Dead Poets Society - wikipedia Dead Poets Society Dead Poets Society Theatrical release poster Directed by Peter Weir Produced by Steven Haft Paul Junger Witt Tony Thomas Written by Tom Schulman Starring Robin Williams Music by Maurice Jarre Cinematography John Seale Edited by William Anderson Production company Touchstone Pictures Silver Screen Partners IV Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution Release date June 2, 1989 ( 1989 - 06 - 02 ) Running time 128 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $16.4 million Box office $235.8 million Dead Poets Society is a 1989 American drama film directed by Peter Weir, written by Tom Schulman, and starring Robin Williams. Set in 1959 at the fictional elite conservative Vermont boarding school Welton Academy, it tells the story of an English teacher who inspires his students through his teaching of poetry. The film received critical acclaim and was a box office success. It won the BAFTA Award for Best Film, and César Award and David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Film. Schulman received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his work. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Reception 4.1 Box office 4.2 Critical response 4.3 Accolades 5 Quotes 6 Adaptations 6.1 Stage play 6.2 Parodies 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links Plot In the autumn of 1959, shy Todd Anderson begins his senior year of high school at Welton Academy, an all - male, elite prep school. He is assigned one of Welton 's most promising students, Neil Perry, as his roommate and is quickly accepted by Neil 's friends : Knox Overstreet, Richard Cameron, Steven Meeks, Gerard Pitts, and Charlie Dalton. On the first day of classes, they are surprised by the unorthodox teaching methods of the new English teacher John Keating, a Welton alumnus who encourages his students to `` make your lives extraordinary '', a sentiment he summarizes with the Latin expression carpe diem. Subsequent lessons include having them take turns standing on his desk to teach the boys how they must look at life in a different way, telling them to rip out the introduction of their poetry books which explains a mathematical formula used for rating poetry, and inviting them to make up their own style of walking in a courtyard to encourage them to be individuals. His methods attract the attention of strict headmaster Gale Nolan. Upon learning that Keating was a member of the unsanctioned Dead Poets Society while he was at Welton, Neil restarts the club and he and his friends sneak off campus to a cave where they read poetry and verse, including their own compositions. As the school year progresses, Keating 's lessons and their involvement with the club encourage them to live their lives on their own terms. Knox pursues Chris Noel, a girl who is dating a football player from a public school and whose family is friends with his. Neil discovers his love of acting and gets the lead in a local production of A Midsummer Night 's Dream, despite the fact that his domineering father wants him in the Ivy League ( and ultimately medical school ). Keating helps Todd come out of his shell and realize his potential when he takes him through an exercise in self - expression, resulting in his composing a poem spontaneously in front of the class. However, Charlie takes things too far when he publishes an article in the school newspaper in the club 's name demanding that girls be admitted to Welton. Nolan uses corporal punishment to coerce Charlie into revealing who else is in the Dead Poets Society, but he resists. Nolan also speaks with Keating, warning him that he should discourage his students from questioning authority. Neil 's father discovers Neil 's involvement in the play and forces him to quit on the eve of the opening performance. Devastated, Neil goes to Keating, who advises him to stand his ground and prove to his father that his love of acting is something he takes seriously. Neil 's father unexpectedly shows up at the performance. He takes Neil home and says he has been withdrawn from Welton, only to be enrolled in a military academy to prepare him for Harvard. Unable to find the courage to stand up to his father, a distraught Neil commits suicide. Nolan investigates Neil 's death at the request of the Perry family. Richard blames Neil 's death on Keating to escape punishment for his own participation in the Dead Poets Society, and names the other members. Confronted by Charlie, Richard urges the rest of them to let Keating take the fall. Charlie punches Richard and is expelled. Each of the boys is called to Nolan 's office to sign a letter attesting to the truth of Richard 's allegations, even though they know they are false. When Todd 's turn comes, he is reluctant to sign, but does so after seeing that the others have complied. Keating is fired and Nolan takes over teaching the class. Keating interrupts the class to collect personal articles ; before he leaves, Todd shouts that all of them were forced to sign the letter that resulted in his dismissal and that Neil 's death was not his fault. Todd stands on his desk and salutes Keating with the words `` O Captain ! My Captain ! ''. Knox, Gerard, Steven, and over half of the class do the same, ignoring Nolan 's orders to sit down. Keating is deeply touched by their gesture. He thanks the boys and departs. Cast Robin Williams as John Keating Robert Sean Leonard as Neil Perry Ethan Hawke as Todd Anderson Josh Charles as Knox Overstreet Gale Hansen as Charlie Dalton Norman Lloyd as Headmaster Gale Nolan Kurtwood Smith as Mr. Perry Dylan Kussman as Richard Cameron James Waterston as Gerard Pitts Allelon Ruggiero as Steven Meeks Alexandra Powers as Chris Noel Leon Pownall as McAllister George Martin as Dr. Hager Production The script was written by Tom Schulman, based on his experiences at the Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, particularly with his inspirational teacher Samuel Pickering. A scene in the original script showing Keating dying in a hospital was removed by film director Peter Weir, giving Todd 's gesture of standing on his desk the meaning of standing for one 's belief. Filming took place at St. Andrew 's School in Middletown, Delaware, and at locations in New Castle, Delaware and in nearby Wilmington, Delaware. Reception Box office The worldwide box office was reported as $235,860,116, which includes domestic grosses of $95,860,116. The film 's global receipts were the fifth - highest for 1989, and the highest for dramas. Critical response Dead Poets Society holds an 85 % approval rating and average rating of 7.2 / 10 on Rotten Tomatoes based on 54 reviews. The site 's critical consensus reads, `` Affecting performances from the young cast and a genuinely inspirational turn from Robin Williams grant Peter Weir 's prep school drama top honors. '' The film also holds a score of 79 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 14 reviews, indicating `` generally favorable reviews. '' The Washington Post reviewer called it `` solid, smart entertainment '', and praised Robin Williams for giving a `` nicely restrained acting performance ''. Vincent Canby of The New York Times also praised Williams ' `` exceptionally fine performance '', while noting that `` Dead Poets Society... is far less about Keating than about a handful of impressionable boys ''. Pauline Kael was unconvinced by the film, and its `` middlebrow highmindedness '', but praised Williams. `` Robin Williams ' performance is more graceful than anything he 's done before ( -- ) he 's totally, concentratedly there -- ( he ) reads his lines stunningly, and when he mimics various actors reciting Shakespeare there 's no undue clowning in it ; he 's a gifted teacher demonstrating his skills. '' Roger Ebert 's review was largely negative, only giving the film two out of four stars. He criticized Williams for spoiling an otherwise creditable dramatic performance by occasionally veering into his onstage comedian 's persona, and lamented that for a movie set in the 1950s there was no mention of the Beat Generation writers. Additionally, Ebert described the film as an often poorly constructed `` collection of pious platitudes... The movie pays lip service to qualities and values that, on the evidence of the screenplay itself, it is cheerfully willing to abandon. '' On their Oscar Nomination edition of Siskel & Ebert, both Gene Siskel ( who also gave the film a mixed review ) and Ebert disagreed with Williams ' Oscar nomination, with Ebert saying that he would have swapped Williams with either Matt Dillon for Drugstore Cowboy or John Cusack for Say Anything. On their If We Picked the Winners special in March 1990, moreover, Ebert chose the film 's Best Picture nomination as the worst nomination of the year, believing it took a slot that could have gone to Spike Lee 's Do the Right Thing. Accolades Dead Poets Society won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay ( Tom Schulman ). Peter Weir received a nomination for Best Director and the film itself was nominated for Best Picture of 1989. Robin Williams received his second Best Actor in a Leading Role nomination and it has since been widely recognized as one of the actor / comedian 's best roles. It also won the BAFTA Award for Best Film. Academy Awards ( USA ) 1990 Won : Best Original Screenplay ( Tom Schulman ) Nominated : Best Actor in a Leading Role ( Robin Williams ) Nominated : Director ( Peter Weir ) Nominated : Best Picture ( Steven Haft, Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas, Producers ) BAFTA Awards ( UK ) 1989 Won : Best Film Won : Best Original Film Score ( Maurice Jarre ) Nominated : Best Actor in a Leading Role ( Robin Williams ) Nominated : Best Achievement in Direction ( Peter Weir ) Nominated : Best Editing ( William Anderson ) Nominated : Best Original Screenplay ( Tom Schulman ) César Awards ( France ) Won : Best Foreign Film David di Donatello Awards ( Italy ) Won : Best Foreign Film Directors Guild of America ( USA ) Nominated : Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures ( Peter Weir ) Golden Globe Awards ( USA ) Nominated : Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture -- Drama ( Robin Williams ) Nominated : Best Director -- Motion Picture ( Peter Weir ) Nominated : Best Motion Picture -- Drama Nominated : Best Screenplay -- Motion Picture ( Tom Schulman ) Writers Guild of America ( USA ) Nominated : Best Screenplay -- Original ( Tom Schulman ) The film was voted # 52 on the AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Cheers list, a list of the top 100 most inspiring films of all time. QUOTES The film 's line `` Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary. '' was voted as the 95th greatest movie quote by the American Film Institute. After Robin Williams ' death in August 2014, fans of his work used social media to pay tribute to him with photo and video reenactments of the film 's final `` O Captain ! My Captain ! '' scene. Adaptations N.H. Kleinbaum 's novel, Dead Poets Society ( 1989 ), is based on the movie. Stage play A theatrical adaptation written by Tom Schulman and directed by John Doyle opened Off - Broadway on October 27, 2016, and running through December 11, 2016. Jason Sudeikis stars as John Keating with Thomas Mann as Neil Perry, David Garrison as Gale Nolan, Zane Pais as Todd Anderson, Francesca Carpanini as Chris, Stephen Barker Turner as Mr. Perry, William Hochman as Knox Overstreet, Cody Kostro as Charlie Dalton, Yaron Lotan as Richard Cameron and Bubba Weiler as Steven Meeks. The production received a mixed review from The New York Times, with critic Ben Brantley calling the play `` blunt and bland '' and criticizing Sudeikis 's performance, citing his lack of enthusiasm when delivering powerful lines. Parodies The ending of the film was parodied in the Saturday Night Live sketch, `` Farewell, Mr. Bunting '', in which a student, upon climbing onto his desk, is decapitated by a ceiling fan. See also `` The Changing of the Guard '', a June 1, 1962 episode of The Twilight Zone starring Donald Pleasence as a retiring English teacher at a New England boys ' school, who questions whether he has made a difference in the boys ' lives. The Emperor 's Club ( 2002 ), an American drama film set in a boys ' preparatory school in the northeast. References Jump up ^ `` DEAD POETS SOCIETY ( PG ) ''. British Board of Film Classification. July 27, 1989. Retrieved August 15, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Dead Poets Society ( 1989 ) ''. The Numbers. Retrieved June 1, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Dead Poets Society ( 1989 ) -- Box Office Mojo ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014 - 11 - 15. ^ Jump up to : Canby, Vincent ( June 2, 1989 ). `` Dead Poets Society ( 1989 ) June 2, 1989 Review / Film ; Shaking Up a Boys ' School With Poetry ''. The New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2011. Jump up ^ `` 1990 Film Film BAFTA Awards ''. Awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 07. Jump up ^ `` Real - life professor inspires ' Dead Poets ' character ''. TimesDaily. Florence, AL, USA : Tennessee Valley Printing Co., Inc. Associated Press. July 10, 1989. Retrieved January 18, 2015. Jump up ^ Bill Henderson ( January 12, 1992 ). `` Robin Williams and Then Some ''. The New York Times. Retrieved December 19, 2007. Jump up ^ McCurrie, Tom ( March 15, 2004 ). `` Dead Poets Society 's Tom Schulman on the Art of Surviving Hollywood ''. Writersupercenter.com. Retrieved 31 March 2015. Jump up ^ Cormier, Ryan ( August 12, 2014 ) ( Originally published April 4, 2014 ). `` 25 ' Dead Poets Society ' in Delaware facts ''. The News Journal. Pulp Culture. Wilmington, DE, USA : Gannett Company. Retrieved January 18, 2015. Jump up ^ `` 1989 Worldwide Grosses ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014 - 11 - 15. Jump up ^ `` Dead Poets Society Movie Reviews, Pictures -- Rotten Tomatoes ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 25, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Dead Poets Society reviews at Metacritic.com ''. Metacritic. Retrieved January 25, 2010. Jump up ^ Howe, Desson ( June 9, 1989 ). `` ' Dead Poets Society ' ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved October 17, 2010. Jump up ^ Pauline Kael, Movie Love, pp. 153 - 157, reprinted from review that appeared in The New Yorker, June 26, 1989 Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger ( June 9, 1989 ). `` Dead Poets Society ''. Chicago Sun - Times. Retrieved October 17, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Nominees & Winners for the 62nd Academy Awards ''. Oscars.org. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Awards Database ''. Bafta.org. Retrieved November 27, 2010. Jump up ^ Crazy Dave. `` Dead Poets Society ''. Peterweircave.com. Retrieved 2014 - 08 - 13. Jump up ^ Ente David di Donatello -- Accademia del Cinema Italiano Archived October 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Welcome to the Directors Guild of America ''. Dga.org. Archived from the original on November 20, 2010. Retrieved November 27, 2010. Jump up ^ HFPA -- Awards Search Archived October 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Mathews, Jack ; Easton, Nina J. ( February 9, 1990 ). `` Some Surprises in WGA Nominees, Shutouts : Film : ' Baker Boys, ' ' My Left Foot ' are dark - horse nominees for Writers Guild awards ; non-union ' Do the Right Thing, ' ' Drugstore Cowb... '' Los Angeles Times. Jump up ^ American Film Institute. `` AFI 's 100 YEARS... 100 CHEERS ''. Afi.com. Retrieved 2014 - 08 - 13. Jump up ^ American Film Institute. `` AFI 's 100 YEARS... 100 MOVIE QUOTES ''. Afi.com. Retrieved 2014 - 08 - 13. Jump up ^ `` ' # O Captain, My Captain ' : Robin Williams ' fans take over social media with tributes and memorials dedicated to the legendary comic ''. Retrieved 2014 - 11 - 15. Jump up ^ `` Robin Williams death : Jimmy Fallon fights tears, pays tribute with ' Oh Captain, My Captain ' ''. Retrieved 2014 - 11 - 15. Jump up ^ Kleinbaum, N.H. ( 1989 ). Dead Poets Society. New York : Hyperion. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4013 - 0877 - 3. OCLC 71164757. Jump up ^ Clement, Olivia ( February 29, 2016 ). `` CSC to Stage World Premiere of Dead Poets Society ''. Playbill.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016. Jump up ^ Itzkoff, Dave ( August 16, 2016 ). `` Jason Sudeikis to Star in Stage Version of ' Dead Poets Society ' ''. The New York Times. Retrieved December 8, 2016. Jump up ^ Clement, Olivia ( September 14, 2016 ). `` Dead Poets Society Finds Its Complete Cast ''. Playbill.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016. Jump up ^ Clement, Olivia ( October 27, 2016 ). `` The World Premiere of Dead Poets Society Begins Tonight ''. Playbill. Retrieved December 8, 2016. Jump up ^ Brantley, Ben ( November 17, 2016 ). `` Review : ' Dead Poets Society, ' Starring Jason Sudeikis as the Idealistic Teacher ''. The New York Times. ISSN 0362 - 4331. Retrieved December 8, 2016. Jump up ^ Silverberg, Nicole ( 2016 - 05 - 23 ). `` Behold, a New Classic ' SNL ' Sketch ''. GQ. Retrieved 2016 - 06 - 23. Further reading Munaretto, Stefan ( 2005 ). Erläuterungen zu Nancy H. Kleinbaum / Peter Weir, ' Der Club der toten Dichter ' ( in German ). Hollfeld : Bange. ISBN 3 - 8044 - 1817 - 1. External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : Dead Poets Society Dead Poets Society on IMDb Dead Poets Society at Box Office Mojo Dead Poets Society at Rotten Tomatoes Dead Poets Society at Metacritic Awards and achievements Preceded by Dangerous Liaisons César Award for Best Foreign Film 1991 Succeeded by Toto the Hero ( Toto le héros ) Films directed by Peter Weir 3 to Go ( 1971 ) Homesdale ( 1971 ) Whatever Happened to Green Valley ? ( 1973 ) The Cars That Ate Paris ( 1974 ) Picnic at Hanging Rock ( 1975 ) The Last Wave ( 1977 ) The Plumber ( 1979 ) Gallipoli ( 1981 ) The Year of Living Dangerously ( 1982 ) Witness ( 1985 ) The Mosquito Coast ( 1986 ) Dead Poets Society ( 1989 ) Green Card ( 1990 ) Fearless ( 1993 ) The Truman Show ( 1998 ) Master and Commander : The Far Side of the World ( 2003 ) The Way Back ( 2010 ) BAFTA Award for Best Film Best Film from Any Source 1947 -- 1967 The Best Years of Our Lives ( 1947 ) Hamlet ( 1948 ) Bicycle Thieves ( 1949 ) All About Eve ( 1950 ) La Ronde ( 1951 ) The Sound Barrier ( 1952 ) Forbidden Games ( 1953 ) The Wages of Fear ( 1954 ) Richard III ( 1955 ) Gervaise ( 1956 ) The Bridge on the River Kwai ( 1957 ) Room at the Top ( 1958 ) Ben - Hur ( 1959 ) The Apartment ( 1960 ) Ballad of a Soldier ( 1961 ) The Hustler ( 1961 ) Lawrence of Arabia ( 1962 ) Tom Jones ( 1963 ) Dr. Strangelove or : How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb ( 1964 ) My Fair Lady ( 1965 ) Who 's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? ( 1966 ) A Man for All Seasons ( 1967 ) Best Film 1968 -- present The Graduate ( 1968 ) Midnight Cowboy ( 1969 ) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ( 1970 ) Sunday Bloody Sunday ( 1971 ) Cabaret ( 1972 ) Day for Night ( 1973 ) Lacombe, Lucien ( 1974 ) Alice Does n't Live Here Anymore ( 1975 ) One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest ( 1976 ) Annie Hall ( 1977 ) Julia ( 1978 ) Manhattan ( 1979 ) The Elephant Man ( 1980 ) Chariots of Fire ( 1981 ) Gandhi ( 1982 ) Educating Rita ( 1983 ) The Killing Fields ( 1984 ) The Purple Rose of Cairo ( 1985 ) A Room with a View ( 1986 ) Jean de Florette ( 1987 ) The Last Emperor ( 1988 ) Dead Poets Society ( 1989 ) Goodfellas ( 1990 ) The Commitments ( 1991 ) Howards End ( 1992 ) Schindler 's List ( 1993 ) Four Weddings and a Funeral ( 1994 ) Sense and Sensibility ( 1995 ) The English Patient ( 1996 ) The Full Monty ( 1997 ) Shakespeare in Love ( 1998 ) American Beauty ( 1999 ) Gladiator ( 2000 ) The Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring ( 2001 ) The Pianist ( 2002 ) The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King ( 2003 ) The Aviator ( 2004 ) Brokeback Mountain ( 2005 ) The Queen ( 2006 ) Atonement ( 2007 ) Slumdog Millionaire ( 2008 ) The Hurt Locker ( 2009 ) The King 's Speech ( 2010 ) The Artist ( 2011 ) Argo ( 2012 ) 12 Years a Slave ( 2013 ) Boyhood ( 2014 ) The Revenant ( 2015 ) La La Land ( 2016 ) César Award for Best Foreign Film 1976 -- 1999 Scent of a Woman ( 1976 ) We All Loved Each Other So Much ( 1977 ) A Special Day ( 1978 ) The Tree of Wooden Clogs ( 1979 ) Manhattan ( 1980 ) Kagemusha ( 1981 ) The Elephant Man ( 1982 ) Victor / Victoria ( 1983 ) Fanny and Alexander ( 1984 ) Amadeus ( 1985 ) The Purple Rose of Cairo ( 1986 ) The Name of the Rose ( 1987 ) The Last Emperor ( 1988 ) Bagdad Café ( 1989 ) Dangerous Liaisons ( 1990 ) Dead Poets Society ( 1991 ) Toto the Hero ( 1992 ) High Heels ( 1993 ) The Piano ( 1994 ) Four Weddings and a Funeral ( 1995 ) Land and Freedom ( 1996 ) Breaking the Waves ( 1997 ) Brassed Off ( 1998 ) Life Is Beautiful ( 1999 ) 2000 -- 2019 All About My Mother ( 2000 ) In the Mood for Love ( 2001 ) Mulholland Drive ( 2002 ) Bowling for Columbine ( 2003 ) Mystic River ( 2004 ) Lost in Translation ( 2005 ) Million Dollar Baby ( 2006 ) Little Miss Sunshine ( 2007 ) The Lives of Others ( 2008 ) Waltz with Bashir ( 2009 ) Gran Torino ( 2010 ) The Social Network ( 2011 ) A Separation ( 2012 ) Argo ( 2013 ) The Broken Circle Breakdown ( 2014 ) Mommy ( 2015 ) Birdman ( 2016 ) I, Daniel Blake ( 2017 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dead_Poets_Society&oldid=809154670 '' Categories : 1989 films English - language films American films 1980s coming - of - age films 1980s teen drama films American coming - of - age films American high school films American teen drama films Best Film BAFTA Award winners Best Foreign Film César Award winners Coming - of - age drama films Films about educators Films about suicide Films set in 1959 Films set in Vermont Films shot in Delaware Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award Touchstone Pictures films Film scores by Maurice Jarre Films directed by Peter Weir Boarding school films Suicide in films Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Use mdy dates from March 2012 CS1 German - language sources ( de ) Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Aragonés Azərbaycanca Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Български Boarisch Bosanski Brezhoneg Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Emiliàn e rumagnòl Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Ido Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Кыргызча Latina Limburgs Magyar Македонски മലയാളം Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Plattdüütsch Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 7 November 2017, at 13 : 04. 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Question: who plays neil in the dead poets society
Answer: Robert Sean Leonard