MovieChat Forums > Cooley High (1978) Discussion > Funny inconsistency- Anyone else notice....

Funny inconsistency- Anyone else notice...

posted 15 years ago by Flywiththeowl
11 replies | jump to latest

They only made an effort to make a few of the characters dress like 1964, while practically Everyone else was clearly 1975. The big hats, the huge collars, the bell bottoms, even lots of the slang. None of that came along until the 70s.

I wonder if the producers noticed that afterwards or was it on purpose, but to me, it was a huge inconsistency.

That said, CH has been one of my favorite movies for years. It was great to watch it again on dvd last night! :)

[–] nsavage3-1 15 years ago

Its funny, I never noticed that. Everything seems to fit nicely into that "60's" feel. At least there wasn't anything "overtly 70's" that I noticed. I thought it captured that time period well.

"Cooley High", in my opinion, is quite under-rated. It should be at least up there with "American Graffitti" as an American classic.

[–] YouToober 15 years ago

Well, being from New York, I couldn't really tell you if the places where they filmed in Chicago looked like or had the "'60s feel".

But the slang words said and other things did, in my opinion, give it a '70s feel. You do see some '70s cars. There are also things the sharp eye and ear could point out and say "Hey that didn't happen or exist back then!" But the music is where they really get the '60s atmosphere across to the viewer.

But i'm not going to nitpick. Cooley High was a low budget film. And I believe the producers, directors, etc. weren't looking to make the PERFECT '60s film. Just something good to entertain the target audience. And that they did!

Cooley High is still one of my fave films to this day.

Its just too bad they don't show it on TV/cable anywhere near as much as they used to back in the day.

[–] Sparky48 13 years ago

"'Cooley High', in my opinion, is quite under-rated. It should be at least up there with 'American Graffitti' as an American classic."

And therein lies the reason why it was never highly rated. Many people, movie critics in particular, felt that this movie was just plagiarism of "American Graffitti." And although CH was loaded with laughs and was very entertaining, I guess many people had little respect for it. They thought it was just an imitation of AG and lacked originality.

[–] CBikle 13 years ago

It probably didn't help that it was a Samuel Z. Arkoff/AIP production and they pretty much just churned out cheap, exploitation movies.

Arkoff clearly wanted a "blaxploitation" flick and that's how it was marketed, as evidenced by the link to the Cooley High trailer on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DKDuX4EHz0

[–] activista 11 years ago

COOLEY HIGH isn't a rip-off of AMERICAN GRAFFITI at all----similar subject matter,but still two totally different movies. Only someone's who's ever seen it would say that it was a rip-off, and I've seen both films---neither one is a copy of the other.

[–] YouToober 11 years ago

Some people say that "Cooley High" (1975) was copying or a rip-off of "American Graffiti" (1973) mainly because like in American Graffiti, there were hit songs played throughout the movie and it (Cooley High) also had a "what happened to" at the end.

To my knowledge, there was no other movie made at that time - 1973 or before, that had done that before. Having popular hit songs playing throughout the movie and showing a fictional "this is what happened to them" at the ending. George Lucas (again to my knowledge) was the first film maker to make a movie in that way or style.

But regardless, Cooley High, in my opinion, is still a GREAT movie! Yes the makers (of Cooley High) did use the "hit pop songs playing during scenes" formula in their film, but it still has a storyline and events different enough to merit it a separate and very good film on its own.

I've seen both films and they are GREAT in their own right.

[–] jconn426 14 years ago

They didn't have George Lucas's budget. He made everything in American Graffiti look totally 60's. (And horrified one classic car owner by allowing actors to jump on and shoot foam all over her prized vehicle in one scene.)

I only caught about the last 20 minutes or so of Cooley High the other night on TV, but I swore I saw the rear end of a 70's car as Preach ran past it. Until fairly recently, Westerns loved to play fast-n-loose when it came to guns. You'd see Winchesters and Colts from 1873 popping up in in pre-Civil war stories like "Bonanza" and "The Commancheros".

If you want to see something else that's funny, watch the low-budget first installment of "The Godfather" series when they first show Las Vegas. You see one or two long-haired (and bearded?) men walking around as Michael enters the casino. (Going by memory here, but I saw it.)

[–] LadyLovie 14 years ago

I've watched this with ppl that were around & could tell me what was going on around then. they thought the movie was accurate. clothing,lingo,& hair styles. & if they saw something wrong they'd quickly point it out. but no I didn't notice 70's vehiches. lol

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I like your show,I admire your style, but your pays so cheap, I won't be back for a while.

[–] CBikle 13 years ago

Yeah,I know what you mean.

It was kind of like the show MASH, which always had a 70's feel (hairstyles and a sort of counter-cultural cynicism), even though it was set in the 1950's.

[–] Bob_Zerunkel 12 years ago

I was born in 1956. I distinctly remember true bell-bottom pants, and they were way out of fashion by the '70s. I liked them and tried to get them, but even the ones labeled "bell bottom," were more of a tapered cut. The same for the collars. I had some huge collars in high school. They were grotestquely long. Granted, I started high school in 1970, but they were already the cat's meow. I had a friend in 9th grade, 1970. He had a shirt with a collar that was unbelievably long.

In 1964, I was 8, and I don't have a clue as to what the hip kids were wearing, but perhaps, the styles of that time influenced me. I always liked the style of hats they wore in Cooley. To this day, when I put on my best "sky," it is one of them. Granted, it is leather, and not the fabric ones that are in the movie.

[–] Sarpedon99 8 years ago

Also many of the Motown songs heard in the film came out after 1964.