...an elusive value that Ivory Tower conveys through other words and images: Universities exist not to answer the question but to register and reiterate its force.

| Mar 13, 2019

If anything Ivory Tower is a real slap in the face accompanied by a blunt kick to the butt in trying to get a bang for one's buck in the onslaught of educational emptiness feeding into financial uncertainty.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 3, 2019

Mixing historical footage, present-day interviews, and footage of real events on campuses, [Andrew] Rossi paints a troubling picture of how we got here.

| Aug 14, 2017

Lots of sympathy, but few answers to the problem of the high price of college

| Jul 31, 2015

Very informative documentary about the corporatization of the academy, drawing from experts as well as boneheaded libertarians like Peter Thiel who hoists himself on his own petard.

| Jan 22, 2015

All in all, Ivory Tower is balanced and comprehensive.

| Jan 6, 2015

Sobering documentary on the spiraling high tuition in America's colleges.

| Original Score: B- | Nov 25, 2014

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Nov 12, 2014

This film makes a convincing argument that the higher education system in America is headed toward collapse. Financing the system largely with student debt is unsustainable.

| Original Score: B | Nov 12, 2014

...does more to generate heat than to shed light on key issues in American higher education, and in fact suffers from many of the deficiencies typical of discussions of this topic.

| Original Score: 3/10 | Oct 1, 2014

Ivory Tower is a competent, slickly-produced documentary that takes a hard look at the cost and perceived benefits of higher education in the United States.

| Original Score: B | Aug 26, 2014

Rossi turns the spotlight on higher education and asks, in light of over one trillion (with a "t") dollars in national student loan debt, is college worth the cost?

| Original Score: 6.5/10 | Aug 4, 2014

What makes "Ivory Tower" interesting is how it looks at not just the debt but the causes behind it, and other problems besetting higher education.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 10, 2014

Comes away with ten times more questions than answers. As it should.

| Jul 2, 2014

The complex material could use a sharper focus, yet the film takes an even-handed approach and serves its primary purpose effectively - to cause people to think and take action about an issue that could get worse before it gets better.

| Jun 30, 2014

'Ivory Tower' is one of those call-to-arms documentaries that gets you fired up about a social problem and then proceeds to bum you out as it slowly reveals there is no clear solution to fix it.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 30, 2014

A shocking and disturbing look at higher education in the U.S., "Ivory Tower" does an excellent job exposing the many problems facing universities, and more importantly, students who wish to attend them.

| Jun 27, 2014

There's a new horror film being released today in American cinemas. It's called "Ivory Tower". No monsters abound here, no fire-breathing dragons --- just frightening facts about the high cost of a college education.

| Jun 27, 2014

A groaning table of food for thought - almost too much for one movie, though presented with remarkable deftness.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 26, 2014

A timely new doc that dissects the cultural assumption that a college education remains a modern necessity at all costs.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 26, 2014