The Emperor's Club (2002)

An idealistic prep school teacher attempts to redeem an incorrigible student.

Director:

Michael Hoffman

Writers:

Ethan Canin (short story "The Palace Thief"), Neil Tolkin (screenplay)

Stars:

Kevin Kline, Emile Hirsch, Joel Gretsch

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Kline	...	William Hundert
Emile Hirsch	...	Sedgewick Bell
Embeth Davidtz	...	Elizabeth
Rob Morrow	...	James Ellerby
Edward Herrmann	...	Headmaster Woodbridge
Harris Yulin	...	Senator Bell
Paul Dano	...	Martin Blythe
Rishi Mehta	...	Deepak Mehta
Jesse Eisenberg	...	Louis Masoudi
Gabriel Millman	...	Robert Brewster (as Gabe Millman)
Chris Morales	...	Eugene Field
Luca Bigini	...	Copeland Gray
Michael Coppola	...	Russell Hall
Sean Fredricks	...	Mr. Harris
Katherine O'Sullivan	...	The Nun

Storyline

William Hundert is a passionate and principled Classics professor who finds his tightly-controlled world shaken and inexorably altered when a new student, Sedgewick Bell, walks into his classroom. What begins as a fierce battle of wills gives way to a close student-teacher relationship, but results in a life lesson for Hundert that will still haunt him a quarter of a century later.

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Plot Keywords:

golf resort | told in flashback | ear piece | marriage | library | 

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Taglines:

In everyone's life there's that one person who makes all the difference.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site - synopsis and picture gallery Official site [France]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 November 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Palace Thief

Filming Locations:

New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,846,780, 24 November 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$14,060,950, 26 January 2003

Company Credits

Production Co:

Beacon Communications, Fine Line Features, Horsepower Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (purple) Color (RED) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When filming the movie, the location (Emma Willard school in Troy, NY) was still operating as a girl's school. Emile Hirsch reportedly complained about the students, claiming that they were pestering him for his phone number. He also (reportedly) said some unsavory things about the school in general. When the students heard about this, they demanded an apology from Hirsch, which he delivered in front of the entire student body. At the school viewing, whenever he appeared on screen, the girls booed loudly and stories about him still circulate through the student body.

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Goofs

When the students are caught on the brink of skinny-dipping, one of the nuns is wearing a wimple (traditional headgear and veil) together with a habit that has an above-the-knee skirt. You would never see a nun wearing such a combination.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Valet: Is everything okay, sir?
William Hundert: Fine, thank you. Here.
[reaches into his pocket]
William Hundert: Let me, uh...
Valet: That's not necessary, sir.
[walks away]
William Hundert: [narrating] As I've gotten older, I realize I'm certain of only two things. Days that begin with rowing on a lake are better than days that do not. Second, a man's character is his fate. And as a student of history, I find this hard to refute. For most of us our stories can be written long before we die. There are exceptions among the great men of history, ...

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Connections

References Breathless (1960)

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Soundtracks

Funk 49
Written by Jim Fox, Joe Walsh, and Dale Peters
Performed by James Gang
Courtesy of MCA Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Captivating and thought provoking

This film is about a history teacher engraving his wisdom and virtues in his students' hearts.

According to my vote history, I watched it in around April 2003 time, and I gave it a 6. I borrowed this DVD again a few days ago from the library, not remembering I have watched it. I thought it could not have been a good film if I could not remember watching it. It was so wrong! I really like the plot of this film. It is so touching and affecting. I felt so drawn to the characters of the film. Mr Hundert's dedication and enormous enthusiasm is infectiously touching. Even Mr Hundert has such high virtues, he still made a mistake. To think that Mr Hundert must have chided himself for 25 years about not letting Martin be in the competition is almost unbearable. This contrasts Sedgewick Bell, a non conformer. He breaks all the rules and never regrets it, maybe except at the end. The two characters create such an interesting parallel, and gives much room for thought. This film touched me a lot. It is captivating and thought provoking. It truly deserves more attention than it gets.