Dead Poets Society

Rating: 8/10 (12 July 2005)

From Oscar and BAFTA nominated director Peter Weir (Witness, The Truman Show), this may be a very good coming-of-age period drama. Basically Todd Anderson (young Ethan Hawke) is one of the new students to attend the new semester at Welton Academy for boys, along with Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard) - always under pressure by his father Mr. Perry (Kurtwood Smith), Knox Overstreet (Josh Charles), Charlie Dalton (Gale Hansen), Richard Cameron (Dylan Kussman), Steven Meeks (Allelon Ruggiero) and Gerard Pitts (James Waterston). All classes appear boring and not to the boys interests, and then they have their first English class with replacement teacher John Keating (Robin Williams), and they all bond with him and his unusual teaching methods. As they get to know Keating, or "Oh Captain, My Captain", they also come across his old year book, with mention of a club called the "Dead Poets Society", a hang out for student boys to read and write poems to each other, and they decide to restart it in the same cave. As well as their "learning" of English (poetry), Dalton causes trouble with a letter to the Headmaster saying that girls should attend, Knox tries his luck with local girl Chris Noel (Alexandra Powers), and Perry has the ambition to be an actor. After starring as the lead in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Perry's father is still controlling, and he decides to make him leave the school for military academy, this is when Neil can't stand it, and commits suicide. In the end, Keating is told to leave the school on the grounds of encouraging the boys, and possibly having some involvement of Niel's suicide, and the final scene, which was number 20 on The 100 Greatest Tearjerkers, has all his students stand on their desk shouting "Oh Captain, My Captain" in support. Also starring Norman Lloyd as Mr. Nolan and Carla Belver as Mrs. Perry. Williams is a wonderful teacher character, teaching the boys to be free thinkers, and stand up for what they want, it is no wonder he received an Oscar nomination. All the young boys have their moments too, with some funny moments from Williams (especially with impressions, like Marlon Brando and John Wayne), it is a very warm and touching film. It won the Oscar for Won Oscar Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, and it was nominated for Best Picture, it won the BAFTAs for Best Film and Best Original Film Score for Maurice Jarre, and it was nominated for Best Editing and Best Original Screenplay, it was nominated the Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Screenplay. Robin Williams was number 19 on The 100 Greatest Movie Stars, the film was number 95 on 100 Years, 100 Quotes ("Carpe diem. Seize the days, boys. Make your lives extraordinary."), it was number 20 on The 100 Greatest Tearjerkers, and it was number 51 on 100 Years, 100 Cheers. Very good!