Dead Poets Society is a
1989-Events:* "Batman" is released on June 23, and went on to become the biggest blockbuster of the year; Grossing over $250 million at the box office.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...
film starring
Robin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian.Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
and directed by
Peter WeirPeter Lindsay Weir AM is an Australian film director. After playing a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema with his films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave and Gallipoli, Weir relocated to the US and directed a diverse group of American and international films -- many of...
. Set in 1959 at a conservative and
aristocraticThe aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in society, who traditionally have land, money, and power. They are often members of a hereditary nobility that derives its stature from a lineage traceable to the original inhabitants or rulers of a region...
boys
prep schoolA university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education. Some schools will also include a junior, or elementary, school...
, it tells the story of an English teacher who inspires his students to change their lives of conformity through his teaching of
poetryPoetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
and
literatureLiterature is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means "acquaintance with letters" , and therefore the academic study of literature is known as Letters...
. The movie is a modern interpretation of the
transcendentalist movementTranscendentalism was a group of new ideas in literature, religion, culture, and philosophy that emerged in New England in the early to middle 19th century...
.
The story is set in Welton Academy in
VermontThe State of Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state...
and was filmed at St. Andrew's School in
Middletown, DelawareMiddletown is a town in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 14,121.-Geography:Middletown is located at with an elevation of ....
. The script, written by
Tom SchulmanTom Schulman is an American screenwriter most famous for his screenplay Dead Poets Society which won the Best Screenplay Academy Award for 1989....
, was based on his life at
Montgomery Bell AcademyMontgomery Bell Academy is a preparatory day school for boys in grades 7 through 12 in Nashville, Tennessee....
, an all-boys preparatory school in
NashvilleNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state...
, Tennessee.
Plot
Seven boys, Neil Perry (
Robert Sean LeonardRobert Sean Leonard is an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. James Wilson on the TV series House and for his role as Neil Perry in the 1989 movie Dead Poets Society.-Life and career:...
), Todd Anderson (
Ethan HawkeEthan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and film director. He made his feature film debut in 1985, opposite River Phoenix in the movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
), Knox Overstreet (
Josh CharlesJoshua Aaron "Josh" Charles is an American stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Charles was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Allan Charles, an advertising executive, and Laura, a gossip columnist for the Baltimore Sun newspaper. Charles began his career performing stand-up comedy from the...
), Charlie Dalton (
Gale HansenGale Hansen is an American film and television actor best known for playing Charlie Dalton in Dead Poets Society.-Filmography:*Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction .... Security Guard...
), Richard Cameron (
Dylan KussmanDylan Kussman is an American film and television actor who played the part of Richard Cameron in the 1989 film Dead Poets Society....
), Steven Meeks (
Allelon RuggieroAllelon Ruggiero is an American film and television actor whose first role was playing the part of Steven Meeks in Peter Weir's 1989 film Dead Poets Society. He attended the Philadelphia High School For The Creative And Performing Arts....
) and Gerard Pitts (
James WaterstonJames Waterston is an American film and television actor whose first role was playing Gerard Pitts in the 1989 film Dead Poets Society....
) attend the prestigious Welton Academy
prep schoolA university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education. Some schools will also include a junior, or elementary, school...
, which is based on four principles:
TraditionThe word tradition comes from the Latin traditionem, acc. of traditio which means "handing over, passing on", and is used in a number of ways in the English language:...
,
HonourHonour or Honor , is the evaluation of a person's trustworthiness and social status based on that individual's espousals and actions. Honour is deemed exactly what determines a person's character: whether or not the person reflects honesty, respect, integrity, or fairness...
,
DisciplineIn its most general sense, discipline refers to systematic instruction given to a disciple. To discipline thus means to instruct a person to follow a particular code of conduct "order." Usually, the phrase 'to discipline' carries a negative connotation...
and
ExcellenceExcellence is the state or quality of excelling. Particularly in the field of business and organizations, excellence is considered to be an important value, and a goal to be pursued.Excellence is derived from the Latin word excellentia.* Greatness...
.
On the first day of class, the students are introduced to their overwhelming and extraordinary
curriculumIn formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
by sullen headmaster Gale Nolan (
Norman LloydNorman Lloyd is an American veteran actor, producer and director with a career in entertainment spanning more than seven decades. Lloyd has appeared in over sixty films and television shows. Lloyd is married and resides in Los Angeles....
). However, their new English teacher John Keating (
Robin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian.Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
) tells the students that they may call him "
O Captain! My Captain!"O Captain! My Captain!" is an extended metaphor poem written in 1865 by Walt Whitman, concerning the death of American president Abraham Lincoln.-Analysis:...
" (the title of a
Walt WhitmanWalter Whitman was an American poet, essayist, journalist, and humanist. He was a part of the transition between Transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
poem) if they feel daring. His first lesson is unorthodox by Welton standards, whistling the
1812 OvertureThe Year 1812, Festival overture in E flat major, Op. 49, popularly known as the 1812 Overture is a classical overture written by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1880. The piece was written to commemorate Russia's defense of Moscow against Napoleon's advancing Grande Armée at the...
and taking them out of the classroom to focus on the idea of
carpe diemCarpe diem is a phrase from a Latin poem by Horace . It is popularly translated as "seize the day". The general definition of carpe is "pick, pluck, pluck off, gather" as in plucking, although Horace uses the word in the sense of "enjoy, make use of."-Meaning of the phrase:In Horace, the phrase is...
(Latin for 'seize the day') by looking at the pictures of former Welton students in a trophy case. In a later class, Keating has Neil read the introduction to their poetry textbook, an academic essay entitled "Understanding Poetry" by the fictional Dr. J. Evans Pritchard, PhD., which describes how to place the quality of a poem on a scale, and rate it with a number. Keating finds the idea of such mathematical literary criticism ridiculous and instructs his pupils to rip the introductory essay out of their textbooks. After a brief reaction of disbelief, they do so gleefully as Keating congratulates them with the memorable line "Begone, J. Evans Pritchard, Ph.D!" He later has the students stand on his desk as a reminder to look at the world in a different way, just as Henry David Thoreau intended when he wrote, "The universe is wider than our views of it" (
WaldenWalden by Henry David Thoreau is an American classic. The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, and manual for self reliance....
).
From that point on, the boys set out on a journey of awakening, discovering that authority can and must always act as a guide, but the only place where one can find out one's true identity is within oneself. To that end, the boys secretly revive an old literary club of which Keating had been a member, called the Dead Poets Society. Todd experiences a particular transformation when, out of a severe episode of self-consciousness, he fails to complete a creative writing assignment and is subsequently taken through an exercise of uncharacteristic self-expression, realizing the creative potential he truly possesses. One of the boys, Charlie Dalton, takes his new personal freedom too far and publishes a profane and unauthorized article in the school flyer. In this article, Charlie states that he wants to have girls allowed at Welton. To the amusement of the other boys, he fakes a phone call from God saying that girls should be allowed at Welton. Dean Nolan paddles and interrogates Charlie about the others involved. Charlie says he acted alone.
Knox meets a beautiful young girl named Christine and falls in love with her, later using his poetry flair that he learned in Keating's great English class to woo her. He presents one of these poems in class as his poetry assignment, and although he is somehwat embarrassed, he is applauded by Keating for writing such a courageous and heartfelt poem on love. Knox later travels off Welton grounds to Christine's public school and upon finding her, he recites his poem to her.
Neil, without his father's permission, tries out for a local production of
ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's
A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare. It was suggested by "The Knight's Tale" from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales and written around 1594 to 1596...
. He desperately wants to be an actor, but knows his extremely strict father (
Kurtwood SmithKurtwood Larson Smith is an American television and film actor. He is best known for playing stern parental characters , and for his appearances in the genre of science fiction...
) will disapprove. One day when Neil walks into his dorm room, he finds his father waiting for him. He orders Neil to withdraw from the play, but Neil goes against his wishes and delivers a sterling performance as Puck.
Infuriated by this affront to his
authorityIn government, authority is often used interchangeably with the term "power". However, their meanings differ: while "power" is defined as "the ability to influence somebody to do something that he could not have done", "authority" refers to a claim of legitimacy, the justification and right to...
, Neil's father plans to pull him out of Welton and to enroll him in Braden Military School to prepare him for
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and currently comprises ten separate academic units...
and a career in medicine. Unable to cope with the future that awaited him and equally unable to make his father understand his emotions, Neil commits
suicideSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
with his father's
revolverA revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. As the user cocks the hammer, the cylinder revolves to align the next chamber and round with the hammer and barrel, which gives this type of firearm its name...
.
At the request of Neil's parents, Nolan launches an investigation into the tragedy. Richard is solicited for information and is brought to a meeting with the school governors and board of regents. Under vigorous questioning from Charlie, Richard admits that he not only squealed on them but has also turned Keating into the scapegoat. Charlie viciously attacks Richard, but Richard urges them to let Keating take the fall rather than risk ruining their lives.
Neil's father takes no responsibility for his son's death and instead holds Keating responsible. Todd is called to Nolan's office, where his parents are waiting. Todd is forced to admit being a member of the Dead Poets Society. He is also forced to sign a written confession casting blame on Keating for abusing his authority as a teacher, inciting the boys to restart the Dead Poets Society (even though they restarted it themselves) and--most seriously--encouraging Neil to flout his father's authority. It is implied that Knox, Richard, Steven and Gerard were also pressured into signing the confession. Keating is fired.
In the film's dramatic conclusion, the boys return to English class following Keating's dismissal. The class is now being temporarily taught by Nolan, who has the boys read from the very Pritchard essay they had ripped out at the start of the semester. As the lesson drones on, Keating enters the room to retrieve a few belongings. On his way out, Todd apologizes to Keating for having signed the confession, citing the pressure exerted by the Academy and his parents. Keating acknowledges this. Nolan sternly orders Todd to be quiet and demands that Keating leave at once. As he exits the door, Keating is startled to hear "O Captain! My Captain!" being called out by Todd, who has stood on his desk as Keating made him to do earlier, demonstrating the new perspective Keating has taught him. Enraged, Nolan warns Todd to sit down immediately or face expulsion, only to be defied. Then, one after another, the members of the Dead Poets Society (excepting Cameron, conspicuously) climb onto their desks and look at Mr. Keating proudly.
Sources and inspirations
The inspiration for Robin Williams' character is
University of ConnecticutThe University of Connecticut is the State of Connecticut's land-grant university. It was founded in 1881 and serves more than 28,000 students on its six campuses, including nearly 8,000 graduate students in multiple programs....
English professor
Samuel F. Pickering Jr.Samuel F. Pickering is a professor of English at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. His unconventional teaching style was one of the inspirations for the character of Mr. Keating, played by Robin Williams in the film Dead Poets Society...
, a former teacher of author Thomas Schulman at
Montgomery Bell AcademyMontgomery Bell Academy is a preparatory day school for boys in grades 7 through 12 in Nashville, Tennessee....
in Nashville, TN. Williams, however, partly based his portrayal of the character on the late John C. Campbell (d. 2007), Williams' history teacher at
Detroit Country Day SchoolDetroit Country Day School is a private, secular school located in four campuses in Oakland County, Michigan, north of Detroit. The administrative offices, facility services, safety and security services, and the upper school are located in a campus in Beverly Hills...
. On the first day of class it was customary for Campbell to dump the AP American History textbook in the trash and to commence lecturing
ex temporeEx tempore has two meanings:-Performance:"Extempore" or "ex tempore" refers to a stage or theater performance that is carried out without preparation or forethought. Most often the term is used in the context of speech, singing and stage acting...
.
The introductory essay that Keating has his students read from their poetry textbook near the beginning of the movie is similar in some respects to chapter 15 of
Laurence PerrineLaurence Perrine was a best-selling author and college professor. Perrine was on the faculty of Southern Methodist University for many years. His major works include the textbooks Sound and Sense and Story and Structure, on the appreciation of poetry and fiction. Perrine was also the author of...
's (1915-1995)
Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry, which is still occasionally used by AP
EnglishEnglish literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; Joseph Conrad was born in Poland, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, V.S....
classes in the United States.
Charlie Dalton writes his poem on the image of a centerfold; she is
Elaine ReynoldsElaine Reynolds is an American model. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its October 1959 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Frank Eck....
, Miss October 1959 in
Playboy magazine. In another reunion, the centerfold for Miss March 1959
Audrey DastonAudrey Daston is an American model. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for the March 1959 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Lawrence Schiller....
is seen briefly.
In one scene, a bagpipe player stands on the docks in the middle of the night. The song played is "
The Fields of Athenry"The Fields of Athenry" is an Irish folk ballad set during the Great Irish Famine about a fictional man named Michael from near Athenry in County Galway who has been sentenced to transportation to Botany Bay, Australia, for stealing food for his starving family...
", an Irish ballad that tells the story of a man who stood up against 'the famine' and 'the crown' was arrested for it and dispatched to
Botany BayBotany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
. This echoes the boys' actions: they stood up against the school and were punished, even though they did it for the right reasons. The song was composed in the 1970s.
The uniform of the fictional Welton Academy shares characteristics with that of director Weir's real high school,
The Scots CollegeFor other schools with a similar name see Scots College.The Scots College is an independent Presbyterian day and boarding school for boys, located in Bellevue Hill, an eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
, including the use of the Lion Rampant on blazer breast pocket. The major difference is that Welton's uses red and blue, while Scots' uses a gold and blue color system.
The actual quotation from
Henry David ThoreauHenry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, philosopher, and leading transcendentalist...
read at the beginning of each meeting is:
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived … I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms..." (61) (
WaldenWalden by Henry David Thoreau is an American classic. The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, and manual for self reliance....
, 1854).
Neil Perry recites the words of Puck's soliloquy at the end of
A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare. It was suggested by "The Knight's Tale" from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales and written around 1594 to 1596...
.
Casting
Bill MurrayWilliam James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live, and went on to star in films including Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, Lost in Translation and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.-Early years:Murray, the fifth...
and
Dustin HoffmanDustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor who has had an active career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He first drew critical praise for the 1966 Off-Broadway play Eh? for which he won a Theatre World Award and a Drama Desk Award. This was soon followed by his breakout movie role as Ben...
were considered for the role of John Keating. When Jeff Kanew was planned to direct the film, it was rumored that
Liam NeesonWilliam John "Liam" Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor, who has been a U.S. citizen since 2009. He is well known for his roles as Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Alfred Kinsey in Kinsey and Aslan in The...
had apparently landed the lead role, but
Robin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian.Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
was given the part when
Peter WeirPeter Lindsay Weir AM is an Australian film director. After playing a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema with his films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave and Gallipoli, Weir relocated to the US and directed a diverse group of American and international films -- many of...
came on board to direct. Dustin Hoffman later praised Williams's audition, claiming that Williams did a better job than he could have done.
Robin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian.Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
stated during filming that he was really drawn to the character John Keating because Keating was the kind of teacher he wished that he had had in school.
Filming
Director Peter Weir chose to shoot the film in chronological order to better capture the development of the relationship between the boys, and their growing respect for Mr. Keating. Set in rural, autumnal
VermontThe State of Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state...
, the location chosen for the film was St. Andrew's School (Delaware) a small liberal arts boarding school in Middletown, Delaware (mainly for the school scenes), which served as a similar location to
VermontThe State of Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state...
. There is actually no cave in the woods surrounding St. Andrews. Other locations in Delaware were used for the theatre scenes, the scenes at Neil's home, and the exterior shots for the cave scenes (society meetings). These locations include, Gunning Bedford Jr. Middle School in Delaware City,
Everett Theatre in
Middletown-Places:United States*Middletown, California, a census-designated place in Lake County*Middletown, El Dorado County, California, former town*Middletown, San Diego, California, neighborhood*Middletown, Connecticut*Middletown, Delaware*Middletown, Illinois...
, and
New Castle, DelawareNew Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River, at the head of Delaware Bay. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...
.
Filming was considered in Rome,
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state in the United States. One of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, it had been the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established, in 1733. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January...
's
Berry CollegeBerry College is an American accredited, private, Christian-affiliated four-year liberal arts college located in Rome, Georgia. It was founded in 1902 by Martha Berry.-Location:Berry College is located next to Rome on U.S...
. However, it would have been too expensive to create fake snow on the campus grounds, so the project was moved to Delaware.
The extreme closeups seen in this movie became a successful signature for
Peter WeirPeter Lindsay Weir AM is an Australian film director. After playing a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema with his films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave and Gallipoli, Weir relocated to the US and directed a diverse group of American and international films -- many of...
.
Filming of the movie took place between November 14, 1988 and January 15, 1989.
Director
Peter WeirPeter Lindsay Weir AM is an Australian film director. After playing a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema with his films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave and Gallipoli, Weir relocated to the US and directed a diverse group of American and international films -- many of...
encouraged the young actors in the film to improvise in some scenes, and he would sometimes deliberately let them finish a scene and then not yell "cut," just to see what they would do.
Peter Weir attended The Scots College, a private boys school in Sydney. The uniforms, discipline and overall feel of the school translated into many of the film's scenes. In 1994, a stage production of the film, the first in the world authorized by Touchstone Pictures, was put on by the school. Peter Weir attended the opening night and spoke about the making of the film.
Reception
Dead Poets Society was generally well received. Critics generally praised the uplifting and moving message of the story, the depth of many of the characters, and Williams' performance. It has become a cult movie, and often used by teachers to inspire the work of their students and even themselves. Critic
Gene ShalitGene Shalit has been the film and book critic on NBC's The Today Show since January 15, 1973. He is known for his frequent use of puns, his oversized handlebar moustache, and for wearing colorful bowties. He is known to have had a rocky relationship with former Today Show co-host Bryant Gumbel...
of The Today Show stated that it was "One of the most magnificent motion pictures I've seen." Other critics see it as a movie of two halves, the first being the more worthy.
Awards and nominations
Dead Poets Society won the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay (Tom Schulman), and was then the base of the book,"Dead Poets Society". Peter Weir received a nomination for
Best DirectorBest Director may refer to:* Academy Award for Best Director, the Oscar* Golden Globe Award for Best Director* Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series* Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series...
and the film itself was nominated for Best Picture of 1989.
Robin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian.Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
received his second Best Actor nomination and it has since been widely recognized as one of the actor/comedian's best roles. It also won the
BAFTA Award for Best FilmThis page lists the Milo and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language and Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for each year, in addition to the retired earlier versions of those awards...
(the first
Touchstone PicturesTouchstone Pictures, established in 1984, is one of several alternate film labels of The Walt Disney Company. Its releases typically feature more mature themes than those that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner....
release to receive a best picture nomination).
The movie's line "Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary." was voted as the #95 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100). Also, the film was voted one of the 100 Most Inspiring Films of All Time by the American Film Institute.
This movie ranks number 20 on
Entertainment WeeklysEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books and popular culture. Unlike celebrity-focused publications US Weekly, People, and In Touch Weekly, EWs primary concentration is on entertainment...
list of the
50 Best High School Movies.
- Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is...
(USA)
Won: Best Screenplay – Original (Tom Schulman)
- Nominated: Best Actor – Leading Role (Robin Williams)
- Nominated: Best Director (Peter Weir)
- Nominated: Best Picture
- BAFTA Awards (UK)
Won: Best Film
- Won: Best Original Score (Maurice Jarre)
- Nominated: Best Actor – Leading Role (Robin Williams)
- Nominated: Best Director (Peter Weir)
- Nominated: Best Editing (William M. Anderson)
- Nominated: Best Screenplay – Original (Tom Schulman)
- César Awards (France)
Won: Best Foreign Film
- David di Donatello Awards (Italy)
Won: Best Foreign Film
- Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is the labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
(USA)
- Nominated: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Peter Weir)
- Golden Globe Awards (USA)
- Nominated: Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (Robin Williams)
- Nominated: Best Director (Peter Weir)
- Nominated: Best Film – Drama
- Nominated: Best Screenplay (Tom Schulman)
- Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers around New York City....
(USA)
- Nominated: Best Screenplay – Original (Tom Schulman)
Soundtrack
- Carpe Diem
- Neil
- To the Cave
- Keating's Triumph
Tracks composed by
Maurice JarreMaurice Jarre was a French composer and conductor. Although he composed several concert works, he is best known for his film scores for motion pictures, particularly those directed by David Lean: Lawrence of Arabia , Doctor Zhivago , and A Passage to India . All three of these scores won Academy...
.
External links