Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Steve Skafte I grew up in rural Canada, in a small middle-class household that was a little bit on the old-fashioned side. Dramas like these were part of the experience when all you had was access to CBC television and a small selection of video tapes. Although I never caught this one in particular as a child, it would have been perfectly welcome.It's hard to picture why exactly a film like "Why Shoot the Teacher?" has been so well-forgotten over the years. Something in the lack of initial distribution no doubt, which seems to be the lot of nearly all Canadian films of this era. It's based on a book by Max Braithwaite, and it feels very much like a true story, though there's a chance I suppose that it isn't. Silvio Narizzano directs it to life with a looseness and a real live humanity.The acting is undoubtedly what gives this film its energy, and Bud Cort is better than I've ever seen him. In a similar sense as Charles Martin Smith's character in "Never Cry Wolf" he portrays a truly charming combination of naiveté and forced confidence. It's that painfully forced bravery that saves him in the end. This film could serve as a lesson in how much difference overcoming even the smallest percentage of personal fears can make in your life.There is a lightness to "Why Shoot the Teacher?", a faithful depiction with just enough weight to keep it all from blowing away. I felt it moving through me, lifting my head and softening my heart. It's something to be thankful for, this gentle little thing.

vinciegirl This movie allowed the viewer to gain some insight into life in the prairies. It is used in many classrooms as a tool which discusses information on the 1930s. The movie also contains some humour, even if it was corny.However the movie lacks strong does not expand on certain issues. For instance, it would have been interesting to know how many persons came out West during the depression. Or how this migration affected the prairies. Providing these details would have made the movie more informative to watch.VG

gfloyd-1 If you want to know what life was like in "the good old days" then watch this movie and see how we lived in rural areas of Canada without unemployment insurance, decent medical care, television, internet, access to higher education and on and on.My 1st school was exactly as shown in the movie complete with a crude living space for the teacher. Strapping, as shown, was common. The inspector was as ignorant as any that I recall. Closed minds and mean spirits abounded.I've seen the movie several times and still feel gratitude that I had a teacher like Max Brown to show me the way out.

dushyaan I think that why shoot the teacher is a good example of how life was like in the Parries during the depression. It shows how they had limited food and heating. Everything had to be rationed and some people were to proud to ask for help. So this movie is a good example of how life was like back then.This movie was very boring. It wasn't exactly what I expected I aleast thought that it would be more interesting the plot was too simple. I doesn't have any complexity.The ending was very weak. My god they guy hates the place and then the movie ends by saying that he goes back some ending. I cant believe people actually watched this movie back then standard were very low.