The Chocolate War is a 1988 drama film based on the celebrated novel of the same name by Robert Cormier, about a young man who rebels against the ingrained hierarchy of an elite Catholic school. The film was directed by Keith Gordon (also his directorial debut), and stars John Glover, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, and Doug Hutchison. Jonathan D. Krane produced it after seeing Static, a short film Gordon wrote.

Plot

The film offers a surreal, modern-day portrait of a Catholic private school and its hierarchical structure, both formal and informal. New student Jerry Renault (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) must submit to the bizarre rituals of his peers and the expectations of the school's administration by selling chocolates. The film deviates from the book in that Jerry fights Archie Costello, not Emile Janza, in the concluding scene. The Vigils force Archie to substitute for Janza after he picks out a black marble for him. Jerry eventually wins the fight, knocking out two of Archie's teeth, but he feels regret after winning, noting that he still conformed to their expectations in the end and that he should have just sold the chocolates. Since Archie lost the fight, he and Obie Jameson switched jobs, with Obie giving out assignments from then on.
This is a markedly different outcome than that of the novel-- in which Jerry is viciously beaten by Janza, and Archie remains leader of the Vigils. The film's ending has been criticized for the alleged betrayal of Cormier's intent.