Rent Dead Poets Society (1989)

Beautiful Drama - Worth A Revisit - Dead Poets Society review by GI

A captivating and memorable drama. A fulfilling film that has Robin Williams giving one of his best performances. Set in 1959 in an American Preparatory School for Boys. Focused on tradition, discipline and conformity this is a school where wealthy Americans send their sons to prepare them for university and future careers often chosen for them by their parents obsessed with status. A group of senior boys return for their final year including Neil (Robert Sean Leonard) and shy Todd (Ethan Hawke). Neil walks in fear of his domineering father (Kurtwood Smith) who controls the activities his son participates in and stops anything of which he disapproves. They are therefore unprepared for their new English Literature teacher, Mr Keating (Williams), who has unconventional teaching methods and focuses on bringing out the passions and potential of the boys. Neil especially is motivated to pursue his love of acting against the wishes of his father. The boys begin to find a new zest and excitement in life and the future following Keating's encouragement to "Carpe Diem. Seize the day, Boys. Make your lives extraordinary" but tragedy will affect them all. A beautiful film, a coming of age story that utilises the wondrous colour palettes of the New England Autumn and Winter. It's a tale of love, ambition and joy and whilst there is sadness it's also an uplifting film. A must see.

Still inspiring after 30 years - Dead Poets Society review by Cliff

This film has lost none of its power since it was made nearly thirty years ago. It took me nearly a week to get over it, repeating "They're only actors" to myself, over and over. It poignantly demonstrates the tragic consequences when the unstoppable force of imagination and creativity meets the immovable object of the establishment. You watch this and you think of the four students shot and killed in a peaceful demonstration at Ohio University, you think of flowers placed in the guns of armed soldiers, you think of the hopes of so many young talented sons and daughters dashed on the rocks of indifference and militarism. This is beautifully and sensitively played out. What a great soul we have lost with Robin Williams.

Hasn't Aged Well - Dead Poets Society review by Dr Waerdnotte

Released in 1989 to critical acclaim, Robin Williams was judged to have finally moved from his hyperactive comedy persona, to a more nuanced actorly stage of his career. This may have been the case, and the film was sold on the central role Williams plays as the maverick school teacher who encourages the boys in his charge to seize the day and explore their individual ideas and talents. This is done through Keating (Williams's character) explaining the joys of poetry and the discovery by the boys of the "Dead Poets Society", a group originally an outlet for Keating when he was a pupil at the same school.

All well and good, except there is very little poetry, Keating shares a few poetry snippets that reflect some philosophical idea about "being yourself" and the Dead Poet meetings have more in common with a sneaky fag behind the bike shed.

The movie is also problematic in that (although not uncommon in the 80s) its a study of the mentality of a group of privileged white boys at the "best school in America". These days it is difficult to empathise with these characters, unless of course you are white, male and privileged, (maybe in the Trumpian world of MAGA?). The characters are also pretty one dimensional, including Williams, and although you may feel pity for the central character of Neil Perry, (his hateful father played by Kurtwood Smith is one of the better performances), the rest of the characters are pretty thinly developed. Ethan Hawkes' character spends the whole movie moping around just so he can stand on a desk at the end and proclaim his allegiance to Keating.

Overall, it's a watchable movie, but over-rated. A movie of its time and place. But the world has moved on leaving celebrations of past waspish ideals such as this firmly in the memories of those who believe things were better back then, when the world was run by White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant men with aspirations of power and success.