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Mr. Holland's Opus

  • 19951995
  • PGPG
  • 2h 23m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
39K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
Home Video Trailer from Hollywood Pictures
Play trailer1:04
1 Video
51 Photos
  • Drama
  • Music
A frustrated composer finds fulfillment as a high school music teacher.A frustrated composer finds fulfillment as a high school music teacher.A frustrated composer finds fulfillment as a high school music teacher.
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
39K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Stephen Herek
  • Writer
    • Patrick Sheane Duncan
  • Stars
    • Richard Dreyfuss
    • Glenne Headly
    • Jay Thomas
Top credits
  • Director
    • Stephen Herek
  • Writer
    • Patrick Sheane Duncan
  • Stars
    • Richard Dreyfuss
    • Glenne Headly
    • Jay Thomas
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 187User reviews
    • 38Critic reviews
    • 59Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 5 wins & 5 nominations total

    Videos1

    Mr. Holland's Opus
    Trailer 1:04
    Mr. Holland's Opus

    Photos51

    Richard Dreyfuss and Joseph Anderson in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
    Richard Dreyfuss, Glenne Headly, and Stephen Herek in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
    Olympia Dukakis in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
    Jay Thomas in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
    Stephen Herek in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
    Richard Dreyfuss in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
    Richard Dreyfuss and Stephen Herek in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
    Glenne Headly in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
    Richard Dreyfuss and Jay Thomas in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
    Richard Dreyfuss and Terrence Howard in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
    Joseph Anderson in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
    Richard Dreyfuss and Alicia Witt in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Richard Dreyfuss
    Richard Dreyfuss
    • Glenn Hollandas Glenn Holland
    Glenne Headly
    Glenne Headly
    • Iris Hollandas Iris Holland
    Jay Thomas
    Jay Thomas
    • Bill Meisteras Bill Meister
    Olympia Dukakis
    Olympia Dukakis
    • Principal Jacobsas Principal Jacobs
    William H. Macy
    William H. Macy
    • Vice Principal Woltersas Vice Principal Wolters
    • (as W.H. Macy)
    Alicia Witt
    Alicia Witt
    • Gertrude Langas Gertrude Lang
    Terrence Howard
    Terrence Howard
    • Louis Russas Louis Russ
    Damon Whitaker
    Damon Whitaker
    • Bobby Tiddas Bobby Tidd
    Jean Louisa Kelly
    Jean Louisa Kelly
    • Rowena Morganas Rowena Morgan
    Alexandra Boyd
    Alexandra Boyd
    • Sarah Olmsteadas Sarah Olmstead
    Nicholas John Renner
    • Cole at 6 Years Oldas Cole at 6 Years Old
    Joseph Anderson
    Joseph Anderson
    • Cole at 15 Years Oldas Cole at 15 Years Old
    Anthony Natale
    Anthony Natale
    • Cole at 28 Years Oldas Cole at 28 Years Old
    Joanna Gleason
    Joanna Gleason
    • Adult Gertrudeas Adult Gertrude
    Beth Maitland
    Beth Maitland
    • Deaf School Principalas Deaf School Principal
    Patrick Fong
    • Study Hall Studentas Study Hall Student
    Benjamin J. Dixon
    • Mr. Mimsas Mr. Mims
    Kathryn Arnett
    • Ms. Swedlinas Ms. Swedlin
    • Director
      • Stephen Herek
    • Writer
      • Patrick Sheane Duncan
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Every person in the film that portrayed a deaf person is deaf in real life.
    • Goofs
      If Mr. Holland is 60 in 1995, he would be 30 in 1965, when he tells Iris how he fell in love with John Coltrane's music in 1950, when he was 15. Coltrane's first session as a leader was on 31 May 1957, so he couldn't have had a John Coltrane record then.
    • Quotes

      Adult Gertrude Lang: Mr. Holland had a profound influence on my life and on a lot of lives I know. But I have a feeling that he considers a great part of his own life misspent. Rumor had it he was always working on this symphony of his. And this was going to make him famous, rich, probably both. But Mr. Holland isn't rich and he isn't famous, at least not outside of our little town. So it might be easy for him to think himself a failure. But he would be wrong, because I think that he's achieved a success far beyond riches and fame. Look around you. There is not a life in this room that you have not touched, and each of us is a better person because of you. We are your symphony Mr. Holland. We are the melodies and the notes of your opus. We are the music of your life.

    • Crazy credits
      Thanks to The Seattle Symphony Orchestra
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Nixon/Jumanji/Heat/Mr. Holland's Opus/Sense and Sensibility/Othello (1995)
    • Soundtracks
      One, Two, Three
      Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland (as Edward Holland), John Madara, Dave White, and Len Barry (as Leonard Borisoff)

      Performed by Len Barry

      Courtesy of MCA Records

    User reviews187

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    "Life is what happens when you're making other plans"
    This is a line of the Beatles' song that Mr. Holland sings to his son, Cole, at a concert. I've seen this movie plenty of times, but for the first time, I noticed just how well this line resonates in this movie. In fact, this line is the basis for the movie, and could stand in for the whole movie in a pinch- except that we would be missing out on one of the most moving and inspirational films to come out of Hollywood in the past few years.

    Mr. Holland's Opus is the story of a man who loves music, who practically lives and breathes music. We see at the beginning of the film, and throughout the rest of it, a man who is most passionate when he is within music. When his wife informs him that she is pregnant, he likens the feeling to falling in love with John Coltrane's music. When a student complains to him that he knows everything there is to know about music, Mr. Holland responds by reminding him that the name of his class is Music Appreciation and explaining forcefully that it doesn't matter how much you know about music if you don't appreciate it.

    The movie takes Mr. Holland through three decades- from the '60s to the mid-'90s. In the spirit of nostalgia films like Forrest Gump, we are guided through the decades by vignettes of archive footage depicting scenes such as Nixon announcing his resignation, Gerald Ford tripping down the stairs, and even good old Frankenfurter representing the sexual revolution. As a piece of nostalgia for those times and the days of high school, Mr. Holland's Opus works great. As a chronicle of a man's life and the impact he has on others, it works even better.

    This film could have turned into cheap schmaltz, but through its cast and a story that reaches wonderful poignancy and honesty at times, it manages to represent something so much more than that. Richard Dreyfuss, always a natural actor, is perfectly real and moving as Glenn Holland. I can't describe his performance in words, simply because it deserves to be seen more than just written about. And even though this is basically Dreyfuss's movie, the supporting cast makes an impression as well. Glenne Headly, as Mr. Holland's wife, shows tremendous resilience and emotion as the mother of a disabled child. When she explodes at her husband because of his lack of understanding, you explode with her, because we believe every word she is saying.

    I don't know if movies can change lives. I think some have the potential to. I know there are movies that can inspire their audiences to be better people- It's a Wonderful Life is one; Casablanca is another. While Mr. Holland's Opus does not reach the quality that those two do (and who can blame it?), it has a similar and near equal impact, and that is definitely a compliment. And how perfect- a movie about a man who changes lives that can also change lives.
    helpful•13
    1
    • abum190
    • Apr 22, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 19, 1996 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • American Sign Language
    • Also known as
      • Nhạc Phẩm Của Thầy Holland
    • Filming locations
      • Grant High School - 2245 NE 36th Avenue, Portland, Oregon, USA
    • Production companies
      • Hollywood Pictures
      • Interscope Communications
      • Polygram Filmed Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $23,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $82,569,971
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $14,466
      • Jan 1, 1996
    • Gross worldwide
      • $106,269,971
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 23 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby SR
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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