Have you seen the movie "Dead Poets Society"?

Question

It starred Robin Williams. I think he is an awesome actor.
What did you think of the movie?
What inspiration if any, did you get out of it?

Honey, I am a 57 year old woman. I saw this movie a long time ago, and just wanted to know if others thought the same way about it that I did.

Yes, I have "The Fisher King" and "Patch Adams, Bird Cage, Good Morning Vietnam, Good Will Hunting" and several others of his.

Yes, Yellow September, I promise you that I am 57. I only wish I really looked as good as my avatar. I used to look like that , only better.

Answer 1

Wow that was an amazing movie,--------------------------------------------------------------------------------






I'm the first to admit that I get a little sappy when writing about Dead Poets Society. I first saw the film during my senior year of high school, and 16 years later it's a movie that is still with me, one that I go back to time and time again.

There's a little bit of formula at work here: A stuffy rep school, 1950s, a collection of impressionable young boys, and a teacher that will change their lives. But there's something at work that turns what could have been a forgettable, droll piece of saccharine storytelling into a classic. Part of it is Robin Williams as Mr. Keating, a young English teacher that uses poetry to teach them how to "Sieze the day," to suck the marrow out of life, as Thoreau put it.

The poetry angle is an interested and unexpected one. And writer Tom Schulman and director Peter Weir have no confusion that the idea is a little corny. Putting a kid in front of the class, covering his eyes, and forcing him to free associate until he comes up with a verse about Walt Whitman? Sounds ridiculous, but it works. In fact, it's one of the most powerful scenes in the film.

That's because the kids in the film are just as good as Williams is here. Robert Sean Leonard is the ostensible star as Neil, a deeply repressed lad who's the class president type yet dreams of doing something artistic, despite the insistence by his father (Kurtwood Smith) that he become a doctor. And then there's roommate Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke), an intensely shy young man who's attending Welton Academy for the first time this year and will be memorably brought out of his shell, fighting all the way, by Keating. The other students of note -- Josh Charles as a lovesick kid and Gale Hansen as the unforgettable rebel "Nuwanda" -- are equally apt.

Ultimately the film revolves around Neil's story, when he decides for the first time to defy his father and act in a local play -- as Puck, in A Midsummer Night's Dream, of all things. This leads to a series of catastrophic events that culminates in (spoiler alert from here on out) Neil's suicide and the scapegoating/firing of Keating for it.

At once uplifting and emotionally crushing, there's no way to leave this movie without wanting to somehow improve your life and follow Keating's advice by seizing the day. Every time I watch the film I'm compelled to complete some lingering project, plan a trip, move into a new house, or do something unforgettable. Weir's direction perfectly captures the 1950s mood -- an era of repression just on the verge of breaking wide open -- and Williams manages to keep his mania in check for the bulk of the film, trotting out an impression here or there when the story requires it.

In recent years, Dead Poets Society has become a curious platform for deconstruction and revisionism. Viewers wonder, among other things, whether Neil was so troubled because he was secretly gay. Whether Keating might genuinely be guilty of contributing to his death. Whether "Sieze the day" isn't such a great motto after all. I'm not actually supporting any of these ideas per se, but the latter-day ruminating gives the film more weight than you might otherwise think, and it makes the movie all the richer for it.

I Give it 4 out of 5 stars lol

Answer 2

I loved the movie also,it was one of those feel good movies, which they don't seem to make anymore.
Did you see Robin Williams in the FISHER KING, it is an older movie, but has a message, I think he started out as a professor in the movie, it has been such a long time I can't remember, I will have to rent it again.

Answer 3

Great movie but the final disposition of the characters was semi-distressing. Williams break out role. Proved he could really act. Great supporting cast of young actors. Some have grown into new roles. A movie about life and death, friendship and loss. But taught to endeavor in your focus on the 'lesson', focus on the 'day'. Thanks for asking the question. Someone saw a movie that didn't have a car chase or explosion.

Answer 4

It was a great movie and it gave me inspiration to do thing a little out of the norm. To be a little more unorthodox from the rest of the standards that society expects us to be in. It also reminded me of a high school professor I had, Prof. Percy, Bell Gardens High School, He's a great instructor and made learning very fun, even though it was an accelerated honors type.

Answer 5

loved this movie - even when i had to study it as part of year 9 english class. I saw it as a follow your dreams type thing and helped me believe that you can effect people's lives in awesome ways. My strongest memory, and possibly why i look at this movie more seriously than other films is that my english teacher (a guy) cried when the future House doctor kills himself. I kinda thought it was cool that the movie was able to move him despite him teaching the same thing for 10yrs.

Answer 6

This is one of the best movies I've ever seen honestly. It moves me every time I watch it. And Robin Williams is so much more then just a comedian, he's a brilliant actor in all fields.

Answer 7

Yep Saw it loved it. I Like Robin Williams. He's awesome in every movie he has ever done. I learned that it's ok to be different.

Answer 8

Seen it over 30 times.

Hated it the first time as we went to see it as part of a school excursion. Some teacher had the bright idea to "inspire us" with this movie to do better in our upcoming exams.

Was expecting a comedy. Robin Williams. Then WTF!!! Was was this movie about!!!

Saw it again a few years later, without all my friends around me making noises and what not's and loved it. It's one of my favourites since then.

"follow your dreams" That's what i got out of it.

Answer 9

I saw the movie, and Williams was very good - but I didn't really care for the film itself.

Answer 10

i always loved this movie, i saw it in high school, am 22 now, i always believed it was about obviously seizing the day, but also that sometimes great things can come from rebellion, change, loss, defining social and parental standards; and that the influence of a true and passionate leader who also fights for his/her beliefs is sometimes all it takes to change a lifetime.