Cooley High
Chicago, 1964: it’s the end of high school for aspiring poet Preach and his best friend, Cochise, and they have a full slate of extracurricular activities: swinging dance parties, late-night joyrides, and the stumbling pursuit of romance. Of course, when you’re a young Black man in America, there’s no guarantee that your coming-of-age story will be free of complications. Director Michael Schultz and screenwriter Eric Monte—who drew on his own experiences growing up in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green housing project—arrived at something truly unique in 1970s cinema with Cooley High: an endearingly funny, tender, and authentic portrait of Black teens striving toward a brighter future, brought to life by a dynamic ensemble cast and set to a heavenly hit parade of Motown classics.
DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Michael Schultz, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- New conversation between Schultz and film scholar Racquel J. Gates
- Program on the making of the film
- Panel discussion from the 2019 tribute to Cooley High at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, featuring Schultz, actor-filmmaker Robert Townsend, casting director Gloria Schultz, and actors Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and Garrett Morris
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic Craigh Barboza
New cover by Manasseh Johnson, Sr.
DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Michael Schultz, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- New conversation between Schultz and film scholar Racquel J. Gates
- Program on the making of the film
- Panel discussion from the 2019 tribute to Cooley High at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, featuring Schultz, actor-filmmaker Robert Townsend, casting director Gloria Schultz, and actors Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and Garrett Morris
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic Craigh Barboza
New cover by Manasseh Johnson, Sr.
Cast
- Glynn Turman
- Preach
- Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs
- Cochise
- Garrett Morris
- Mr. Mason
- Cynthia Davis
- Brenda
- Corin Rogers
- Pooter
- Maurice Leon Havis
- Willie
- Joseph Carter Wilson
- Tyrone
- Sherman Smith
- Stone
- Norman Gibson
- Robert
- Maurice Marshall
- Damon
- Steven Williams
- Jimmy Lee
- Jackie Taylor
- Johnny Mae
- Christine Jones
- Sandra
- Lynn Caridine
- Dorothy
Credits
- Director
- Michael Schultz
- Written by
- Eric Monte
- Cinematography by
- Paul vom Brack
- Music by
- Freddie Perren
- Edited by
- Christopher Holmes
- Produced by
- Steve Krantz
- Executive producer
- Samuel Z. Arkoff
- Casting by
- Gloria Schultz
- Production manager
- Frank Beetson
- First assistant director
- Frank Beetson
- Postproduction supervisor
- Salvatore Billitteri
A scene from Cooley High
