DeuceWild_77 This film was always a personal favorite of mine growing up in the 80's and still is now that i'm in my 40's. Saying that, "Taps" is an accomplished and fascinating military school drama, featuring a great cast of future stars, splendidly directed with style & class by Harold Becker and based on the 1979 novel "Father Sky" by Devery Freeman. It was Timothy Hutton's first leading role after he won the Academy Award for his breakthrough performance in Robert Redford's "Ordinary People" and his authoritative performance here as Cadet Major Brian Moreland, full of inner strength and dignity, is only overshadowed by the brilliant turns of the veteran George C. Scott, which never disappoints, playing an old school General Harlan Bache who rules the Military School with a code of honour and a sense of moral & values that seems out of place in the modern Era and Tom Cruise, in his first prominent part, as the reckless Cadet Captain David Shawn, well aware & committed on his performance, stealing every scene he's in. Scott's role may be too small, but his spiritual presence is felt everywhere in the movie by the other characters' actions & decisions and he's the main focus of the plot hence his deserved top billing despite less than 15 minutes on-screen. "Taps" also features Sean Penn, in his debut role, playing the prudent, but loyal Cadet Captain Alex Dwyer; Giancarlo Esposito & Evan Handler, also in their first appearances on-screen and a solid performance by character actor Ronny Cox as Colonel Kerby, the head of the National Guard. Besides those mentioned and with the exception of Brendan Ward, playing the ill-fated child cadet Charlie Auden, the other characters are underdeveloped, appearing more like extras which wasn't a good decision, giving more speaking parts and relevance to the story could had enriched the whole. Reviewed today, the plot of "Taps" may be considered dated for the actual state of the world, the millennials took over and code of honour / military life became somewhat of an "out of fashion" motto / way of life, but this captivating film, a tale of misdirected honour and courage among the youth, deserves to be rediscovered as a great piece of filmmaking which also scores high in the entertainment level.

Wuchak "TAPS" from 1981 is a decent drama about cadets at a military academy who make a stand after the school board decides to shut the school down in favor of a condominium complex.Timothy Hutton plays the leader of the cadets whereas Sean Penn and Tom Cruise play his two top guys. Interestingly, Penn provides the voice of reason and Cruise the voice of extremism. George C. Scott plays the headmaster and wartime general that Hutton's character hero-worships."TAPS" is no where near as good as, say, "Dead Poets Society," but it's decent. There's an interesting subtext to mine in repeat viewings.The film runs 126 minutes and was shot at Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania and nearby Wayne.GRADE: C+ or B-

AaronCapenBanner Harold Becker directed this interesting film that stars George C. Scott as General Harlan Bache, head of the Bunker Hill Military Academy who is proud of its tradition, but is dismayed by the times he lives in, and when the board of trustees votes to shut the Academy down for the redevelopment of Condos, he and the cadets(led by Timothy Hutton, Tom Cruise, and Sean Penn) are dismayed. After a civilian is accidentally shot by the General, and he suffers a stroke himself, the cadets decide to seize control of the Academy by force, stopping the bulldozers coming in, but the situation quickly becomes more complicated than they had anticipated... Fine character study with solid direction and performances; well worth a look.

ltomby I know there was a bus with a few bureaucrats and such on the bus being escorted out during the siege but don't you think there would have been loads of teachers and cooks and janitors etc.They Cadets would have had a hard time rounding everyone up, and cant you imagine telling your favorite teacher that your sorry but your taking over the school and then putting the muzzle of your AR-15 to his head LOL. Lots of cool weapons from the 80's The tanks were m48's love the huge walkie talkies.If this happened today the Cadets would be using cell phones and Motorola's's probably.Lots of cool weapons from the 80's The tanks were m48's love the huge walkie talkies.If this happened today the Cadets would be using cell phones and Motorola's's probably.