Dead Poets Society

**Dead Poets Society** is a 1989 American drama film directed by Peter Weir which was released on June 2, 1989 by Touchstone Pictures.

## Plot

The film tells the story of English teacher John Keating who inspires his students at a conservative boarding school in Vermont by teaching poetry.

## 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 Thomas Perry
* Dylan Kussman as Richard Cameron
* Allelon Ruggiero as Steven Meeks
* James Waterston as Gerard Pitts
* Alexandra Powers as Chris Noel
* Leon Pownall as George McAllister
* George Martin as Dr. Hager
* Carla Belver as Mrs. Perry

## Production

Director Peter Weir had been eager to follow up his two U.S. breakthrough hits with the films "Witness" and "The Mosquito Coast" (with Harrison Ford) with a romantic comedy called "Green Card" starring Gerard Depardieu; however, Depardieu was in high demand following his success in the Provençal drama, "Jean de Florette" and Weir was advised he would have to wait a year for his availability.

In late 1988, Weir met with Jeffrey Katzenberg at Disney (which produced the movie via Touchstone Pictures), who suggested that Weir read a script that was recently received. On a flight back to Sydney, Weir was captivated and six weeks later, he returned to Los Angeles, California to cast the principal characters for the film.

The original script for "Dead Poets Society" was written by Tom Schulman based on his experiences at the Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, particularly with his inspirational teacher Samuel Pickering.

In Schulman's manuscript, Keating had been ill, slowly dying of Hodgkin lymphoma with a scene showing him on his deathbed in a hospital; this was removed by Weir who deemed that it unnecessary, claiming this would focus audiences on Keating's illness and not on what he stood for.

Early notes on the script from Disney also suggested making the boys' passion dancing rather than poetry as well as a new title, "Sultans of Swing" focusing on the character of Mr. Keating rather than the boys themselves, but both notes were dismissed outright.

Filming for "Dead Poets Society" began in the winter of 1988 and took place at St. Andrew's School and the Everett Theatre in Middletown, Delaware, and at locations in New Castle, Delaware, and in nearby Wilmington, Delaware.

It was originally slated to be filmed at Berry College in Rome, Georgia; however, it was moved to Delaware because it would've been too expensive to create fake snow on the campus grounds.

Liam Neeson originally won the part of John Keating before Peter Weir took over direction from Jeff Kanew and the role ultimately went to Robin Williams. Other actors considered for the role of John Keating were Dustin Hoffman, Tom Hanks and Mickey Rourke.

During the shooting, Peter Weir requested that the young actors not to use modern slang (even off camera) and had them room together. He gave them books that detailed what life was like for teenagers in the 1950s.

Weir also chose to shoot the film in chronological order to better capture the development of the relationships between the boys and their growing respect for Mr. Keating.

Ethan Hawke was already two months into college at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he got the part of Todd Anderson.

The scene where Todd cries outside in the snow was done in one take; it was originally supposed to be an interior scene, but when it started snowing, Weir thought that the scene might have more impact if it was done outside. The scene was done in one take because the snow was beginning to let up.

## Box Office

"Dead Poets Society" grossed $340,456 during its opening weekend and $95,860,116 in the USA. Its global receipts were the 5th highest for 1989 and the highest for drama films. It also topped the box office in the United Kingdom.

Overall, the film grossed $235,860,116 worldwide.

## Critical Reception

"Dead Poets Society" holds an 84% approval rating based on 57 reviews with an average rating of 7.28\10. The site's 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 holds a score of 79 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it a rare "A+" grade.

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 Robin 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 about the film and its *"middlebrow highmindedness"*, but praised Robin Williams' performance, saying: *"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."*

The San Francisco Chronicle wrote: *"Poetry and passion, comedy and tragedy are fused into one absolutely marvelous affirmation of independent spirit in Dead Poets Society."*

Desson Thomson from The Washington Post said: *"Sure, the heroes and villains are arranged in a convenient moral gallery. But the performances, Weir's adroit direction and John Seale's superb cinematography take care of that banality."*

Roger Ebert's review of "Dead Poets Society" was largely negative, only giving the film a rating of two out of four stars. He criticized Robin 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."*