Rating: 
Summary: Excellent!
Review: A sad ending for a great film. This was not some cheap, run of the mill Black 70's movie. It was well acted with a solid plot with very good direction, a definite classic.
Rating:
Summary: A Real Treasure; Great Afro-American Film with Humor
Review: AIP produced so many exploitation films that captured the trend of the times (or call it "rip-off"), so it is inevitable that all black-cast of "American Graffiti" came out from there. But it is the result of the product that we should care, and though sometimes branded as a clone of that much more famous film, "Cooley High" is in fact as good as George Lucas's. If you claim it is even better, I won't disagree with you."Cooley High" gives lots of fun with multi-layered, loosely connected characters living in inner-city Chicago in 1964. Their life at school and impoverished environment is not easy, but the film never depicts them in the negative light as is often shown in other blaxploitation films, and among them the two uproarious, riotous leads played by Glynn Turman and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs are excellent. Turman is a bespectaled boy with a dream of becoming a writer, and with his friend Jacobs enjoy his life -- chasing a girl, cutting classes to go to a zoo hanging behind a bus, and having a midnight joy ride. But the last innocent fun turns a tragedy unexpectedly, which adds a very poignant touch to the ending of the film. Though some claim, probably rightly, that the film's characters seem a bit stereotyped, the humor and fun are never to be dismissed, and those charming moments -- such as Turman and Jacobs (poorly) disguised as cops to get some money from prostitutes, whispering "We take bribes." -- are very funny and will be fixed in your memory. After all, the film has enoumous charms that still appeal universally, and that makes "Cooley High" an all-time classic. And listen to the great Motown soundtrack with the songs like "Fingertips Part 2" or "Dancing in the Street." Highly recommended. It is a Japanese-made monster film "Godzilla vs the Thing" (aka. "Godzilla vs Mothra") that they are watching in the theater. It was released in USA in 1964.
Rating:
Summary: The original "Boyz N the Hood" flick
Review: All of the Black "coming-of-age" films of the 90s -- such as "Boyz N the Hood", "Juice", and even the more romantic "Jason's Lyric" -- owe a debt to "Cooley High". It's as much a classic as "American Graffiti". See familiar faces when they were much younger, like Glynn Turman, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, and Garrett Morris. See Robert Townsend's QUICK cameo (on the basketball court in the gym). See the seeds of what would later become the "What's Happening" TV show (Preach, the skinny writer with glasses became Roger, the skinny writer with glasses). See a death scene that had viewers in tears years before the death scene in "Boyz N the Hood". Hear the original version of "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" (Had Boys II Men even been born in 1975?) No doubt about it, there will never be another "Cooley High". [I can't listen to the song "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" by the Four Tops without thinking of this film. Once you see it, you'll understand why.]
Rating:
Summary: Love it
Review: Cooley High is a wonderful movie. It is funny and sad at the same time. I am happy that it is on DVD, because I have a VHS copy and I can forward to my favorite scenes. You must own this.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic
Review: Cooley High is touching, funny, and real. Not many coming of age films can boast those three qualities, for it is too easy for a filmmaker to become nostalgic, melodramatic, preachy, or silly when handling the stuff of teenage itch and angst. My favorite scenes from this forgotten classic may be yours, too. 1) Mama is about to give Preach a good whoopin for his youthful misdeeds but, poor, overworked thing, she ends up nodding off, and dutiful son Preach tenderly puts her to bed. 2) Preach losing his virginity is hilarious and true to life. 3) The death of Cochise always chokes me up. Finally, the music in this film is a trip down memory lane and the Motown Hall of Fame. There is nothing to dislike about this film.
Rating:
Summary: Cooley High shows what teens realy felt in the early 70's
Review: Cooley High showed how teens in the early 70's really felt about their lives and the lives of others around them. The writter of this movie put a lot of himself into each character.I recomend that the teens today would sit down and watch this movie. We have to make a change in the community and this will show how we can do our part.
Rating:
Summary: this movie touch me in a spot that no movie has.
Review: Cooly High was a very good movie and anybody who seen it know that its a good movie.The part when preach was in the bathroom with the girl was so funny.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie!!!
Review: Great movie!!! I had the opportunity to see it as a child. Please release it again. I'd like to order a few copies of this video so I can give it to my friends. It is a classic.
Rating:
Summary: Shouldn't be missed
Review: I absolutely love this movie. It's got to be one of the best coming-of-age films ever made. All the characters seem like they fell directly out of your childhood. With the Motown beat backing up the script it simply can't miss. Every time I see the end when the Four Tops "I'll be There" kicks in, I can't help but get chills as the main character sprints out of that cemetary and into an uncertain future. The death of his friend is the obvious demarcation of their childhoods from their adulthoods. Can anyone honestly say that today's Hollywood could make anything even remotely close to this in style and quality? Of course not! (OK, I exaggerate a bit, but let's face it, most of what's coming out of Hollywood these days is shet!) Do not miss this one; it's an extremely underrated sleeper that'll hit you on every emotional level. It came on the heels of American Graffiti and is every bit as good.
Rating:
Summary: Shouldn't be missed
Review: I absolutely love this movie. It's got to be one of the best coming-of-age films ever made. All the characters seem like they fell directly out of your childhood. With the Motown beat backing up the script it simply can't miss. Every time I see the end when the Four Tops "I'll be There" kicks in, I can't help but get chills as the main character sprints out of that cemetary and into an uncertain future. The death of his friend is the obvious demarcation of their childhoods from their adulthoods. Can anyone honestly say that today's Hollywood could make anything even remotely close to this in style and quality? Of course not! (OK, I exaggerate a bit, but let's face it, most of what's coming out of Hollywood these days is shet!) Do not miss this one; it's an extremely underrated sleeper that'll hit you on every emotional level. It came on the heels of American Graffiti and is every bit as good.
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