belongs in the library of everyone who cares about Quality TV Programming. The people creating programs today could take a lesson from "The Paper Chase."
As with Season Three, most of the episodes are not the original broadcasts from Showtime, but are the versions edited for re-broadcast (you can tell from the commercial break fade-outs and language edits). The final episode "Graduation" appears to be the exception, though. Unlike "Decisions" from Season Three which was split into two episodes on the DVD, "Graduation" is a single movie. The episodes are clear enough from the transfer, but the color appears washed out at times.
The shows themselves are very enjoyable. Fans of the series will be glad to have the complete series at last.
The writing throughout the series is creative, the episodes flow with several problems occurring simultaneously.
Thus, what could one want more than this - outstanding cast creating meaningful scripts?