Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Brutal
- tense
- bleak
- angry
- serious movie night
- social issue film night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised Samuel L. Jackson's sympathetic performance and the film's serious attention to inner-city schools, but found its crime-thriller violence and grim trajectory unevenly integrated.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Trevor enters an unruly Los Angeles school after being attacked in a previous teaching job, while the institution struggles to protect educators and students.
Trevor's effort to control his classroom and challenge violent students increasingly adopts the logic of confrontation.
The film combines concerns about inner-city education with stalking, attacks, criminal behavior, and a grim thriller atmosphere.
The Los Angeles high school is presented as a volatile environment where ordinary teaching is continually threatened by student violence and institutional disorder.
Films like One Eight Seven, and why
The Class
shared social-issue drama, teacher protagonist, institutional pressure, and grim urban conflict
Lean on Me
shared high school setting, teacher-student power struggles, and confrontational crime-drama intensity
Blackboard Jungle
shared urban school drama, endangered educators, and bleak examination of institutional violence
Juice
shared crime thriller tension, morally embattled protagonist, and harsh contemporary urban atmosphere
Movie Details
- Director
- Kevin Reynolds
- Release Date
- 1997-07-29
- Runtime
- 119 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (672)
Cast
- Samuel L. Jackson
- John Heard
- Kelly Rowan
- Clifton Collins Jr.
- Tony Plana
- Karina Arroyave
- Lobo Sebastian
- Jack Kehler
- Jonah Rooney
- Demetrius Navarro
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is One Eight Seven about?
- After surviving a student stabbing, a determined teacher enters a Los Angeles high school where restoring order draws him into an escalating cycle of violence.
- What is One Eight Seven like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of One Eight Seven as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is One Eight Seven violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in One Eight Seven as brutal.
- What did critics think of One Eight Seven?
- Critics broadly praised Samuel L. Jackson's sympathetic performance and the film's serious attention to inner-city schools, but found its crime-thriller violence and grim trajectory unevenly integrated.
- Which films are like One Eight Seven?
- Films with a similar feel include The Class, Lean on Me, Blackboard Jungle, and Juice.
- How long is One Eight Seven?
- One Eight Seven runs 119 minutes.
- Where can I watch One Eight Seven?
- In United States, One Eight Seven streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
