Dead Poets Society
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Imagine a preparatory school of the 1950s, bound by strict rules and its walls plastered with tradition and discipline. Welton Academy represents an institution that is integrated with the cold climate of New England and conditions its students for obedience rather than success. What young people learn here is to submit before questioning. This 1989 film by Peter Weir begins by dropping a spark into precisely this suffocating atmosphere. John Keating, the English teacher played by Robin Williams, enters the classroom with an energy unlike any other teacher. In opposition to textbooks, the order of rows, the obsession with grades, Keating tries to show students that poetry and literature are not just exam materials, but life itself. The call to "carpe diem"—"seize the day"—transcends being a slogan in his class and becomes a genuine way of being. The film masterfully captures the most vulnerable moments of youth. Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard and other young actors portray students who are trying to find their identity, trapped between family pressure and their Decrees with such realistic naturalness that the viewer feels like he is sitting in those rows. The "Association of Dead Poets", founded secretly, turns into a symbol of this quest; poems read around a fire in a dark cave actually ignite the fuse of freedom. The film's real strength lies in showing how a good teacher can touch people's lives. Keating doesn't just teach poetry; he teaches thinking, feeling, and being brave. But this courage also brings with it heavy costs. The system does not tolerate those who challenge it, and the film expertly maintains this tension until the final scene. Weir's directing uses the autumnal colors of New England almost like a character. The images create both a nostalgic and melancholy feeling. Robin Williams, on the other hand, delivers one of the most mature and balanced performances of his career; neither exaggerated nor timid, he stands exactly where he needs to be. Despite more than three decades having passed, this film continues to touch something within viewers of every generation. Because what they say never gets old for those who want to question, pursue their dreams, and be themselves in the crowd.
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Reviews
John Chard
July 08, 2019
9/10
Carpe Diem & The Punk Rock Movie. Dead Poets Society is directed by Peter Weir (Picnic At Hanging Rock/Gallipoli) and stars Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, Kurtwood Smith, Gale Hansen & Norman Lloyd. The script is written by Tom Schulman, based on his life at Montgomery Bell Academy, an all-boys preparatory school in Nashville, Tennessee. The film is set in 1959 at the fictional Welton Academy in Vermont (location shoot from St. Andrew's School in Middletown, Delaware). The ...
Wuchak
July 09, 2021
10/10
_**Seize the day; be Exceptional!**_ John Keating (Robin Williams), a new teacher at a stuffy prep school in 1959, inspires his students to capitalize on their natural talents and develop a passion for life because they only have one shot and in 60 years or so they'll all be worm-food. Each boy starts to act on Keating's dynamic ideas with explosive consequences , both good and bad. Released in 1989 and directed by Peter Weir, "Dead Poets Society" is a coming-of-age drama that's one of the...
CinemaSerf
July 03, 2022
7/10
Robin Williams ("Keating") arrives at an all boys school where he is to teach them English. As you'd expect, they weren't particularly interested, but when he begins by telling them to rip up the poetry manual, and continues with an inspirational and vocational approach the pupils start to engage not only with him, but they set up the eponymous club which helps each of them to develop as a person. This is quite a task for the shy young "Todd" (easily the most effective performance of Ethan Hawke...
crazyrobinhood
September 30, 2024
1/10
The (very absurd) point of view of the rich people about freedom. The Movie is so pathetically formulaic that it makes you want to throw tomatoes at the screen. The Horatian ideal, of Stoic-Epicurean origin, of a life enjoyed in the good it gives us, even if it is little, is here often repeated, inaccurately, as an invitation to live joyfully. And it makes us laugh and reflect even more that it is observed from an "even higher" point of view than the already very high social class of th...
kevin2019
November 08, 2024
8/10
"Dead Poets Society" never endeavours to sweeten the bitter pill of disappointment or tragedy by playing to whatever cliched expectations you might have. Neil's father Mr. Perry isn't going to suddenly relent and admit what a stupid and selfish fool he has been and then decide to change his uncompromising viewpoint in relation to his son's disputed future. He actually becomes even more entrenched in his stubborn determination that his son will live his life the way he wants it lived. However, th...
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Frequently Asked Questions
Dead Poets Society was released in 1989.
Dead Poets Society has a runtime of 2 hr 9 min (129 minutes).
Dead Poets Society belongs to the following genres: Drama.
Dead Poets Society has a rating of 8.3/10 from 12,650 votes on TMDB.
In the United States, Dead Poets Society is available to watch on: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.