Favorite Teacher Movies
I've found I'm a sucker for great stories about great teachers.
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- DirectorRamón MenéndezStarsEdward James OlmosEstelle HarrisMark PhelanThe story of Jaime Escalante, a high school teacher who successfully inspired his dropout-prone students to learn calculus.
- DirectorMartin RittStarsJon VoightPaul WinfieldMadge SinclairThe true story of Pat Conroy, a handsome, idealistic Caucasian who is an elementary-school instructor for a group of poor Black children in an isolated school.
- DirectorTom McCarthyStarsRichard JenkinsHaaz SleimanDanai GuriraA college professor travels to New York City to attend a conference and finds a young couple living in his apartment.
- DirectorJames ClavellStarsSidney PoitierJudy GeesonChristian RobertsIdealistic engineer-trainee and his experiences in teaching a group of rambunctious white high school students from the slums of London's East End.
- DirectorDiane CrespoStefan C. SchaeferStarsZoe Lister-JonesFrancis BenhamouMimi LieberARRANGED centers on the friendship between an Orthodox Jewish woman and a Muslim woman who meet as first-year teachers at a public school in Brooklyn. Over the course of the year they learn they share much in common - not least of which is that they are both going through the process of arranged marriages.
- DirectorTom HooperStarsColin FirthGeoffrey RushHelena Bonham CarterThe story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.
- DirectorRobert MulliganStarsGregory PeckJohn MegnaFrank OvertonAtticus Finch, a widowed lawyer in Depression-era Alabama, defends a Black man against an undeserved rape charge, and tries to educate his young children against prejudice.
- DirectorJoe JohnstonStarsJake GyllenhaalChris CooperLaura DernThe true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.
- DirectorFrançois DupeyronStarsOmar SharifPierre BoulangerGilbert MelkiIn Paris, a Turkish shop owner befriends a Jewish boy in his mid-teens.
- DirectorHerbert RossStarsAnne BancroftShirley MacLaineMikhail BaryshnikovWhen her daughter joins a ballet company, a former dancer is forced to confront her long-ago decision to give up the stage to have a family.
- DirectorLewis GilbertStarsMichael CaineJulie WaltersMichael WilliamsAn alcoholic professor has been hired by a working-class girl for higher education.
- DirectorMichael RadfordMassimo TroisiStarsMassimo TroisiPhilippe NoiretMaria Grazia CucinottaA simple Italian postman learns to love poetry while delivering mail to a famous poet, and then uses this to woo local beauty Beatrice.
- DirectorRichard FriedenbergStarsJames CromwellJoseph AshtonTantoo CardinalLittle Tree is an 8-year-old Cherokee boy who loses his parents during The Great Depression and begins living with his Indian grandparents and learning the Cherokee way of life.
- DirectorDenzel WashingtonStarsDenzel WashingtonForest WhitakerKimberly EliseA drama based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College Texas. In 1935, he inspired students to form the school's first debate team, which went on to challenge Harvard in the national championship.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsSean ConneryRob BrownF. Murray AbrahamForrester, the author of a famous book, decides to help Jamal, a 16-year-old student, discover his writing prowess by mentoring him and enrolling him into a prestigious private school.
- DirectorJohn Lee HancockStarsDennis QuaidJD EvermoreRachel GriffithsA Texas baseball coach makes the major league after agreeing to try out if his high school team made the playoffs.
- DirectorMarilyn AgreloStarsHeather BermanEmma Therese BiegackiEva CarrozzaThe students of several New York City elementary schools learn ballroom dancing and compete in a city wide dance competition.
- DirectorStephen HerekStarsRichard DreyfussGlenne HeadlyJay ThomasA frustrated composer finds fulfillment as a high school music teacher.
- DirectorDoug AtchisonStarsAngela BassettLaurence FishburneKeke PalmerAkeelah, a young gifted girl, comes from a dysfunctional family and is on the verge of quitting school. She discovers that she has a high aptitude for spellings and enters a spelling bee contest.
- DirectorPaul MorrisonStarsSam SmithLeagh ConwellDominic BarklemEleven-year-old David Wiseman is mad about cricket but no good at it. He has the entire kit but none of the skill. So when a Jamaican family moves in next door and builds a cricket net in the back garden, David is in seventh heaven.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsRalph MacchioPat MoritaElisabeth ShueA martial arts master agrees to teach karate to a bullied teenager.
- DirectorEmile ArdolinoStarsPatrick SwayzeJennifer GreyJerry OrbachSpending the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, Frances "Baby" Houseman falls in love with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny Castle.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsRobin WilliamsMatt DamonBen AffleckWill Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsRobin WilliamsRobert Sean LeonardEthan HawkeMaverick teacher John Keating returns in 1959 to the prestigious New England boys' boarding school where he was once a star student, using poetry to embolden his pupils to new heights of self-expression.
- DirectorGeorge GalloStarsArmin Mueller-StahlTrevor MorganRay LiottaA successful artist looks back with loving memories on the summer of his defining year, 1974. A talented but troubled 18-year-old aspiring artist befriends a brilliant elderly alcoholic painter who has turned his back on not only art but life. The two form what appears to be at first a tenuous relationship. The kid wants to learn all the secrets the master has locked away inside his head and heart. Time has not been kind to the old master. His life appears pointless to him until the kid rekindles his interest in his work and ultimately gives him the will to live. Together, they give one another a priceless gift. The kid learns to see the world through the master's eyes. And the master learns to see life through the eyes of innocence again. This story is based on a real life experience.
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsNick NolteJoBeth WilliamsJudd HirschA well meaning but burned-out high school teacher tries to maintain order against the backdrop of a pending lawsuit against his school district when it comes to light they gave a diploma to an illiterate student.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsMeryl StreepCloris LeachmanHenry DinhoferAfter Roberta Guaspari separates from her husband, she receives encouragement from her mother to take up a job of a music teacher at the Central Park East School in East Harlem.
- DirectorLiz FriedlanderStarsAntonio BanderasRob BrownYaya DaCostaA dance teacher offers to conduct detention for a group of misfit students by teaching them ballroom dancing. He overcomes their insecurities and prejudices, to enter them in a dance competition.
- DirectorRichard LaGraveneseStarsHilary SwankImelda StauntonPatrick DempseyA young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves and pursue education beyond high school.
- DirectorJohn N. SmithStarsMichelle PfeifferGeorge DzundzaCourtney B. VanceLouAnne, a retired US marine, becomes a teacher in a Californian high school. But her mostly Latino and black students from an impoverished and racially segregated locality do not easily embrace her.
- DirectorPeter ChelsomStarsRichard GereJennifer LopezSusan SarandonA romantic comedy where a bored, overworked Estate Lawyer, upon first sight of a beautiful instructor, signs up for ballroom dancing lessons.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsEddie BarthIrene CaraLee CurreriA chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.
- DirectorNicholas HytnerStarsRichard GriffithsFrances de la TourClive MerrisonAn unruly class of gifted and charming teenage boys are taught by two eccentric and innovative teachers, as their headmaster pushes for them all to get accepted into Oxford or Cambridge.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsMorgan FreemanBeverly ToddRobert GuillaumeThe dedicated but tyrannical Joe Clark is appointed the principal of a decaying inner-city school he is determined to improve by any and all means.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsMorgan FreemanVirginia MadsenMadeline CarrollMonty Wildhorn, an alcoholic novelist of Westerns, has lost his drive. His nephew pushes him to summer in quiet Belle Isle. He begrudgingly befriends a newly single mom and her 3 girls who help him find the inspiration to write again.
- DirectorDaniel BarnzStarsViola DavisMaggie GyllenhaalHolly HunterTwo determined mothers, one a teacher, look to transform their children's failing inner city school. Facing a powerful and entrenched bureaucracy, they risk everything to make a difference in the education and future of their children.
- DirectorKirsten SheridanStarsFreddie HighmoreKeri RussellJonathan Rhys MeyersA musically gifted orphan, Evan, runs away from his orphanage and searches New York City for his birth parents. On his journey, he's taken under the wing of the Wizard, a homeless man who lives in an abandoned theater.
- DirectorChris ColumbusStarsDaniel RadcliffeRupert GrintEmma WatsonAn orphaned boy enrolls in a school of wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world.
- DirectorChris ColumbusStarsDaniel RadcliffeRupert GrintEmma WatsonHarry Potter lives his second year at Hogwarts with Ron and Hermione when a message on the wall announces that the legendary Chamber of Secrets has been opened. The trio soon realize that, to save the school, it will take a lot of courage.
- DirectorThomas CarterStarsSamuel L. JacksonRick GonzalezRobert Ri'chardControversy surrounds high school basketball coach Ken Carter after he benches his entire team for breaking their academic contract with him.
- DirectorTom HanksStarsTom HanksJulia RobertsSarah MahoneyAfter losing his job, a middle-aged man reinvents himself by going back to college.
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsBrad PittDavid ThewlisBD WongHeinrich Harrer, an Austrian climber, breaks out of prison and travels to the holy city of Lhasa. He is employed as an instructor to the 14th Dalai Lama and soon becomes his close confidante.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsBing CrosbyIngrid BergmanHenry TraversAt a big city Catholic school, Father O'Malley and Sister Benedict indulge in friendly rivalry, and succeed in extending the school through the gift of a building.
- DirectorMark HermanStarsBrenda BlethynJane HorrocksMichael CaineA shy reclusive lady is convinced by an invisible entity to sing. Subsequently, she finds herself noticed by a sleazy talent agent and her talent being showcased on-stage. She also meets a kind but nervous man who becomes her best friend.
- DirectorNoam MurroStarsDennis QuaidThomas Haden ChurchSarah Jessica ParkerInto the life of a widowed professor comes a new love and an unexpected visit from his adopted brother.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsPat MoritaRalph MacchioPat E. JohnsonDaniel accompanies his mentor, Mr. Miyagi, to Miyagi's childhood home in Okinawa. Miyagi visits his dying father and confronts his old rival, while Daniel falls in love and inadvertently makes a new rival of his own.
- DirectorDenzel WashingtonStarsDenzel WashingtonDerek LukeJoy BryantAntwone Fisher, a young navy man, is forced to see a psychiatrist after a violent outburst against a fellow crewman. During the course of treatment a painful past is revealed and a new hope begins.
- DirectorPenny MarshallStarsDanny DeVitoGregory HinesJames RemarA failed businessman is hired by the army to teach a group of underachieving recruits in order to help them pass basic training.
- DirectorMike NewellStarsJulia RobertsKirsten DunstJulia StilesA free-thinking art professor teaches conservative 1950s Wellesley girls to question their traditional social roles.
- DirectorKay PollakStarsMichael NyqvistFrida HallgrenHelen SjöholmA famous international conductor returns to his small childhood town in Sweden for early retirement. He's asked to help with the church choir. He affects the lives of all in the choir.
- DirectorCraig GillespieStarsJon HammAasif MandviAlan ArkinA sports agent stages an unconventional recruitment strategy to get talented Indian cricket players to play Major League Baseball.
- DirectorJacob KornbluthStarsRobert ReichCandice BergenConan O'BrienA documentary that follows former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich as he looks to raise awareness of the country's widening economic gap.
- DirectorJean BeckerStarsGérard DepardieuGisèle CasadesusMauraneA semi-literate and lonely odd-job man bonds with a much older and well-read woman.
- DirectorMaria GovanStarsRenel BrownNicki MicheauxCCH PounderDetermined to reconcile with the mother who abandoned her when she was just a toddler, a Bahamian adolescent boards a local mail boat and sets sail for Nassau in director Maria Govan's intimate family drama. Rain has lived a sheltered life on Ragged Island, but now the death of her grandmother has forced her to get out and explore the world on her own. Upon arriving in Nassau the young girl is overwhelmed by the sights of the big city, and soon finds her idealistic illusions shattered when she witnesses firsthand just how deviant and destructive her mother's lifestyle has truly become. Stranded in a an unfamiliar environment that fills her with dread and confronted by a mother she has never known, Rain searches deep within herself to summon the strength needed to find her own place in the world.
- DirectorDavis GuggenheimStarsCharles AdamsJonathan AlterRobert BalfanzAn examination of the current state of education in America today.
- DirectorMarc LawrenceStarsHugh GrantWhit BaldwinVanessa WascheAn Oscar-winning writer in a slump leaves Hollywood to teach screenwriting at a college on the East Coast, where he falls for a single mom taking classes there.
- DirectorTheodore MelfiStarsBill MurrayMelissa McCarthyNaomi WattsA young boy whose parents have just divorced finds an unlikely friend and mentor in the misanthropic, bawdy, hedonistic war veteran who lives next door.
- DirectorSean McNamaraStarsGeorge LopezJamie Lee CurtisCarlos PenaVegaFour Mexican high school students form a robotics club. With no experience, 800 bucks, used car parts and a dream, this rag tag team goes up against the country's reigning robotics champion, MIT.
- DirectorBoaz YakinStarsDenzel WashingtonWill PattonWood HarrisIn 1971 Virginia high school football was everything to the people of Alexandria. But when the school board was forced to integrate an all-black school with an all-white one, the very foundation of football's tradition was put to the test.
- DirectorNancy MeyersStarsRobert De NiroAnne HathawayRene RussoSeventy-year-old widower Ben Whittaker has discovered that retirement isn't all it's cracked up to be. Seizing an opportunity to get back in the game, he becomes a senior intern at an online fashion site, founded and run by Jules Ostin.
- DirectorLaurent CantetStarsFrançois BégaudeauAgame Malembo-EmeneAngélica SancioTeacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.
- DirectorMira NairStarsMadina NalwangaDavid OyelowoLupita Nyong'oA Ugandan girl sees her world rapidly change after being introduced to the game of chess.
- DirectorIsabel CoixetStarsPatricia ClarksonBen KingsleyGrace GummerAs her marriage dissolves, a Manhattan writer takes driving lessons from a Sikh instructor with his own marriage troubles. In each other's company they find the courage to get back on the road and the strength to take the wheel.
- DirectorMarc WebbStarsChris EvansMckenna GraceLindsay DuncanFrank, a single man raising his child prodigy niece Mary, is drawn into a custody battle with his mother.
- DirectorSarah SpillaneStarsHunter Page-LochardChristina RicciAaron L. McGrathAn Aboriginal boy is torn between his unexpected love of acting and the disintegration of his family.
- DirectorVanessa RothBrian McGinnStarsErik BennerNeil CavutoMatt DamonWeaving interviews of policy experts and startling facts with the lives and careers of four teachers, American Teacher tells the collective story by and about those closest to the issues in our educational system -- the 3.2 million teachers who spend every day in classrooms across our country.
- DirectorMarielle HellerStarsMatthew RhysTom HanksChris CooperBased on the true story of a real-life friendship between Fred Rogers and journalist Lloyd Vogel.
- DirectorAmanda LipitzStarsGari McIntyreAmanda LeonardBlessin GiraldoSTEP documents the senior year of a girls' high-school step dance team against the background of inner-city Baltimore.
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsBrenton ThwaitesJeff BridgesMeryl StreepIn a seemingly perfect community without war, pain, suffering, differences or choices, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man, the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.
- DirectorElissa DownStarsSofia CarsonPamela MacDonaldSonia LaplanteAfter failing to find success on Broadway, April returns to her hometown and reluctantly is recruited to train a misfit group of young dancers for a big competition.