"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute, we read and write poetry because we are members of the human race and the human race is filled with passion. Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life, but poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for."... My favorite quote of Mr. Keating.
yet what happened to Robin, death by self strangulation, really shows what life is like. Pointless and brutal. Anything we do in our lives is forgotten and means nothing, we won't even be remembered. Yet everyone runs around like busy bees trying to pretend like anything they do matters. It doesn't. It will all be forgotten
@@JohnSmith-wl8ts Just because something isn't remembered doesn't mean it doesn't matter. Simple acts of kindness can have a snowball effect in the future and lead to other acts of kindness, even if no one knows who started the ball rolling.
@@ninjabluefyre3815 do you remember big celebrity's from 100 years ago?, what do you think of Michael Rennie he was in 50 movies and tv shows. If I asked a person on the street if they remember him, what do you think their answer would be
When Robin Williams died..the news anchor(woman) of the main German news (Caren Miosga) was pretty sad ....then on air she got onto her table and said "Oh Captain! My Captain"...I´ll never forget that
Ethan Hawke did an interview not too terribly long ago and he talked about this movie. He said Robin was always on and spent his time trying to make everyone laugh. But Ethan refused to laugh. He wanted to prove to everyone he could be a real serious actor and didn’t want to be seen screwing around. After the film came out he received a phone call. It was Robin’s agent and he said he was calling because Robin had told him the kid was going to be something special and he signed Hawke as a client.
An important scene, that I think get overlooked too often, is at the end when Mr. Keating is packing his things, he looks outside and sees the Latin teacher outside with his students teaching his students. So it's not only some the students that Mr Keating changed, he changed some of the staff as well.
Proud to say I was fired by a school like this. I taught off the syllabus and encouraged them to disagree with me. The students made a petition to keep me. It's framed and means more to me than my degree. Now, as a therapist, it's both inspiring and heartbreaking to see how many of the students I see are living in fear of their parents' expectations yet still trying to be true to themselves. A parents' role is to set you on your way, to empower you to grow beyond them.
Sad reality is, that the school system was less create to educate the "plebs" but to indoctrinate it. That's where a majority of its problems come from.
I love George's comments about Neil’s dad. He's the first reactor I've ever seen that puts his reactions in the appropriate historical context. The dad's reaction makes perfect sense given the time in which he was born and raised. He’s almost certainly a WW2 veteran, and is old enough that he likely came of age during a time of extreme impoverishment-the Great Depression. He probably literally does think that his son being a doctor will keep him alive-he’ll always have work if another depression hits, and he’ll be out of the immediate line of fire if another war hits. He loves his son, it’s clear from his reaction to Neil’s death, but his idea of safety and protection has been altered by his experiences. He discounts what his son says not because he doesn’t care, but because of his greater awareness of life’s miseries. Teenagers and young adults often interpret events only through their own context. They assume that the pressures they were raised with are universal, but a lot can change in a generation. The tragedy of Neil’s suicide isn’t just that a promising kid died-it’s that it happened despite his father’s best efforts to protect him. The dad's incapable of seeing his own role in the matter, but the older I get the more I ache for both of them instead of just Neil.
I've always wondered about the small detail where Neil's dad positions his slippers so precisely as he gets into bed. Was that from Weir, Kurtwood Smith, or the screenwriter? It's such as amazingly subtle way to convey the depths of his rigidity.
On the bonus for the DVD the actor who played the dad said he tried not to play him as a villain, but as a father who genuinely loved his son and wanted the best for him. He also said that when the movie came out he went to see it with a friend’s family. The friend’s relationship with his son was like the one that Neil had with his dad. By the end of the movie the friend was sobbing. It changed his approach to his son and their relationship got much better. What an honor for an actor to see his work have such a positive impact on someone, especially a friend.
I also loved George being able to appreciate a very unsympathetic character's POV. However...my grandpa was a WW2 vet who loved performing in community playhouse performances. (He also became close friends with a Japanese coworker). So yeah, the dad here was undeniably shaped by his life experiences, but he was still a jerk!
Apart from the obvious parts of this film that are supposed to move us -- and do -- this is the aspect I always think about. And it is something of a failure of Mr. Keating's approach. He never really seems to engage with social and economic class as an aspect of his students' lives. Some of them are very privileged and cushioned by that. For them it's relatively easy to rebel a bit because their future is secure, barring serious accidents or felonies. But some of the kids, maybe a lot, are from less privileged backgrounds -- that is, people who have just recently started gaining some privilege, otherwise they wouldn't be at this fancy school. It would probably be too much for a movie like this, but it would be interesting to see a version of Mr. Keating where he engaged his students in talk about how to successfully incorporate his pretty specific brand of Romanticism into what will probably be their pretty specific kind of privileged, professional lives.
Peter Weir (the director) is an under-appreciated Master. The Truman Show, Master & Commander, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Witness, Year of Living Dangerously... all A+
Don't forget Harrison Ford's best performance "Witness"(1985) A++. Peter Weir changed the careers of Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Robin Williams, Jim Carry.
Came here to say this. The man crafted some truly beautiful films. I really hope George and Simone react to "Witness" and "Gallipoli" some time (soon).
Many moons ago when I was in 7th grade, my English teacher noticed that I already had an above-average grasp of grammar and spelling which was what was on the syllabus for the class. She also noticed that I loved reading and had a gift for creative writing. She petitioned the powers that were to allow her to replace the grammar and spelling material for me and replace it with literature and writing. They said no because it wasn't fair to the other kids. By mid-term, the entire school was required to take general education tests, which came back with percentages for each student about the material. In reading and comprehension, my score was so high that the line that marked the height of the percentage results literally ran off the page. She tried once again to get the powers that were to consent to her making a different syllabus for me, using my test scores to show her reasoning. They still said no. Then, that courageous, amazing teacher took me aside and said if I wanted to, she would give me the vocabulary and spelling words list on Mondays just like the other students, and on Fridays, I would show up and take the vocabulary and spelling tests just like the other students. However, from Tuesday to Thursday, I would go next door to an empty classroom and do work out of a high school literature book that she gave me. I was also to write whatever I liked, short stories, poetry, non-fiction, whatever and give it to her on Fridays as well, which she would take home and grade and write tips on the paper to give back to me on Mondays. I knew, even then, that she was taking a HUGE risk by doing this. Even as a 12-year-old, I understood that she was a special and exceptional teacher and that I was very lucky to have her. The second half of my seventh-grade year I received the first inklings of what I was meant to do in this world. She was a young teacher, so it is possible she is still around, and I wish I could find a way to tell her just what an impact she had on me. I now hold a Master's degree in creative writing and am a published poet and short-story writer. I've also had the good fortune to be able to work as an assistant teacher as well, where I tried to give back what she gave me. I never had to battle the powers that be like she did, but her legacy carried down in everything I was able to teach over the years. Teachers like this are rare, but they do exist, and it is always my hope that they are given the space to have such a powerful influence on other children, the way that mine did for me.
It's incredibly sad that teachers like that are the exception... The entire system should _support_ children as much as they need. Sadly, for far too many, it does the exact opposite - "gifted" children have to go at the pace of everyone else, which means boredom and no or very little challenge, which means they don't learn to learn, which results in a _steep_ drop-off in performance at some point (usually early teens) where they turn from top students to below average ones... So much wasted potential, so many crushed "souls", just because of a terrible system... 😭
Must say I like "Kingdom of Heavens" quote more. "What kind of a man is a man who does not try to make the world a better place." Because that indeed encourages you to be a good person and think about more than just yourself. That verse part can in the end stand for everything, especially going for glory, so that your verse is actually not just lost (like most, how many dead are actually remembered for long? And how many for good reasons and not for the bad things they had done?) I get how it is meant and it's fine, simply like that other quote more.
My high school English teacher (I had him several times) was the only teacher that ever encouraged us to be daring. If you had an insane idea for an assignment, he would DEMAND you flesh it out. He would also jump up on the desks and jump from desk to desk as he asked us questions. Really kept everyone engaged. EVERYONE wanted to have him for English. Among many other things he influenced for me, he made me look past the antiquated language of Shakespeare and Marlowe and appreciate the beauty of the stories and the prose. I'm 54 now and it's fair to say no other person has ever influenced my love of literature more than he, and I'm sure no-one else ever will. He provided much of the joy of my high school experience.
I had a similar English teacher. One time I included some “expletives” in my writing and how did he react? He said I used them properly. Not for shock but that they were used for emphasis.
In high school, my favorite teacher taught history. In my senior year, he taught a History of Russia class at 7:00am. Just ten students and the teacher, bullshitting about communism, the weirdness of the tsars, and WWII. He let us keep the textbooks, since it was last year of the class. I still have it. It was as close to this movie as I ever got.
When he talked about Russia how did you talk about communism? Or was that seperate? You do get that Russia never even reached socialism, just some socialistic elements in health care, education and alike, even less communism. As Lenin himself had stated, the Soviet Union was able to reach state capitalism - what was seen as an acceptable step toward socialism, but this step could never be taken by the fact alone, that Russia was constantly and with genocidal brutallity attacked from the west - and that not just by germany, it was attacked from the very first year of its birth - up to today, because it got by far the most resoruces on this planet and our 'free west' can't stop trying to rob those.
Years later, Kurtwood Smith who played the repressive father recalled that he went to a viewing with a good friend of his who by chance had a relationship with his own son exactly like he portrayed in Dead Poeta, he loved his son but showed it in a controlling fearful way. The lights went down, the movie played and when they went back up his male friend was sobbing, he'd recognised his own relationship with his son in it. Kurtwood Smith said from that moment on he changed his relationship with his son and thats why I act, because it can and does change peoples lives.
My mother was an English teacher, and one time a student of hers was watching this movie with his mother. After the movie, the mother said something like "Wouldn't it be amazing to have a teacher like that?" and the student said he DID have a teacher like that and said it was my mother. My mother considered that to be the greatest honor she ever received in her teaching career.
I'm a combat veteran who is struggling to find purpose in regular life. I feel that life has no value. Both the "gather ye rosebuds" scene and the "you may contribute a verse" scene are very helpful to me. So are "get busy living or get busy dying" from Shawshank and "all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us" from LOTR. Regardless of whether or not life has purpose, we are only here for a short time and what we choose to do with that time is what gives it value. Life is too short to waste having an existential crisis. Be depressed about the fragility of life later, when you're dead. For now, while you're alive, make every moment meaningful. Live deliberately, so that when you die, you will not discover that you have not lived.
There were two teachers who really made a difference for me. The first noticed that behind the annoying, hyper, socially maladjusted 10yo was a curious mind, a child yearning for encouragement and to be more than an annoyance to somebody. If it wasn't for her, I don't think I would have had the courage to pursue academic interests. The other teacher taught classes in literature, ethics, and history. He was really formative during my last 4 years at school before going to university. The discussions we had in his classes were a wonderful way to discover the subjects and topics... and his influence contributed a lot to my decision to study (and graduate in) philosophy. I am so very grateful for these two people. And this movie is a beautiful reminder of what teachers like these can be for others.
A clever bit of symbolism at the beginning of the film (where the students are walking in with the school flags), if you rewatch the scene, you'll notice how TRADITION was the first flag displayed by the boarding school (@1:57) and EXCELLENCE (being the "best you" you could be) was dead last @2:10. Illustrates the school's priorities. Great symbolism, subtext, direction and script!
I spent about half of your reaction wiping my eyes. This movie came out during my third year of high school, it meant a great deal to me (and still does). Very pleased that you both enjoyed it so much.
@@jmutube61191 I support the channel on Patreon, so I get to watch and comment about a week early. The reaction videos are "unlisted" at first, so they're viewable to people who get the direct link.
I understand Neil COMPLETELY, when I was 15 i tried to take my own life and failed, I had an essay in class the next period and I wrote about it. My parents were called to the school and they get angry and shouted at me because in that essay I scored a failure. That day I learned I wasn't safe.
Robin Williams was the type of person that if he was still around, if he saw this video, saw how you personally felt about him and how he impacted your life, he would probably go completely out of his way to go and see you in person himself. I miss him so much. Also, this film should be shown in EVERY CLASSROOM ACROSS THIS NATION.
He never realized how much the world truly LOVED him and needed him. I was a fan from day one when I saw him on Happy Days. Saw all of his movies opening day.
@@jablanbukvovski The stealing jokes thing is a half-truth. Robin himself explained that when improvising he would accidentally repeat jokes he'd heard at other shows. It wasn't an intentional or deliberate thing. He eventually even stopped going to see other comics to avoid the problem.
I went to a Catholic, all boys school like this - but not a boarding school - in the late 80s. The faculty was completely the opposite of what was portrayed in the film: the vast majority of my teachers demanded that we think outside the box. It was really some place special. I'm still connected to many of those teachers, as well as many of my classmates, via Facebook. I've been extremely fortunate for that experience.
“The Fisher King” was also pretty intense at times. It and “Dead Poets Society” are my favorite Robin Williams movies, although “Good Will Hunting” was also great.
This fim actually inspired me to be a teacher. The bit that did it for me was Keating standing on the table and saying 'I do this to remind myself to always look at things a different way.'
This came out between my junior and senior years of high school, and my entire AP English class as seniors took the name Dead Poets Society and used it in our activities area in the yearbook that year. It had a really big impact on me, and is still my favorite Robin Williams film (and I love most of his films). George, your thought about all the students becoming like Keating is pretty cool. In fact, I had a hope for a long time that someone would take the character of Todd Anderson, and continue his story...either in a film set ten or so years after DPS with Ethan Hawke playing the role, or a TV series. Anyway... - Won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, and was the second Best Actor nomination for Robin Williams. - Simone, you're right, Josh Charles (Knox Overstreet) was on the Good Wife. He was also in Aaron Sorkin's first TV series Sports Night. Recently, he reunited with Ethan Hawke for the video for Taylor Swift & Post Malone song "Fortnite" (they play scientists in a brief cameo). Ethan approached Josh after Ethan's daughter Maya Hawke (a friend of Taylor's) approached Ethan on Taylor's behalf. Since the song is from Taylor's recent album, The Tortured Poet's Department (the title inspired by Dead Poets Society), it makes sense. - I thought that Robert Sean Leonard (Neil Perry) would have been recognized since he was on the series House. Shortly after this film, Robert was offered the role of Claudio in Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, which also co-starred Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Michael Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Imelda Staunton, and Kate Beckinsale in her film debut as Hero, Claudio's love interest. If you guys ever start doing Shakespeare movies, this should be one of the first, it is superb! - During the filming, Ethan Hawke, who had no representation when cast, considered himself a very serious actor, and in his later years called himself pretentious about it. However, on set, being very serious, he really tried to not let Robin Williams get under his skin and make him laugh. He was adamant about not breaking character. This caused Williams to focus intensely on Hawke during filming, doing whatever he could to get a laugh. After the film wrapped, Hawke got a call from an agent. Specifically, Robin Williams's agent, and the agent was coaxed by Williams to take on Hawke as his client because Williams felt that Hawke had a bright future as an actor. So, Hawke got his breakout role and an agent that I think is still representing him today. - Pitts, the first student Keating calls on is James Waterston, son of Sam Waterston (Law & Order, Grace and Frankie), and half-brother to Katherine Waterston (Tina Goldstein in the Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them spin-off films set in the Harry Potter universe). - Mr. Nolan, the headmaster was played by Norman Lloyd, who is a bit of a legend, having acted in every media since he started in 1923. Stage, screen, radio, and television.He was a member of the Mercury Theater under Orson Welles, and appeared in films for directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, and Martin Scorsese. He retired in 2015, and lived to age 106, passing in 2021.
I especially like that in the end, not every student stood on his desk for Mr. Keating, and that one of the ones who did was the extra nerdy kid with the perpetually runny nose.
This is the first time I've seen George cry... I mean poke himself in the eye 😛 I'm also trying to imagine Simone as gangster in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Also ironic and sad that Robin Williams met the same fate and his parents weren't even to blame for it.
LOVE this movie. Typing through tears. I always saw his acting as a metaphor for being gay, or whatever would cause him to be rejected by his family. Acting itself was an act of rebellion that was unimaginable for his family. I was out of it incredibly heartbreaking
I saw a movie theater marquee that was advertising this movie and The Karate Kid. The theater was showing the Karate Kid and then The Dead Poets Society later on that night. Whoever did the marquee had a bit of a sense of humor. They showed the time for the Karate Kid and then the Dead Poets Society, but they didn't have enough of the correct letter to spell it all out. It read: 7 Karate Kids with 900 Dead Poets So much senseless killing. 😒
Another great movie featuring a soft spoken Robin Williams is “Awakenings”. He plays an anxious psychiatrist who makes a nearly miraculous breakthrough with patients that had been left as supposedly untreatable. The movie also features Robert De Niro as one of the patients and both he and Robin give fantastic performances. I would LOVE to see you guys react to it.
Awakenings is a fantastic movie based on the true story of Dr. Oliver Sacks. Dr. Sacks was present during a lot of the filming and had nothing but deep praise for Robin Williams and Robert de Niro. ==> "One of the most amazing experiences of my life was working with Robin Williams, watching him become me, in the filming of my book 'Awakenings.'”
Ethan Hawke was annoyed by Robin Williams comedic antics on set because he wanted to be a serious and professional actor. After the film was released he got a call from Robin’s talent agent. The agent said he was urged by Robin to sign him. Ethan has stated he owes his career to Robin. ❤
This movie was the movie that made people realize that Robin Williams could actually be a serious actor. People were stunned by his performance here. Also, Simone nailed it when she said "A bit of both"
i watched this movie in my grade 9 English class. when the bell rang everyone seemed to get up nonchalantly and leave, meanwhile I was sitting at my desk straight up WEEPING. this movie changed my life.
I guess it's because he presents it as a believable lie by saying his father got really angry but is allowing him to stay in the play (which was a one night event). It's also important that Keating doesn't doubt Neil in the slightest when he hears that.
@@SSP50505 I’m not so sure of that. The way Keating asks him if that was what his father said afterwards suggests to me that he may have had his doubts, but (if so) did not want to accuse Neil of lying, and there was nothing more that he could advise him than he had already said, and so he let it go.
Fun thing about this movie is that the actor that plays Charles has a TH-cam channel and uploaded some behind-the-scenes footage he had filmed during the making of this movie. Like early vlog style of the boys running around the city.
This is one of my favorite Robin Williams characters. People forget that he was a phenomenal dramatic actor. He will always be missed. If you like films that revolve around schools like this I highly recommend toy soldiers. Lords of discipline. Or TAPS. I have yet to see anyone react to these films and they're all phenomenal
The screenwriter, Tom Schulman, based the story on his own experience attending a boarding school and having an inspirational teacher there. If I were to guess, I'd say Todd, the Ethan Hawke character, is probably meant to be a young Schulman. Todd started out extremely shy, was inspired by Mr. Keating to come out of his shell and you could easily imagine him growing up to become a writer.
I’m always sad to hear when someone I don’t know dies, but I never cry. But, I swear to you, when Robin Williams died, I weeped…i weeped like I had just found out a friend had died.
Never had a teacher fundamentally inspire me. But my 8th grade homeroom and math teacher Mrs. Stumpf (the daughter of my 3rd grade homeroom teacher Mrs. Campo), had a shining spirit that came through in her smile. She wanted to be happy at her job and us to be happy while learning. She never said that. It just came across in her everyday vibe.
When George asked if anyone in audience went school like this, I was like yeah, but... it wasn't school, it was army, so naturally no thinking and individuality was allowed... This movie breakes my heart. Robin Williams was so good in dramatic roles but he never got enough recognition until Good Will Hunting. Things like Dead Poet Society was nearly forgotten as is Fisher King (1991). Man... Robin Williams was so good with Jeff Bridges in that... and people barely talk about that film-
One of my favorite movies of all time and really important for kids in high school to watch to be honest. It took many times watching to catch onto this, but Todd found his voice, his YAWP in Neil's death while out in the snow. It is his name that gives him his voice. Such a powerful movie. This movie makes me have an urge for you two to watch Mr. Holland's Opus because it deals with teachers too. Has a lot of similarities to this movie, but different.
When I was 8 I had a teacher I will never forget. I can't recall why exactly, but she assured us that you can float a needle on water... which I flatly refused to believe. The teacher then set the rest of the class to doing something while she spent close to an hour attempting to prove that you can indeed float a needle on water until, eventually, she did it. I remember the sense of awe and wonder that gripped me to see with my own eyes that ordinary needle floating unsupported, on the surface of the water, like magic. I doubt they tell you to do that sort of thing in teacher training, but I'm sure glad she did.
I've often wished I had a poster of that last scene from Mr. Keating's view looking at the boys standing on their desks. To me, that is one of the most beautiful shots in cinema.
I had one teacher, science 7th grade, Mr. Wiseburge. He was a funny guy. Made everything intresting, made you see things differently. When we were taking a test he'd walk on our tables and stamp his foot when you had something wrong. Just to give you a second chance at getting it. Awsome guy and Teacher.
25:52 My 6th grade homeroom teacher, Mr. Matz, inspired and taught us through interaction, humor, games and really listening and understanding his students. I still fondly remember his class some forty years later.
That ending will always be one of the most touching moments I'll ever see. Rest in peace Robin. I wish you could have felt the joy you gave to so many others
What I find gutting about this film is that you get the impression these people had a change at expressing their creativity through a job afterwards. My parents didn't stifle my creativity like the "Hawk's" dad here, they channeled it through university. It was everywhere else afterwards that's stifled it ever since, except TH-cam, and that started out as a social experiment.
Directed by the great Peter Weir, who also directed The Truman Show, Witness, The Mosquito Coast, Fearless, Master & Commander, amongst others. Great director.
I love “The Truman Show”. I didn’t realize he also directed “Fearless”. I liked it but it seems to have flown under the radar for most people. I should watch it again.
I attended a religious school back in the late 80's. The school A/V club used to have a weekend movie night. One weekend, they showed Monty Python and the Life of Brian.' They got shut down for a whole year.
When I was in highschool I had a crippling heroin addiction. I ended up trying to drop out. I had an english teacher named Mr. Kutis who faught for me. He got me into this program where I got all my work and had to finish it all before the end of the year. I had to go class from 2PM-4PM Mon-Fri. I showed up so high at times I would nod out. He could have got me thrown out but instead he talked to me 1 on 1 to understand what was going on. After I was completely honest with him he gave me the resources and support to not only graduate but to get sober. I can 100% say if I didn’t have him as a teacher I’d be dead with no diploma. I owe him everything. 26:10
In the very early 80's in western Canada, in grades 6 through 8, we were still being threatened with 'the strap' for serious offenses.... this wasn't just in the 50''s. I remember we had just got our school's first computers, with old tape cassette drives, to learn basic computer functioning on. There was a lawnmower game on cassette that a few of us liked playing, and we had snuck into the school during recess, to play a bit. We got caught, and the principal brought us into the office an acted like he was going to give us the strap. He had the belt set out on his desk and everything. That was probably around '83 or '84, and that as the last time I ever remember there being physical discipline even mentioned in school. The use of “the strap” as a form of corporal punishment in Western Canadian elementary schools continued until the 1990s. However, it wasn’t until 2004 that the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that corporal punishment was an unreasonable application of force in maintaining classroom discipline. I think Eastern Canadian schools, like in Toronto, stopped the practice in the '70's
My favorite teacher 10th english, she knew I had something special but it was stuck behind my own insecurities. She let me chew gum (gum was banned) she even gave me a pack in front of the whole class. 🎉🎉 senior year I graduated walked into her class and handed her a pack of gum in front of her students. They didn't get but she knew exactly what it stood for. ❤
It is hard for me to describe how much this movie meant to me. It played a big part in my decision to become a teacher, and rewatching it reminds me of the difference we as educators can make. An interesting thing I noticed about the ending. Neil died wearing a thorny crown, Dalton is expelled, Cameron gave them up and 10 people are standing up in the classroom as their inspiration leaves the school.
I was very fortunate to have a lot of inspirational teachers. Nobody like Robin Williams in this film, but just a lot of people who were actually passionate about the subjects they taught and tried to connect that enthusiasm to their students and who were willing to stick their necks out for them if it was in their best interest. I even went to school to be a teacher in the hopes that I could connect just one student to literature the way some of those teachers connected me to their subjects.
Mr. Jordan was the name of the teacher that was unlike any other. He was quite a bit older and taught my 9th grade English class. I barely graduated highschool, I got lots of D's and C's and some F's. I was constantly at risk of being held back a grade. His class was the only one I ever got an A in, in my entire school career, and some how in his class it felt natural... it felt easy. He evoked effort and thought from a student who no one else could figure out how to connect with. Simply because he cared enough to try and connect, and put effort into doing so, not becuase it was his job, but because our minds were growing and needed stimulation that comes from a different place for each human.
Not only did they film in chronological order for the sake of the young actors, but Peter Weir also had them live together for a few weeks before filming started, so they could bond earlier. He also gave them specific music to listen to while they were living together and preparing for their roles. Music from the time period that the movie was set in. Also, the scene where Todd is crying out in the snow after Neal‘s death, that was originally filmed inside one of the buildings. But after they did it, take of it inside, the Director noticed it was snowing outside and decided on the fly to do a takeout side. They got it done in one take and it immediately stopped snowing after he yelled cut. It was literally a perfect shot. This is definitely in my top 10 favorite movies. And it’s one that I think about quite often. A few times a year at least. Rest in peace, Robin. Thank you for all you did. You are greatly missed. 💙💙💙
I had an inspiring teacher like that in high school. After three years of having any love of the English language battered out of me, I took a creative writing class. The teacher was amazing. Taught us about life, about thinking differently, about the power that our words had. He helped me through some bad times dealing with the school administration, and set me on my eventual path. About a year ago I caught back up with him on social media and let him know I'd become an author. He was inordinately proud of me, and we still keep in touch. This movie always makes me think of him.
as someone who went to boarding school, this movie means a lot to me. You truly grow up with the people you go to school with and it's an incredible experience that I will miss forever. One of the students I went to school with passed away before she even graduated, Istill think about her all these years later.
I was a senior in high school when this came out and I can assure you that it was as inspiring for a host of us as Keating was to his. The pressure the kids felt was real for many of us, even in public school. And this showed us that we weren’t as trapped as we thought we were. I will forever be inspired and touched by this movie.
My second favourite Robin Williams movie (behind only Good Will Hunting, and it's close). Hilarious, heart-warming and heart-breaking, and with a brilliant supporting cast (a few stars early in their careers and Kurtwood Smith making Red Forman look like Howard Cunningham). O Captain, my Captain! 😢🥲
I used to be heavily involved in creative writing and poetry when I was in high school. I write a ton of stuff. An ode to the four seasons that took me a decade to fully work out all four parts. Many short poems that would eventually become song lyrics in an old band that I sang for. This was one of the cooler pieces though... I wrote this first intro when I was 18, and have worked on a planned series of 10 parts, over the years and decades, to build upon the story begun here: "The Lives of Din Kincade" The sign of the old gypsy wagon hung by broken latches swinging in the wind it rattled; paint worn off in patches The rain came down in blinding sheets, the newsman promised more It was this night, a frightful sight, that HE walked through her door Chilled to the bone and dripping wet, he wiped he forehead dry "I saw your sign, " he said in time, "as I was passing by." "Come in", she whispered, "warm your hands, and sit right by the fire" and hobbled to the hearth to build the flames a little higher "You have a question, that I see", she turned her sunken eye, to gaze at him, a knowing look... her smile followed nigh He tried to speak, but words escaped; his mind a bitter mess "I've not a reason why I'm here...just simple chance I guess." She moved her chair across the floor to sit aside of him then reached her wrinkled hand to his, her face - a placid grim She turned his hand so she could see the lines along his palm then traced her fingers down a one ridge, her face spelled something wrong She frowned a slight then moved her light, a rusty lantern, near Her mumbled words soon filled the air, he bent on in to hear She pointed to the line that cut a deep ridge, side to side "See this one here", she spoke quite low, "Here's where the troubles lie." "It's called your life line, for it tells your life with every bend" "The trouble is", her face turned white, "yours doesn't seem to end" His eyes grew wide, voice set aside, he couldn't help but stare then gazed on down, a sturdy frown, replaced his forehead bare "Here is your birth", her finger stopped, "you're second to this mother" Then moved her finger farther back, "But here...there is another" She traced the line on back through time, her mouth moved once again through wrinkled lips she uttered this, "You've not one life...but ten" For here begins the tale, told me, even though I've been forbade to pass along this legend called 'The Lives of Din Kincade" ..each part planned to tell the story of each of his 10 lives, through the ages.
This was my favourite film of all time from about the age of 11 and in high school I had a teacher that I could tell had watched this, because he did certain things that were fairly similar to Mr Keating, and I loved this teacher so much! He was my favourite of all time - great teachers really can make a difference to kids lives!
I went to a school like this in Sydney for 5 years in the 90's. It had a boarding wing/house but I was a normal day student. Some teachers and staff were progressive & approachable but others were brutal. Hopefully those ones have all since died off. Was one of those schools though that really teaches you time management and punctuality to the minute. I ended up finishing highschool in the public system when my parents split but luckily was able to find a tame one.
my senior english teacher was strict, but supportive and encouraging. She shows this movie to all of her students before they study poetry. She's awesome. She made me a better, more confident person, and made me feel seen
This is one of those movies that just made an impression when I was a teenager. Not even knowing why exactly, but I feel it. It relates so much❤.And even more now that Robin Williams isn't with us anymore
I was in high school when this film came out ... in the honor's programs... pushed by my immigrant Chinese parents to "perform academically" and get perfect grades (anything less was failure) ... nothing else should matter more in my life than THAT (getting perfect grades). No distractions were allowed... no extra-curricular activities... no after-school clubs... no friends, honestly... because I was never given the time to spend with these friends outside of school - to build any of those bonds. After I saw this movie... I fought against my parents every single day of my teenage life because I wanted to LIVE and find the joy and happiness and connection to life beyond my textbooks. And my parents and I fought like tigers... they did everything they could to keep me in line and I did everything I could to fight back -- sure, I was still a nerdy little kid with WAY too many fears and anxiety to really get into any REAL trouble ... but I wanted to LIVE so, so badly! It wasn't until I became an adult (after several years away from home - where I barely even spoke to my parents) and came back to visit that I finally felt like my parents had grown to accept me for who I was. And treated me like a social equal. I struggled in life... didn't always have good jobs... nor steady relationships (Go figure, eh? The socially stunted immigrant child who was emotionally and physically abused has trouble making social connections and loving others because of the many years he spent not loving himself) ... but ... I survived... and I did take some positive lessons from my parents - their hard working, stubborn-ness... their desire to push forward for more and to try my best. I am a better person because I was inspired by movies like this one which showed me what it meant to LIVE and not just exist.
Saw this in the theater when it came out...walked out sobbing. It really is just an incredibly amazing, touching, funny and emotional movie that just...*gets* to you.
My high school physics teacher was like Mr Keating. Passionate about the subject, funny, slightly unhinged, and very much cared about all the students. Also, if the administration saw how many uncontrolled explosions happened in his classroom, he would have been fired immediately.
I was waiting all day to see this reaction. It is one of my favorite movies of all-time. I was just starting high school when I first saw this film. I went to a school similar to this one, it was all boys, but it was not a boarding school like the one in the movie, so the film really resonated with me. The barbaric YAWP scene always brings a tear or 2 to my eyes, such a wonderfully acted scene. I'm a little late to your channel, but I love your perspectives on the films you watch. Keep up the great work!!
As of 2024, corporal punishment is still legal in private schools in every U.S. state except New Jersey, Iowa, New York and Maryland, legal in public schools in 17 states, and practiced in 12 of the states.
There are scenes in this film which, even after dozens of times watching it, make me teary-eyed, like Todd's poetry scene, and the last desk scene. This was such a great movie, and inspired my interest in Classical and Baroque music, literature, and playing the violin.
My Literature teacher inspired me greatly. And it turned out he ran theater in my school. I wanted to be involved but was not ready to be on stage so he put me in charge of lighting and sound and building stage sets. It was amazing and I went to State and won for best one act play❤
Thanks to Cinebinge for reacting to this movie. I have suggested it many times on many channels after they react to Good Will Hunting, but most channels suffer from group think and seem to instead vote for the 15th best Adam Sandler movie. Excellent movie and great reaction by both of you. Bravo!
"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute, we read and write poetry because we are members of the human race and the human race is filled with passion. Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life, but poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for."... My favorite quote of Mr. Keating.
yet what happened to Robin, death by self strangulation, really shows what life is like. Pointless and brutal. Anything we do in our lives is forgotten and means nothing, we won't even be remembered. Yet everyone runs around like busy bees trying to pretend like anything they do matters. It doesn't. It will all be forgotten
@@JohnSmith-wl8tsWe will remember.
@@JohnSmith-wl8tsRobin Williams' memory will live with us and will be passed down to the next generations.
@@JohnSmith-wl8ts Just because something isn't remembered doesn't mean it doesn't matter. Simple acts of kindness can have a snowball effect in the future and lead to other acts of kindness, even if no one knows who started the ball rolling.
@@ninjabluefyre3815 do you remember big celebrity's from 100 years ago?, what do you think of Michael Rennie he was in 50 movies and tv shows. If I asked a person on the street if they remember him, what do you think their answer would be
When Robin Williams died..the news anchor(woman) of the main German news (Caren Miosga) was pretty sad ....then on air she got onto her table and said "Oh Captain! My Captain"...I´ll never forget that
I want to see that video, I'm gonna go look it up and see if I can find it. Edir - found it. Whew, is someone cuttin onions in here?
@@drewc981 You can only find a fraction of the whole thing online but you get the amazing part
@@drewc981 Link, please?
@@drewc981 well share it here then
@@claymccoy th-cam.com/video/GxUet38SVI8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=5_vnihd5NdYHgztG
Ethan Hawke did an interview not too terribly long ago and he talked about this movie. He said Robin was always on and spent his time trying to make everyone laugh. But Ethan refused to laugh. He wanted to prove to everyone he could be a real serious actor and didn’t want to be seen screwing around. After the film came out he received a phone call. It was Robin’s agent and he said he was calling because Robin had told him the kid was going to be something special and he signed Hawke as a client.
That’s wonderful.
Jim Carey would have had Hawke fired for that.
I've watched Hawke on Graham Norton tell this story so many times. I love it. 😊
An important scene, that I think get overlooked too often, is at the end when Mr. Keating is packing his things, he looks outside and sees the Latin teacher outside with his students teaching his students. So it's not only some the students that Mr Keating changed, he changed some of the staff as well.
I never noticed that. Good one!
That's fantastic, I never noticed that myself - great detail
@@peteblueeyes that’s honestly awesome
Proud to say I was fired by a school like this. I taught off the syllabus and encouraged them to disagree with me. The students made a petition to keep me. It's framed and means more to me than my degree. Now, as a therapist, it's both inspiring and heartbreaking to see how many of the students I see are living in fear of their parents' expectations yet still trying to be true to themselves. A parents' role is to set you on your way, to empower you to grow beyond them.
I would have been so proud to have you as a teacher.
Red states are still doing it to teachers who want students to be awake.
this made me tear up
Sad reality is, that the school system was less create to educate the "plebs" but to indoctrinate it.
That's where a majority of its problems come from.
That’s probably what the parents think they’re doing
I love George's comments about Neil’s dad. He's the first reactor I've ever seen that puts his reactions in the appropriate historical context. The dad's reaction makes perfect sense given the time in which he was born and raised. He’s almost certainly a WW2 veteran, and is old enough that he likely came of age during a time of extreme impoverishment-the Great Depression. He probably literally does think that his son being a doctor will keep him alive-he’ll always have work if another depression hits, and he’ll be out of the immediate line of fire if another war hits. He loves his son, it’s clear from his reaction to Neil’s death, but his idea of safety and protection has been altered by his experiences. He discounts what his son says not because he doesn’t care, but because of his greater awareness of life’s miseries.
Teenagers and young adults often interpret events only through their own context. They assume that the pressures they were raised with are universal, but a lot can change in a generation. The tragedy of Neil’s suicide isn’t just that a promising kid died-it’s that it happened despite his father’s best efforts to protect him. The dad's incapable of seeing his own role in the matter, but the older I get the more I ache for both of them instead of just Neil.
I've always wondered about the small detail where Neil's dad positions his slippers so precisely as he gets into bed. Was that from Weir, Kurtwood Smith, or the screenwriter? It's such as amazingly subtle way to convey the depths of his rigidity.
On the bonus for the DVD the actor who played the dad said he tried not to play him as a villain, but as a father who genuinely loved his son and wanted the best for him.
He also said that when the movie came out he went to see it with a friend’s family. The friend’s relationship with his son was like the one that Neil had with his dad. By the end of the movie the friend was sobbing. It changed his approach to his son and their relationship got much better. What an honor for an actor to see his work have such a positive impact on someone, especially a friend.
I also loved George being able to appreciate a very unsympathetic character's POV.
However...my grandpa was a WW2 vet who loved performing in community playhouse performances. (He also became close friends with a Japanese coworker). So yeah, the dad here was undeniably shaped by his life experiences, but he was still a jerk!
It completely makes sense. Doesn't mean he's not a dick.
Apart from the obvious parts of this film that are supposed to move us -- and do -- this is the aspect I always think about. And it is something of a failure of Mr. Keating's approach. He never really seems to engage with social and economic class as an aspect of his students' lives. Some of them are very privileged and cushioned by that. For them it's relatively easy to rebel a bit because their future is secure, barring serious accidents or felonies. But some of the kids, maybe a lot, are from less privileged backgrounds -- that is, people who have just recently started gaining some privilege, otherwise they wouldn't be at this fancy school. It would probably be too much for a movie like this, but it would be interesting to see a version of Mr. Keating where he engaged his students in talk about how to successfully incorporate his pretty specific brand of Romanticism into what will probably be their pretty specific kind of privileged, professional lives.
14:43 And many years later Robert Sean Leonard would go on to ACTUALLY play a Doctor in House.
Peter Weir (the director) is an under-appreciated Master. The Truman Show, Master & Commander, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Witness, Year of Living Dangerously... all A+
And Green card
Thanks for sharing! Had no idea some of these were by the same director.
Don't forget Harrison Ford's best performance "Witness"(1985) A++. Peter Weir changed the careers of Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Robin Williams, Jim Carry.
Agree. Peter Weir is a great director. I think he also directed Mosquito Coast with Harrison Ford. Love that one.
Came here to say this. The man crafted some truly beautiful films. I really hope George and Simone react to "Witness" and "Gallipoli" some time (soon).
"started out silly, but then it got real" ...coulda been the tagline for this entire movie.
Many moons ago when I was in 7th grade, my English teacher noticed that I already had an above-average grasp of grammar and spelling which was what was on the syllabus for the class. She also noticed that I loved reading and had a gift for creative writing. She petitioned the powers that were to allow her to replace the grammar and spelling material for me and replace it with literature and writing. They said no because it wasn't fair to the other kids. By mid-term, the entire school was required to take general education tests, which came back with percentages for each student about the material. In reading and comprehension, my score was so high that the line that marked the height of the percentage results literally ran off the page. She tried once again to get the powers that were to consent to her making a different syllabus for me, using my test scores to show her reasoning. They still said no. Then, that courageous, amazing teacher took me aside and said if I wanted to, she would give me the vocabulary and spelling words list on Mondays just like the other students, and on Fridays, I would show up and take the vocabulary and spelling tests just like the other students. However, from Tuesday to Thursday, I would go next door to an empty classroom and do work out of a high school literature book that she gave me. I was also to write whatever I liked, short stories, poetry, non-fiction, whatever and give it to her on Fridays as well, which she would take home and grade and write tips on the paper to give back to me on Mondays. I knew, even then, that she was taking a HUGE risk by doing this. Even as a 12-year-old, I understood that she was a special and exceptional teacher and that I was very lucky to have her. The second half of my seventh-grade year I received the first inklings of what I was meant to do in this world. She was a young teacher, so it is possible she is still around, and I wish I could find a way to tell her just what an impact she had on me. I now hold a Master's degree in creative writing and am a published poet and short-story writer. I've also had the good fortune to be able to work as an assistant teacher as well, where I tried to give back what she gave me. I never had to battle the powers that be like she did, but her legacy carried down in everything I was able to teach over the years. Teachers like this are rare, but they do exist, and it is always my hope that they are given the space to have such a powerful influence on other children, the way that mine did for me.
Awesome.
It's incredibly sad that teachers like that are the exception... The entire system should _support_ children as much as they need. Sadly, for far too many, it does the exact opposite - "gifted" children have to go at the pace of everyone else, which means boredom and no or very little challenge, which means they don't learn to learn, which results in a _steep_ drop-off in performance at some point (usually early teens) where they turn from top students to below average ones... So much wasted potential, so many crushed "souls", just because of a terrible system... 😭
"What will your verse be?"
I can not overstate how much I ADORE this film.
Subsequently...I would highly recommend Mr. Holland's Opus as a peer of this movie. VASTLY underappreciated.
"I think this line is mostly filler" 😉
Must say I like "Kingdom of Heavens" quote more.
"What kind of a man is a man who does not try to make the world a better place."
Because that indeed encourages you to be a good person and think about more than just yourself.
That verse part can in the end stand for everything, especially going for glory, so that your verse is actually not just lost (like most, how many dead are actually remembered for long? And how many for good reasons and not for the bad things they had done?)
I get how it is meant and it's fine, simply like that other quote more.
My high school English teacher (I had him several times) was the only teacher that ever encouraged us to be daring. If you had an insane idea for an assignment, he would DEMAND you flesh it out. He would also jump up on the desks and jump from desk to desk as he asked us questions. Really kept everyone engaged. EVERYONE wanted to have him for English. Among many other things he influenced for me, he made me look past the antiquated language of Shakespeare and Marlowe and appreciate the beauty of the stories and the prose. I'm 54 now and it's fair to say no other person has ever influenced my love of literature more than he, and I'm sure no-one else ever will. He provided much of the joy of my high school experience.
Teachers like that are worth their weight in gold!
I had a similar English teacher. One time I included some “expletives” in my writing and how did he react? He said I used them properly. Not for shock but that they were used for emphasis.
That’s great and uplifting to hear.
Neil did finish medical school after all. And became Dr. Wilson.😅
Weirdly he became a doctor after being his own sacrificial lamb.
Weirdly Neil's play and wilsons "film" are very similar...
Very funny.
In high school, my favorite teacher taught history. In my senior year, he taught a History of Russia class at 7:00am. Just ten students and the teacher, bullshitting about communism, the weirdness of the tsars, and WWII. He let us keep the textbooks, since it was last year of the class. I still have it.
It was as close to this movie as I ever got.
That sounds marvelous.
When he talked about Russia how did you talk about communism? Or was that seperate?
You do get that Russia never even reached socialism, just some socialistic elements in health care, education and alike, even less communism.
As Lenin himself had stated, the Soviet Union was able to reach state capitalism - what was seen as an acceptable step toward socialism, but this step could never be taken by the fact alone, that Russia was constantly and with genocidal brutallity attacked from the west - and that not just by germany, it was attacked from the very first year of its birth - up to today, because it got by far the most resoruces on this planet and our 'free west' can't stop trying to rob those.
Years later, Kurtwood Smith who played the repressive father recalled that he went to a viewing with a good friend of his who by chance had a relationship with his own son exactly like he portrayed in Dead Poeta, he loved his son but showed it in a controlling fearful way. The lights went down, the movie played and when they went back up his male friend was sobbing, he'd recognised his own relationship with his son in it. Kurtwood Smith said from that moment on he changed his relationship with his son and thats why I act, because it can and does change peoples lives.
My mother was an English teacher, and one time a student of hers was watching this movie with his mother. After the movie, the mother said something like "Wouldn't it be amazing to have a teacher like that?" and the student said he DID have a teacher like that and said it was my mother. My mother considered that to be the greatest honor she ever received in her teaching career.
I'm a combat veteran who is struggling to find purpose in regular life. I feel that life has no value. Both the "gather ye rosebuds" scene and the "you may contribute a verse" scene are very helpful to me. So are "get busy living or get busy dying" from Shawshank and "all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us" from LOTR.
Regardless of whether or not life has purpose, we are only here for a short time and what we choose to do with that time is what gives it value. Life is too short to waste having an existential crisis. Be depressed about the fragility of life later, when you're dead. For now, while you're alive, make every moment meaningful. Live deliberately, so that when you die, you will not discover that you have not lived.
There were two teachers who really made a difference for me. The first noticed that behind the annoying, hyper, socially maladjusted 10yo was a curious mind, a child yearning for encouragement and to be more than an annoyance to somebody.
If it wasn't for her, I don't think I would have had the courage to pursue academic interests.
The other teacher taught classes in literature, ethics, and history. He was really formative during my last 4 years at school before going to university. The discussions we had in his classes were a wonderful way to discover the subjects and topics... and his influence contributed a lot to my decision to study (and graduate in) philosophy.
I am so very grateful for these two people. And this movie is a beautiful reminder of what teachers like these can be for others.
A clever bit of symbolism at the beginning of the film (where the students are walking in with the school flags), if you rewatch the scene, you'll notice how TRADITION was the first flag displayed by the boarding school (@1:57) and EXCELLENCE (being the "best you" you could be) was dead last @2:10. Illustrates the school's priorities. Great symbolism, subtext, direction and script!
I spent about half of your reaction wiping my eyes. This movie came out during my third year of high school, it meant a great deal to me (and still does). Very pleased that you both enjoyed it so much.
Same here.
Why is your comment 9 days ago?
@@jmutube61191 I support the channel on Patreon, so I get to watch and comment about a week early. The reaction videos are "unlisted" at first, so they're viewable to people who get the direct link.
@@CineRam I see, thank you.
I understand Neil COMPLETELY, when I was 15 i tried to take my own life and failed, I had an essay in class the next period and I wrote about it. My parents were called to the school and they get angry and shouted at me because in that essay I scored a failure. That day I learned I wasn't safe.
I’m glad you’re still with us.
@@dmac7877 thank you. I still don't know if I belong, but let's live and see
"O Captain - my captain"
*loses it*
Robin Williams was the type of person that if he was still around, if he saw this video, saw how you personally felt about him and how he impacted your life, he would probably go completely out of his way to go and see you in person himself. I miss him so much.
Also, this film should be shown in EVERY CLASSROOM ACROSS THIS NATION.
He never realized how much the world truly LOVED him and needed him. I was a fan from day one when I saw him on Happy Days. Saw all of his movies opening day.
@@OneTrueScotsman Robin Williams death was like losing family member. It still hurts so much, but I have a lot his films in DVD / Blu-Ray.
They showed it in our high school, and I doubt I'm the only one.
robin williams was also the type of person that was notorious for stealing jokes
@@jablanbukvovski The stealing jokes thing is a half-truth. Robin himself explained that when improvising he would accidentally repeat jokes he'd heard at other shows. It wasn't an intentional or deliberate thing. He eventually even stopped going to see other comics to avoid the problem.
I went to a Catholic, all boys school like this - but not a boarding school - in the late 80s. The faculty was completely the opposite of what was portrayed in the film: the vast majority of my teachers demanded that we think outside the box. It was really some place special. I'm still connected to many of those teachers, as well as many of my classmates, via Facebook. I've been extremely fortunate for that experience.
Jesuit school?
@clairealderwood1928 no. The Spiritans (Holy Ghost Fathers). I did go to a Jesuit University, however.
My dad attended a classy and presumably traditional Jesuit high school before he shipped off to World War II in 1944 and had a grand time.
If you want to see the MOST somber Robin Williams performance ever..... watch his movie "What Dreams May Come".
That movie.... it gets me every time.
“The Fisher King” was also pretty intense at times. It and “Dead Poets Society” are my favorite Robin Williams movies, although “Good Will Hunting” was also great.
Have you watched "One Hour Photo"?
Awakenings is his most somber performance. That's the most serious I've seen him besides One Hour Photo.
My first year in uni. Huge film... "Oh Captain! My Captain!" How we miss him.
This fim actually inspired me to be a teacher. The bit that did it for me was Keating standing on the table and saying 'I do this to remind myself to always look at things a different way.'
This came out between my junior and senior years of high school, and my entire AP English class as seniors took the name Dead Poets Society and used it in our activities area in the yearbook that year. It had a really big impact on me, and is still my favorite Robin Williams film (and I love most of his films).
George, your thought about all the students becoming like Keating is pretty cool. In fact, I had a hope for a long time that someone would take the character of Todd Anderson, and continue his story...either in a film set ten or so years after DPS with Ethan Hawke playing the role, or a TV series. Anyway...
- Won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, and was the second Best Actor nomination for Robin Williams.
- Simone, you're right, Josh Charles (Knox Overstreet) was on the Good Wife. He was also in Aaron Sorkin's first TV series Sports Night. Recently, he reunited with Ethan Hawke for the video for Taylor Swift & Post Malone song "Fortnite" (they play scientists in a brief cameo). Ethan approached Josh after Ethan's daughter Maya Hawke (a friend of Taylor's) approached Ethan on Taylor's behalf. Since the song is from Taylor's recent album, The Tortured Poet's Department (the title inspired by Dead Poets Society), it makes sense.
- I thought that Robert Sean Leonard (Neil Perry) would have been recognized since he was on the series House. Shortly after this film, Robert was offered the role of Claudio in Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, which also co-starred Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Michael Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Imelda Staunton, and Kate Beckinsale in her film debut as Hero, Claudio's love interest. If you guys ever start doing Shakespeare movies, this should be one of the first, it is superb!
- During the filming, Ethan Hawke, who had no representation when cast, considered himself a very serious actor, and in his later years called himself pretentious about it. However, on set, being very serious, he really tried to not let Robin Williams get under his skin and make him laugh. He was adamant about not breaking character. This caused Williams to focus intensely on Hawke during filming, doing whatever he could to get a laugh. After the film wrapped, Hawke got a call from an agent. Specifically, Robin Williams's agent, and the agent was coaxed by Williams to take on Hawke as his client because Williams felt that Hawke had a bright future as an actor. So, Hawke got his breakout role and an agent that I think is still representing him today.
- Pitts, the first student Keating calls on is James Waterston, son of Sam Waterston (Law & Order, Grace and Frankie), and half-brother to Katherine Waterston (Tina Goldstein in the Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them spin-off films set in the Harry Potter universe).
- Mr. Nolan, the headmaster was played by Norman Lloyd, who is a bit of a legend, having acted in every media since he started in 1923. Stage, screen, radio, and television.He was a member of the Mercury Theater under Orson Welles, and appeared in films for directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, and Martin Scorsese. He retired in 2015, and lived to age 106, passing in 2021.
I especially like that in the end, not every student stood on his desk for Mr. Keating, and that one of the ones who did was the extra nerdy kid with the perpetually runny nose.
This is the first time I've seen George cry... I mean poke himself in the eye 😛 I'm also trying to imagine Simone as gangster in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Also ironic and sad that Robin Williams met the same fate and his parents weren't even to blame for it.
LOVE this movie. Typing through tears. I always saw his acting as a metaphor for being gay, or whatever would cause him to be rejected by his family. Acting itself was an act of rebellion that was unimaginable for his family. I was out of it incredibly heartbreaking
I saw a movie theater marquee that was advertising this movie and The Karate Kid. The theater was showing the Karate Kid and then The Dead Poets Society later on that night. Whoever did the marquee had a bit of a sense of humor. They showed the time for the Karate Kid and then the Dead Poets Society, but they didn't have enough of the correct letter to spell it all out. It read:
7 Karate Kids
with
900 Dead Poets
So much senseless killing. 😒
1,800 swept legs 😭
@@motorcycleboy9000excellent work😂
My favorite marquee combo along those lines is BATMAN SHRUNK THE KIDS
I often joke about the longevity of certain actors. I like to say that in this film we see Norman Lloyd way, way back when he was only 103.
When Robin Williams passed, Jimmy Fallon did a beautiful tribute by standing on his desk and said, "O, captain! My captain! You will be missed."
Another great movie featuring a soft spoken Robin Williams is “Awakenings”. He plays an anxious psychiatrist who makes a nearly miraculous breakthrough with patients that had been left as supposedly untreatable. The movie also features Robert De Niro as one of the patients and both he and Robin give fantastic performances.
I would LOVE to see you guys react to it.
Watched it for the first time like 3 months ago. Sobbed for half of it
Awakenings is a fantastic movie based on the true story of Dr. Oliver Sacks. Dr. Sacks was present during a lot of the filming and had nothing but deep praise for Robin Williams and Robert de Niro.
==> "One of the most amazing experiences of my life was working with Robin Williams, watching him become me, in the filming of my book 'Awakenings.'”
Ethan Hawke was annoyed by Robin Williams comedic antics on set because he wanted to be a serious and professional actor.
After the film was released he got a call from Robin’s talent agent. The agent said he was urged by Robin to sign him.
Ethan has stated he owes his career to Robin. ❤
Awesome story!!!
This movie was the movie that made people realize that Robin Williams could actually be a serious actor. People were stunned by his performance here.
Also, Simone nailed it when she said "A bit of both"
This is one of those movies I showed my kid when he was about 14-15 as it opens up for some deeper talk to some hard subjects. Brilliant movie.
i watched this movie in my grade 9 English class. when the bell rang everyone seemed to get up nonchalantly and leave, meanwhile I was sitting at my desk straight up WEEPING. this movie changed my life.
Simone's sus of Cameron early on is pretty amazing.
Cause he was a ginger!
This is why "Carpe diem" is on every wall. But "Captain, my captain." is awsome.
Except the wall in the bathroom. That one says, "Carpe B.M.".
HOW do *_so many_* intelligent and perceptive reactors NOT pick up on the fact that Neil is _lying_ about having talked to his father???
I guess it's because he presents it as a believable lie by saying his father got really angry but is allowing him to stay in the play (which was a one night event). It's also important that Keating doesn't doubt Neil in the slightest when he hears that.
@@SSP50505
I’m not so sure of that. The way Keating asks him if that was what his father said afterwards suggests to me that he may have had his doubts, but (if so) did not want to accuse Neil of lying, and there was nothing more that he could advise him than he had already said, and so he let it go.
I agree. It's incomprehensible. It must be a generational thing. I'm always dumbfounded by it.
Fun thing about this movie is that the actor that plays Charles has a TH-cam channel and uploaded some behind-the-scenes footage he had filmed during the making of this movie. Like early vlog style of the boys running around the city.
This is one of my favorite Robin Williams characters. People forget that he was a phenomenal dramatic actor. He will always be missed. If you like films that revolve around schools like this I highly recommend toy soldiers. Lords of discipline. Or TAPS. I have yet to see anyone react to these films and they're all phenomenal
School Ties too.
The screenwriter, Tom Schulman, based the story on his own experience attending a boarding school and having an inspirational teacher there. If I were to guess, I'd say Todd, the Ethan Hawke character, is probably meant to be a young Schulman. Todd started out extremely shy, was inspired by Mr. Keating to come out of his shell and you could easily imagine him growing up to become a writer.
George: "Wow.....dad cares."
Simone: "It's so nice that he cares."
ohhh, boy.......😬
Moments before disaster.
Yeah as soon as George said that my thought was "aw . . . shit"!
Always enjoyed the visual metaphor of these men, literally standing taller because they met this man.
I’m always sad to hear when someone I don’t know dies, but I never cry. But, I swear to you, when Robin Williams died, I weeped…i weeped like I had just found out a friend had died.
Never had a teacher fundamentally inspire me. But my 8th grade homeroom and math teacher Mrs. Stumpf (the daughter of my 3rd grade homeroom teacher Mrs. Campo), had a shining spirit that came through in her smile.
She wanted to be happy at her job and us to be happy while learning. She never said that. It just came across in her everyday vibe.
Finally! A reactor who recognized Josh Charles from The Good Wife. Most reactors recognize Robert Sean Leonard from House instead.
"Ethan Hatchling."
I tip my hat to you, sir.
When George asked if anyone in audience went school like this, I was like yeah, but... it wasn't school, it was army, so naturally no thinking and individuality was allowed... This movie breakes my heart. Robin Williams was so good in dramatic roles but he never got enough recognition until Good Will Hunting. Things like Dead Poet Society was nearly forgotten as is Fisher King (1991). Man... Robin Williams was so good with Jeff Bridges in that... and people barely talk about that film-
I love “The Fisher King”! I have recommended it numerous times but I don’t know if anyone ever watched it as a result.
I must believe that Mr Williams took his role as lead actor in this film seriously, as a true mentor to these phenomenal young actors. ❤
He always looked forward to being quintessential Robin Williams between filming.
One of my favorite movies of all time and really important for kids in high school to watch to be honest. It took many times watching to catch onto this, but Todd found his voice, his YAWP in Neil's death while out in the snow. It is his name that gives him his voice. Such a powerful movie. This movie makes me have an urge for you two to watch Mr. Holland's Opus because it deals with teachers too. Has a lot of similarities to this movie, but different.
When I was 8 I had a teacher I will never forget. I can't recall why exactly, but she assured us that you can float a needle on water... which I flatly refused to believe. The teacher then set the rest of the class to doing something while she spent close to an hour attempting to prove that you can indeed float a needle on water until, eventually, she did it. I remember the sense of awe and wonder that gripped me to see with my own eyes that ordinary needle floating unsupported, on the surface of the water, like magic. I doubt they tell you to do that sort of thing in teacher training, but I'm sure glad she did.
I've often wished I had a poster of that last scene from Mr. Keating's view looking at the boys standing on their desks. To me, that is one of the most beautiful shots in cinema.
I had one teacher, science 7th grade, Mr. Wiseburge. He was a funny guy. Made everything intresting, made you see things differently. When we were taking a test he'd walk on our tables and stamp his foot when you had something wrong. Just to give you a second chance at getting it. Awsome guy and Teacher.
25:52 My 6th grade homeroom teacher, Mr. Matz, inspired and taught us through interaction, humor, games and really listening and understanding his students. I still fondly remember his class some forty years later.
"Carpe Diem" totally was the YOLO of my generation (born 1979).
That ending will always be one of the most touching moments I'll ever see. Rest in peace Robin. I wish you could have felt the joy you gave to so many others
Great point about the psychology of Neil's father. He probably did live through the depression & WWII. That's why he is the way he is.
What I find gutting about this film is that you get the impression these people had a change at expressing their creativity through a job afterwards. My parents didn't stifle my creativity like the "Hawk's" dad here, they channeled it through university. It was everywhere else afterwards that's stifled it ever since, except TH-cam, and that started out as a social experiment.
RIP Robin Williams. From Mork & Mindy to all his other work the man was amazing in everything he did.
Directed by the great Peter Weir, who also directed The Truman Show, Witness, The Mosquito Coast, Fearless, Master & Commander, amongst others. Great director.
I love “The Truman Show”. I didn’t realize he also directed “Fearless”. I liked it but it seems to have flown under the radar for most people. I should watch it again.
@@terri2494I was thinking the same thing. The one with Jeff Bridges?
@@mattjones7226 Yes, that’s the one.
"Headmaster! The boys are thinking for themselves!" "Dear god, stop them!"
I attended a religious school back in the late 80's. The school A/V club used to have a weekend movie night. One weekend, they showed Monty Python and the Life of Brian.' They got shut down for a whole year.
Worth it!
"time to pay the bills, Brian" [zzzziiipp]
blessed are the cheesemakers!
Hahahahahaha!!! I went and saw it in a theater, but didn’t tell my mom what movie I was going to see!
@@clairealderwood1928 Good on you, mate.
When I was in highschool I had a crippling heroin addiction. I ended up trying to drop out. I had an english teacher named Mr. Kutis who faught for me.
He got me into this program where I got all my work and had to finish it all before the end of the year. I had to go class from 2PM-4PM Mon-Fri.
I showed up so high at times I would nod out. He could have got me thrown out but instead he talked to me 1 on 1 to understand what was going on. After I was completely honest with him he gave me the resources and support to not only graduate but to get sober.
I can 100% say if I didn’t have him as a teacher I’d be dead with no diploma. I owe him everything. 26:10
I’m so glad he was there for you, and that you responded to his support and did the hard work of getting sober.
In the very early 80's in western Canada, in grades 6 through 8, we were still being threatened with 'the strap' for serious offenses.... this wasn't just in the 50''s. I remember we had just got our school's first computers, with old tape cassette drives, to learn basic computer functioning on. There was a lawnmower game on cassette that a few of us liked playing, and we had snuck into the school during recess, to play a bit. We got caught, and the principal brought us into the office an acted like he was going to give us the strap. He had the belt set out on his desk and everything.
That was probably around '83 or '84, and that as the last time I ever remember there being physical discipline even mentioned in school.
The use of “the strap” as a form of corporal punishment in Western Canadian elementary schools continued until the 1990s. However, it wasn’t until 2004 that the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that corporal punishment was an unreasonable application of force in maintaining classroom discipline. I think Eastern Canadian schools, like in Toronto, stopped the practice in the '70's
My favorite teacher 10th english, she knew I had something special but it was stuck behind my own insecurities.
She let me chew gum (gum was banned) she even gave me a pack in front of the whole class. 🎉🎉 senior year I graduated walked into her class and handed her a pack of gum in front of her students. They didn't get but she knew exactly what it stood for. ❤
25:51 Miss Klein. High School English teacher. Not only was she a wonderful teacher, but she was also good looking. The best of both worlds.
I saw this in the theater while in high school thinking it would be a lighthearted Robin Williams film and dozens of 17-year olds left tearing....
It is hard for me to describe how much this movie meant to me. It played a big part in my decision to become a teacher, and rewatching it reminds me of the difference we as educators can make.
An interesting thing I noticed about the ending. Neil died wearing a thorny crown, Dalton is expelled, Cameron gave them up and 10 people are standing up in the classroom as their inspiration leaves the school.
I was very fortunate to have a lot of inspirational teachers. Nobody like Robin Williams in this film, but just a lot of people who were actually passionate about the subjects they taught and tried to connect that enthusiasm to their students and who were willing to stick their necks out for them if it was in their best interest. I even went to school to be a teacher in the hopes that I could connect just one student to literature the way some of those teachers connected me to their subjects.
Mr. Jordan was the name of the teacher that was unlike any other. He was quite a bit older and taught my 9th grade English class. I barely graduated highschool, I got lots of D's and C's and some F's. I was constantly at risk of being held back a grade. His class was the only one I ever got an A in, in my entire school career, and some how in his class it felt natural... it felt easy. He evoked effort and thought from a student who no one else could figure out how to connect with. Simply because he cared enough to try and connect, and put effort into doing so, not becuase it was his job, but because our minds were growing and needed stimulation that comes from a different place for each human.
Not only did they film in chronological order for the sake of the young actors, but Peter Weir also had them live together for a few weeks before filming started, so they could bond earlier. He also gave them specific music to listen to while they were living together and preparing for their roles. Music from the time period that the movie was set in. Also, the scene where Todd is crying out in the snow after Neal‘s death, that was originally filmed inside one of the buildings. But after they did it, take of it inside, the Director noticed it was snowing outside and decided on the fly to do a takeout side. They got it done in one take and it immediately stopped snowing after he yelled cut. It was literally a perfect shot. This is definitely in my top 10 favorite movies. And it’s one that I think about quite often. A few times a year at least. Rest in peace, Robin. Thank you for all you did. You are greatly missed. 💙💙💙
I had an inspiring teacher like that in high school. After three years of having any love of the English language battered out of me, I took a creative writing class. The teacher was amazing. Taught us about life, about thinking differently, about the power that our words had. He helped me through some bad times dealing with the school administration, and set me on my eventual path. About a year ago I caught back up with him on social media and let him know I'd become an author. He was inordinately proud of me, and we still keep in touch. This movie always makes me think of him.
as someone who went to boarding school, this movie means a lot to me. You truly grow up with the people you go to school with and it's an incredible experience that I will miss forever. One of the students I went to school with passed away before she even graduated, Istill think about her all these years later.
I was a senior in high school when this came out and I can assure you that it was as inspiring for a host of us as Keating was to his. The pressure the kids felt was real for many of us, even in public school. And this showed us that we weren’t as trapped as we thought we were. I will forever be inspired and touched by this movie.
My second favourite Robin Williams movie (behind only Good Will Hunting, and it's close). Hilarious, heart-warming and heart-breaking, and with a brilliant supporting cast (a few stars early in their careers and Kurtwood Smith making Red Forman look like Howard Cunningham).
O Captain, my Captain! 😢🥲
Fantastic film, you should also try another of his serious rolls, One Hour Photo.
I used to be heavily involved in creative writing and poetry when I was in high school. I write a ton of stuff. An ode to the four seasons that took me a decade to fully work out all four parts. Many short poems that would eventually become song lyrics in an old band that I sang for.
This was one of the cooler pieces though... I wrote this first intro when I was 18, and have worked on a planned series of 10 parts, over the years and decades, to build upon the story begun here:
"The Lives of Din Kincade"
The sign of the old gypsy wagon hung by broken latches
swinging in the wind it rattled; paint worn off in patches
The rain came down in blinding sheets, the newsman promised more
It was this night, a frightful sight, that HE walked through her door
Chilled to the bone and dripping wet, he wiped he forehead dry
"I saw your sign, " he said in time, "as I was passing by."
"Come in", she whispered, "warm your hands, and sit right by the fire"
and hobbled to the hearth to build the flames a little higher
"You have a question, that I see", she turned her sunken eye,
to gaze at him, a knowing look... her smile followed nigh
He tried to speak, but words escaped; his mind a bitter mess
"I've not a reason why I'm here...just simple chance I guess."
She moved her chair across the floor to sit aside of him
then reached her wrinkled hand to his, her face - a placid grim
She turned his hand so she could see the lines along his palm
then traced her fingers down a one ridge, her face spelled something wrong
She frowned a slight then moved her light, a rusty lantern, near
Her mumbled words soon filled the air, he bent on in to hear
She pointed to the line that cut a deep ridge, side to side
"See this one here", she spoke quite low, "Here's where the troubles lie."
"It's called your life line, for it tells your life with every bend"
"The trouble is", her face turned white, "yours doesn't seem to end"
His eyes grew wide, voice set aside, he couldn't help but stare
then gazed on down, a sturdy frown, replaced his forehead bare
"Here is your birth", her finger stopped, "you're second to this mother"
Then moved her finger farther back, "But here...there is another"
She traced the line on back through time, her mouth moved once again
through wrinkled lips she uttered this, "You've not one life...but ten"
For here begins the tale, told me, even though I've been forbade
to pass along this legend called 'The Lives of Din Kincade"
..each part planned to tell the story of each of his 10 lives, through the ages.
Fellow poet/composer here. This was great, thank you for sharing :)
LOL! When I was in high school, we did The Taming of the Shrew set in the 60s. Theater teachers always try to shake things up.
This is one of my favorite movies of all time.
I LOVE that it wasn't all the students, at the end, because it wouldn't be, but definitely enough.
This was my favourite film of all time from about the age of 11 and in high school I had a teacher that I could tell had watched this, because he did certain things that were fairly similar to Mr Keating, and I loved this teacher so much! He was my favourite of all time - great teachers really can make a difference to kids lives!
One of my favorite movies that Robin Williams made. Everyone was very good, and he was outstanding as Mr. Keating.
I went to a school like this in Sydney for 5 years in the 90's. It had a boarding wing/house but I was a normal day student. Some teachers and staff were progressive & approachable but others were brutal. Hopefully those ones have all since died off. Was one of those schools though that really teaches you time management and punctuality to the minute. I ended up finishing highschool in the public system when my parents split but luckily was able to find a tame one.
my senior english teacher was strict, but supportive and encouraging. She shows this movie to all of her students before they study poetry. She's awesome. She made me a better, more confident person, and made me feel seen
This is one of those movies that just made an impression when I was a teenager. Not even knowing why exactly, but I feel it. It relates so much❤.And even more now that Robin Williams isn't with us anymore
I was in high school when this film came out ... in the honor's programs... pushed by my immigrant Chinese parents to "perform academically" and get perfect grades (anything less was failure) ... nothing else should matter more in my life than THAT (getting perfect grades). No distractions were allowed... no extra-curricular activities... no after-school clubs... no friends, honestly... because I was never given the time to spend with these friends outside of school - to build any of those bonds.
After I saw this movie... I fought against my parents every single day of my teenage life because I wanted to LIVE and find the joy and happiness and connection to life beyond my textbooks. And my parents and I fought like tigers... they did everything they could to keep me in line and I did everything I could to fight back -- sure, I was still a nerdy little kid with WAY too many fears and anxiety to really get into any REAL trouble ... but I wanted to LIVE so, so badly!
It wasn't until I became an adult (after several years away from home - where I barely even spoke to my parents) and came back to visit that I finally felt like my parents had grown to accept me for who I was. And treated me like a social equal. I struggled in life... didn't always have good jobs... nor steady relationships (Go figure, eh? The socially stunted immigrant child who was emotionally and physically abused has trouble making social connections and loving others because of the many years he spent not loving himself) ... but ... I survived... and I did take some positive lessons from my parents - their hard working, stubborn-ness... their desire to push forward for more and to try my best. I am a better person because I was inspired by movies like this one which showed me what it meant to LIVE and not just exist.
Dayum. That's impressive both on your part and your parents' part. I'm so glad you were able to find your true self after all that. Kudos to you.
Saw this in the theater when it came out...walked out sobbing. It really is just an incredibly amazing, touching, funny and emotional movie that just...*gets* to you.
My high school physics teacher was like Mr Keating. Passionate about the subject, funny, slightly unhinged, and very much cared about all the students. Also, if the administration saw how many uncontrolled explosions happened in his classroom, he would have been fired immediately.
I was waiting all day to see this reaction. It is one of my favorite movies of all-time. I was just starting high school when I first saw this film. I went to a school similar to this one, it was all boys, but it was not a boarding school like the one in the movie, so the film really resonated with me. The barbaric YAWP scene always brings a tear or 2 to my eyes, such a wonderfully acted scene. I'm a little late to your channel, but I love your perspectives on the films you watch. Keep up the great work!!
A different version of the teacher guide trope is The Emperors Club with Kevin Kline.
And Mr Holland’s Opus is another that’s well worth watching.
As of 2024, corporal punishment is still legal in private schools in every U.S. state except New Jersey, Iowa, New York and Maryland, legal in public schools in 17 states, and practiced in 12 of the states.
I absolutely ADORE this film.. but the level of anxiety I felt approaching THAT scene was massive.
There are scenes in this film which, even after dozens of times watching it, make me teary-eyed, like Todd's poetry scene, and the last desk scene. This was such a great movie, and inspired my interest in Classical and Baroque music, literature, and playing the violin.
One of my all time movies that I rewatch all the time. Thanks for the honest reaction!
Rest in Peace Robin Williams
My Literature teacher inspired me greatly. And it turned out he ran theater in my school. I wanted to be involved but was not ready to be on stage so he put me in charge of lighting and sound and building stage sets. It was amazing and I went to State and won for best one act play❤
Thanks to Cinebinge for reacting to this movie. I have suggested it many times on many channels after they react to Good Will Hunting, but most channels suffer from group think and seem to instead vote for the 15th best Adam Sandler movie. Excellent movie and great reaction by both of you. Bravo!