The Paper Chase (1973)

Director:  James Bridges

Writers:  John Jay Osborn Jr., James Bridges

Composer:  John Williams

Starring:  Timothy Bottoms, Lindsay Wager, John Houseman, Graham Beckel, James Naughton, Edward Herrmann, Craig Richard Nelson, Robert Lydiard

More info:  IMDb

Tagline:  You may be looking at a future President, Supreme Court Justice, Secretary of State or a dropout.

Plot:  A first-year law student at Harvard Law School struggles with balancing his coursework and his relationship with the daughter of his sternest professor.

My rating:  7.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Maybe.

I haven't seen this since the 80s and when I did it was because of my love of John Williams.  It's not the sort of picture that I would plop myself down and watch but I'm a film music nerd and I just had to.  It's a wonderful picture and even though the subject matter isn't something I'm drawn to, it's so much fun to watch.  The cast does a marvelous job.  There are no weak links.  Bottoms as Hart is the heart of the picture.   He is us.  Wagner is down to Earth and charming and Houseman steals the show as the difficult and brilliant professor.  The pacing moves briskly.  When Hart gets his little wins, I felt it.  When he experiences setbacks, I felt as well, almost as if it happened to me.  That's some great film making.  Oh, and as for Williams' score?  It's delightful and fun, just like the movie.