Dead Poets Society (1989)

English teacher John Keating inspires his students to look at poetry with a different perspective of authentic knowledge and feelings.

Director:

Peter Weir

Writer:

Tom Schulman

Stars:

Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke

Top Rated Movies #218 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 19 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robin Williams	...	John Keating
Robert Sean Leonard	...	Neil Perry
Ethan Hawke	...	Todd Anderson
Josh Charles	...	Knox Overstreet
Gale Hansen	...	Charlie Dalton
Dylan Kussman	...	Richard Cameron
Allelon Ruggiero	...	Steven Meeks
James Waterston	...	Gerard Pitts
Norman Lloyd	...	Mr. Nolan
Kurtwood Smith	...	Mr. Perry
Carla Belver	...	Mrs. Perry
Leon Pownall	...	McAllister
George Martin	...	Dr. Hager
Joe Aufiery	...	Chemistry Teacher
Matt Carey	...	Hopkins

Storyline

Painfully shy Todd Anderson has been sent to the school where his popular older brother was valedictorian. His roommate, Neil Perry, although exceedingly bright and popular, is very much under the thumb of his overbearing father. The two, along with their other friends, meet Professor Keating, their new English teacher, who tells them of the Dead Poets Society, and encourages them to go against the status quo. Each does so in his own way, and is changed for life.

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Plot Keywords:

english teacher | professor | education | suicide | poet | 

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Taglines:

He was their inspiration. He made their lives extraordinary.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Latin

Release Date:

9 June 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dead Poets Society

Filming Locations:

Everett Theatre - 47 West Main Street, Middletown, Delaware, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$16,400,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$340,456, 4 June 1989

Gross USA:

$95,860,116

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$140,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Silver Screen Partners IV, A Steven Haft Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min 140 min (laserdisc)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tom Schulman's script was partly based on his own experiences at Montgomery Bell Academy, an all-boys preparatory school he attended in Nashville, Tennessee, and his professor there, Samuel F. Pickering Jr.

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Goofs

At meal time, when Mr. McAllister is talking to Mr. Keating, they are holding a tray. After exchanging them, when the camera does a close shot on Mr. McAllister, he doesn't seem to hold the tray anymore.

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Quotes

John Keating: We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid ...

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Alternate Versions

TV version shown on USA Network (and released on laserdisc) includes 14 minutes of extra footage not included in the original theatrical release.

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Connections

Referenced in Being Human: I Want You Back (From the Dead) (2011)

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Soundtracks

Symphony No. 9
Music by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Fritz Reiner
And The Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Courtesy of RCA Victor Red Seal
A Division of BMG Classics

User Reviews

Impressive.

I'm impressed. It was an all around good film. Perhaps I'm biased - Robert Frost's poem, A Road Not Taken, was quoted - yet so many other things were as well.

It's not about poetry. It's about how you look at the world. How you look, how others look... how you think, how you feel... and a warning to never, ever become conformist (though being conformist about walking is perhaps slightly exaggerated). Never become conformist - always make up your own mind.

I liked the music, as well. The bag pipes give a certain special touch.

I gave it an 8/10 - a high score for me.