The bet that a movie about poetry would garner $95 million at the box office in modern America is the kind of bet that would have had Jimmy the Greek chomping on his cigar. But with Best Actor nominee Robin Williams heading up the credits, this compelling drama not only punched more tickets than a train conductor, it also wound up in the running for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Williams is characteristically charismatic as the repressive Welton Academy, an all-boys prep school, with a heretofore unheard of maxim: carpe diem, seize the day. Slowly but surely his bewildered students begin to emerge from their conformist shells, and a handful of boys reopen Keating's old club: The Dead Poets Society. Stealing out of the dorm under cover of night, the members rendezvous in a cave, where they read Whitman, Keats, and a few of their own maiden efforts. Director Peter Weir (Witness) is no stranger to working the audience, and Dead Poets Society is an extremely entertaining, albeit in its second half shamefully manipulative, movie. In the final analysis, the pluses outweigh the minuses, particularly in that poetry--not a readily filmable subject--is shown in a beautiful light. Recommended. (R. Pitman) [DVD Review--Jan. 24, 2006--Touchstone, 129 min., PG, $19.99--Making its second appearance on DVD, 1989's Dead Poets Society (Special Edition) sports a solid transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. DVD extras include an audio commentary (by director Peter Weir, cinematographer John Seale, and writer Tom Schulman), the 27-minute retrospective featurette 'A Look Back,' a 15-minute 'Cinematography Master Class' featurette, the 11-minute 'Master of Sound: Alan Splet,' deleted scenes (5 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a fine film.] [Blu-ray Review—Jan. 31, 2012—Buena Vista, 129 min., PG, $19.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1989's Dead Poets Society features a good transfer and DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras are identical to the DVD release, including an audio commentary by director Peter Weir, cinematographer John Seale, and writer Tom Schulman, the retrospective featurette 'A Look Back' (27 min.), a 'Cinematography Master Class' lighting workshop (15 min.), a 'Master of Sound: Alan Splet' tribute to the supervising sound editor featuring interviews with Weir and filmmaker David Lynch (11 min.), raw takes (8 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: one of Williams's best dramatic films makes a fine debut on Blu-ray.]
This titled is included in our list of inspiring movies for teachers.