A Separate Peace

1972

Drama

1
IMDb Rating 5.5/10 10 540 540

based on novel or book boys' school

Director

Larry Peerce Photo
Larry Peerce

Top cast

Parker Stevenson Photo
Parker Stevenson as Gene
William Roerick Photo
William Roerick as Mr. Patchwithers, Headmaster
Elizabeth B. Brewster Photo
Elizabeth B. Brewster as Mrs. Patchwithers
Don Schultz Photo
Don Schultz as Dr. Stanpole
720p.WEB
958.26 MB
952*720
English 2.0
NR
30 fps
1 hr 43 min
Seeds 2

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by aidan-poor 5 / 10

pretty cool

Reviewed by aidanpunk 4 / 10

Review

As with many film adaptations, fans of the book can't but feel that they've been slightly cheated by the movie. The 1972 adaptation's faithfulness to the book can be commended, but it comes at a heavy price. The movie is so faithful that it was filmed at the boarding school, "Phillips Exeter Academy," that John Knowles attended and drew inspiration for the book from. The movie goes as far as to fill the cast, with the exception of Gene, with students and alumni who participated in the Academy's drama club. The actors' lack of experience shines throughout the movie and viewers are left with the notion to laugh. Lines, taken from the book, are delivered blandly and lack any emotion.On positive thing that the movie brings to the table is the setting, being filmed at the boarding school where the book was "set" everything seems right. When they introduce the tree, you can't help but wonder if the novel's story is closer to non-fiction rather than fiction.The movie makes an attempt to convey the symbolism found in the book, but without Gene's constant narration a viewer who hasn't read the book would find it very hard to grasp.Although the movie makes an earnest attempt at greatness, the inexperienced cast, and low budget get in the way to frequently.
Reviewed by moonspinner55 6 / 10

"With you, it's different..."

Many years after graduating college in New Hampshire in 1942, a nostalgic man revisits the campus of his alma mater in the off-season and reminisces about his roommate, a gregarious and reckless lad who goaded his friends into living for the day, breaking the rules and--most especially--jumping out of a tall tree into the lake below. Overlooked film version of John Knowles' semi-autobiographical novel (which, in turn, was expanded from his short story "Phineas") has a deeply personal feel even on the screen. While Knowles denied any homoerotic undercurrents in the text, those who do sense an attraction between the roommates, played here by John Heyl and Parker Stevenson, are bound to be the film's biggest admirers (when the novel is discussed in schools, it is said that homosexuality is never brought up in class, yet that hasn't stopped some schools from banning the book). There's a lovely simplicity--and, conversely, an unspoken complexity--in the friendship between the young men, which screenwriter Fred Segal cautiously, carefully tiptoes through (which is better than being tiptoed around). Director Larry Peerce works well with his actors, most of them non-professionals, and shows a keen, stylish eye for the period (surprising, since Peerce at this point had not shown much sensitivity). Not a hit with audiences, the picture grossed just under $1M at the US box office and was promptly forgotten, but it has a special sort of gleam. **1/2 from ****
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