Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)

A frustrated composer finds fulfillment as a high school music teacher.

Director:

Stephen Herek

Writer:

Patrick Sheane Duncan

Stars:

Richard Dreyfuss, Glenne Headly, Jay Thomas

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Glenn Holland
Glenne Headly	...	Iris Holland
Jay Thomas	...	Bill Meister
Olympia Dukakis	...	Principal Jacobs
William H. Macy	...	Vice Principal Wolters (as W.H. Macy)
Alicia Witt	...	Gertrude Lang
Terrence Howard	...	Louis Russ
Damon Whitaker	...	Bobby Tidd
Jean Louisa Kelly	...	Rowena Morgan
Alexandra Boyd	...	Sarah Olmstead
Nicholas John Renner	...	Cole at 6 Years Old
Joseph Anderson	...	Cole at 15 Years Old
Anthony Natale	...	Cole at 28 Years Old
Joanna Gleason	...	Adult Gertrude
Beth Maitland	...	Deaf School Principal

Storyline

Glenn Holland is a musician and composer who takes a teaching job to pay the rent while, in his 'spare time', he can strive to achieve his true goal - compose one memorable piece of music to leave his mark on the world. As Holland discovers 'Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans' and as the years unfold the joy of sharing his contagious passion for music with his students becomes his new definition of success.

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Plot Keywords:

student | teaching | school | musician | composer | 

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Taglines:

It's not about the direction you take. It's about the direction you give.

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English American Sign Language

Release Date:

19 January 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Csendszimfónia

Filming Locations:

Christie School - Highway 43, Marylhurst, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$92,254 (USA) (19 July 1996)

Gross:

$82,528,097 (USA) (26 July 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hollywood Pictures, Interscope Communications, Polygram Filmed Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

143 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Composer Michael Kamen was so inspired by the story told in this film that he started a non-profit organization dedicated to providing musical instruments to underprivileged students.

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Goofs

Mr. Holland assembles a 1990s crib in the 1970s.

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Quotes

Principal Jacobs: Mr. Holland, it has come to my attention that you are teaching the students rock and roll.
Glenn Holland: Is this a problem?
Vice Principal Gene Wolters: Is this a problem? Yes, I think so. Our only job is to teach. We cannot teach and the students cannot learn if there is no discipline.
Glenn Holland: Uh... I'm sorry, uh, what exactly is your point, Gene?
Vice Principal Gene Wolters: My point is rock and roll, by its very nature, leads to a breakdown in discipline.
Glenn Holland: Well, what would you like me to do? Deny that rock and roll exists?
Vice Principal Gene Wolters: What I am... What we are saying is that you ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The producers wish to thank: Alain Levy; Michael Kuhn; Portland Public Schools; Grant High School, Portland, Oregon (Pricipal: Darryl Tucker); The Christie School Marylurst, Oregon.

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Connections

Referenced in Home Improvement: Mr. Wilson's Opus (1996)

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Soundtracks

"DAY IS DONE (TAPS)"
Written by Daniel Butterfield (as General Daniel Butterfield)

User Reviews

Lighten Up, Folks.......

It's a MOVIE! I'm reading comments so vastly polarized to one extreme or another so as not to be believed.

Okay, I am a musician. I've been one on a professional level for over ten years, both as a writer and performer. And I LOVED this movie (apologies to all those pretentious 'serious' musicians out there). I enjoyed my theatrical viewing and I have watched my DVD several times.

Is MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS musically accurate? No, of course not, no more so than STAR TREK paying attention to factual science and the laws of physics. But for the most part, nobody other than most of us ego-driven, high horse bound musician types will ever know it.

Designed to have a broad appeal outside the aforementioned musically inclined crowd? Yes, but then so is nearly every movie to come out of Hollywood. It has to be palatable to a certain degree, and I believe that the much maligned "Play the sunset" scene is far more entertaining than having Mr. Holland give us lengthy exposition on the proper articulation and technique that goes into playing a given instrument.

And if I hear one more poster scream about Mr. Holland's 'opus' only being ten minutes long (the "It took him a lifetime to write THIS?" mantra) I think I'll scream. Did it ever occur to anybody that what we heard was only a small part of a much larger work? Most classical and semi-classical pieces occur in (get ready) MOVEMENTS! It's entirely possible that we only heard the prologue to a much larger piece. Think outside the box, people.

As for the quality of the piece itself, I found it to be acceptable, if not the most dynamic piece of work I've ever heard. But seeing as how we had been hearing snippets of this piece THROUGHOUT THE MOVIE, I can't say that I was so overwhelmingly let down as some of our more 'educated and refined' musician types that have posted here.

Sure, there were some flaws. Ms. Headly is not the greatest actress in the world, and beside Dreyfuss she's downright embarrassing. William Macy's character is so cliched that it warrants no further discussion. The whole subplot with Rowena and her romantic interest in Mr. Holland ran about ten minutes too long. And the ending bit where the arts funding gets cut seemed a little too political.

But overall, a great film, surely one of Dreyfuss' best, and one of my favorite films.

I'm a musician. And I liked it. So sue me....