A teacher at a New England prep school uses unconventional methods to instill spirit into the lives of his... (Learn more)
Starring: Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke (View All)
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Starring: Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke
Robin Williams toned down his usually manic comic approach in this successful period drama. In 1959, the Welton Academy is a staid but well-respected prep school where education is a pragmatic and rather dull affair. Several of the students, however, have their thoughts on the learning process (and life itself) changed when a new teacher comes to the school. John Keating (Williams) is an unconventional educator who tears chapters of his textbooks and asks his students to stand on their desks to see the world from a new angle. Keating introduces his students to poetry, and his free-thinking attitude and the liberating philosophies of the authors he introduces to his class have a profound effect on his students, especially Todd (Ethan Hawke), who would like to be a writer; Neil ( Robert Sean Leonard), who dreams of being an actor, despite the objections of his father; Knox (Josh Charles), a hopeless romantic; Steven (Allelon Ruggiero), an intellectual who learns to use his heart as well as his head; Charlie (Gale Hansen), who begins to lose his blasé attitude; unconventional Gerard (James Waterston); and practical Richard (Dylan Kussman). Keating urges his students to seize the day and live their lives boldly; but when this philosophy leads to an unexpected tragedy, headmaster Mr. Nolan (Norman Lloyd) fires Keating, and his students leap to his defense. Dead Poets Society was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Williams; it won one, for Tom Schulman's original screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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US Release Date
6/2/89
MPAA Rating
Rated PG
Running Time
128 mins.
Locations
- New Castle, Delaware, USA
- St. Andrew's School, Middletown, Delaware, USA
Language
- English
Box Office Total
$94,544,861
Awards
- Winner of the Best Original Film Score award at the 1989 British Academy of Film and Television Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or award at the 1989 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Director award at the 1989 Directors Guild of America [Festival/A Awards.
- Winner of the Best Foreign Film award at the 1990 French Academy of Cinema [Festival/Awa Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Picture award at the 1989 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Picture award at the 1989 National Board of Review [Festival/Awa Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Screenplay award at the 1989 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Director award at the 1989 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Winner of the Best Picture award at the 1989 British Academy of Film and Television Awards.
- Winner of the Best Original Screenplay award at the 1989 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Picture - Drama award at the 1989 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Actor award at the 1989 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Director award at the 1989 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
Distributor
- Buena Vista
- Buena Vista Worldwide Home Entertainment
- Walt Disney Studios Distribution
