The Substitute

"The most dangerous thing about school used to be the students."

1996 1h 54m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 610

ActionCrimeDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon he discovers a conspiracy of criminals at work, and must reassemble his team from his last jungle raid to stop them.

“The most dangerous thing about school used to be the students.”

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Cast

Tom Berenger
Jonathan Shale
Raymond Cruz
Joey Six
Marc Anthony
Juan Lacas
William Forsythe
Hollan
Luis Guzmán
Rem
Diane Venora
Jane Hetzko
Ernie Hudson
Claude Rolle
Richard Brooks
Wellman

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Robert Mandel
Writers: Roy Frumkes, Rocco Simonelli, Alan Ormsby
Languages: Spanish, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Spanish, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Substitute Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Robert Mandel, shot by Bruce Surtees. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Gary Chang. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Alex Mackie shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Tom Berenger and Raymond Cruz and Marc Anthony carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The most dangerous thing about school used to be the students.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Robert Mandel directs. Bruce Surtees behind the camera. Gary Chang scores. Alex Mackie cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Spanish, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

130 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Spanish, English.
3Part of the "The Substitute Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Robert Mandel, shot by Bruce Surtees. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Gary Chang. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Alex Mackie shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Tom Berenger and Raymond Cruz and Marc Anthony carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The most dangerous thing about school used to be the students.".
9IMDB entry: tt0117774 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.