Dead Poets Society (1989)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Peter Weir

Writer (WGA):

Tom Schulman (written by)

Release Date:

9 June 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

He was their inspiration. He made their lives extraordinary.

Plot:

English professor John Keating inspires his students to a love of poetry and to seize the day.

Plot Keywords:

Professor | Poetry | Poet | Student | Teacher

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 13 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Robin Williams	...	John Keating
Robert Sean Leonard	...	Neil Perry
Ethan Hawke	...	Todd Anderson
Josh Charles	...	Knox Overstreet
Gale Hansen	...	Charlie Dalton
Dylan Kussman	...	Richard Cameron
Allelon Ruggiero	...	Steven Meeks
James Waterston	...	Gerard Pitts
Norman Lloyd	...	Mr. Nolan
Kurtwood Smith	...	Mr. Perry
Carla Belver	...	Mrs. Perry
Leon Pownall	...	McAllister
George Martin	...	Dr. Hager
Joe Aufiery	...	Chemistry Teacher
Matt Carey	...	Hopkins

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Spain:13 | South Korea:12 | Brazil:12 | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #29797) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Everett Theatre - 47 West Main Street, Middletown, Delaware, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

Peter Weir attended The Scots College, a private boys school in Sydney. The uniforms, discipline and overall feel of the school translated into many of the film's scenes. In 1994 a stage production of the film, the first in the world authorized by Touchstone Pictures, was put on by the school. Peter Weir attended the opening night and spoke about the making of the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: While Keating addresses the class for the first time outside their classroom, he reads out Pitts' name to ask him to read out a passage. Pitts raises his right hand, but in the next shot, Pitts is raising his left hand.

Quotes:

Dr. Hagar: That wouldn't be a radio in your lap would it Mr. Pitts?
Pitts: No sir, science experiment... radar!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saved by the Bell: The College Years: Love and Death (#1.16)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

The Fields of Athenry

A powerful antidote to conformism

There are certain films that get under your skin, never to come out. They change your life, subtly altering your perceptions of reality, almost always for the better.

Dead Poets Society is one of those few films.

I saw the movie back when I was in High School. I had a teacher who told us that we really needed to watch it; in fact, it was our "homework" for the day. We didn't need to bring back a report, or talk about it in class. All he asked from us was to watch it, make up our own mind about it, and that was it. As you can imagine, many friends of mine didn't watch it at all; I did. And yes, I feel I changed a bit from there on.

Back when you are young, you never really stop to think what in the world you are doing with your life. You simply live for the day, hope your grades will be enough to pass, and that's it. Long term thinking involves maybe flirting with a girl. Nothing more. What this film showed me was that we have the responsability and the joy of being alive in this planet. That we are dust, and we will go back to it, so we have precious little time to make a difference. That we have a moral obligation to "seize the day, and make our lives extraordinary" (my favorite quote in all movie history). That the world, basically is ours. That the only limitations are within ourselves, and that we owe it to us to fight, to rebel against conformity, to change what we hate and keep what we love. That living in this world is a beautiful responsability, and that only cowards dare not to change it for the better.

The fact that the cast was basically my age, and was passing through the same dilemmas and situations I was facing made it all so much more powerful.

So here I sit, 12 years from that day. I still don't think I have seized the day completely. But I keep on trying; I always will. I wonder how many people were transformed by this gem of a movie; I hope many.

10 out of 10. A definitive masterpiece.