---
title: "Dead Poets Society"
year: 1989
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/dead-poets-society"
fi1m_id: "dead-poets-society"
imdb_id: "tt0097165"
tmdb_id: 207
wikidata_id: "Q106316"
fi1m_score: 80
critics_score: 63
critics_reviews: 12
published: "2026-09-15"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:09.219402+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Dead Poets Society (1989)

Directed by Peter Weir · 2h 09m · MPA PG · Drama

## Identity

Dead Poets Society

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/dead-poets-society
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** dead-poets-society
- **IMDb ID:** tt0097165
- **TMDB ID:** 207
- **Wikidata ID:** Q106316
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097165/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/207, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106316

**Fi1m score: 80** · Critics 63 from 12 reviews

*In a sentence:* Robin Williams makes poetry sound worth the trouble of disappointing your parents

> Peter Weir’s school drama is moving enough to earn its sentiment, with Robin Williams and the young cast doing the difficult work. The moral lessons are too tidy, but we recommend it for the performances.

## Synopsis

At a strict boarding school, teacher John Keating (Robin Williams) encourages his pupils to approach poetry through their own experiences and think for themselves. Among the boys are Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard), Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke) and Knox Overstreet (Josh Charles). Keating’s unconventional teaching offers another way of looking at lives governed by adults and school rules. As the boys respond to his encouragement, their interest in art and individuality brings them up against expectations at school and at home. What they want from life becomes harder to separate from what their parents want for them.

## Review

Peter Weir’s *Dead Poets Society* is a moving school drama, despite a script that sorts its adults too neatly into right and wrong. John Keating teaches boys accustomed to being told how to live, and offers poetry as a reason to think for themselves. Tom Schulman’s screenplay understands the appeal of an adult who takes young people’s inner lives seriously. We recommend it for the care with which Weir and his cast make that attention feel important, even when the writing becomes too certain of everybody’s place.

Williams is crucial, and his restraint is the film’s most useful surprise. As Keating, he makes an eccentric teacher seem approachable without making him harmless. The charm has a purpose: we can believe that these boys would listen to him and risk trying something unfamiliar. Schulman also keeps the pupils at the centre, giving their responses to Keating room to matter. Williams accepts that supporting function with a grace that keeps his charisma from swallowing the film.

Robert Sean Leonard and Ethan Hawke give the film much of its emotional force. Leonard makes the boys’ appetite for a less prescribed life seem urgent, while Hawke lets encouragement register with a hesitation that is painful to watch. We were moved by that hesitation: Williams encourages him, and Hawke makes accepting the attention look difficult. Weir is patient with both actors, allowing their responses to carry scenes that could have become illustrations of a good teacher’s wisdom.

John Seale’s cinematography makes the school attractive enough that we understand why its authority might go unquestioned. The carefully lit images occasionally seem too flattering, but they give the boys’ surroundings a persuasive appeal. Wendy Stites’s production design reinforces the school’s formality, making its resistance to change feel credible. The shots of birds are a more mannered touch. Weir is persuasive enough about school life without asking the surroundings to become mysterious.

Todd Anderson’s editing is attentive to the young cast, giving their responses to Keating enough weight to keep the lessons from becoming solo performances. The pace suits a story in which encouragement needs time to take effect. Maurice Jarre’s score supplies warmth, though it sometimes presses too hard on feelings the actors have already made clear. Across 129 minutes, the classroom exchanges remain absorbing because Weir keeps our attention on what the boys make of their teacher.

The writing is less generous to those who resist Keating’s influence. Schulman’s emphasis on parental hostility to artistic ambition gives the boys a recognisable obstacle, but can make an adult’s whole character seem reducible to disapproval. The romantic pursuit subplot is another weakness: it asks us to indulge behaviour because it belongs to a young man discovering himself. That is too easy an excuse, and the film’s sympathy for its boys needs more scrutiny there.

As an inspirational-teacher drama, it is unusually interested in how the pupils receive the inspiration. Leonard and Hawke make the invitation to think independently feel consequential, and Williams gives them someone worth listening to. We would have preferred less insistence from the script and score. Go for the actors, and allow yourself to question a few of the lessons.

*Fi1m score 80, published 15 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics come down in the film’s favour, though the warmth is rarely unqualified. The praise clusters on Robin Williams, whose English teacher is called superb, charming and, by more than one reviewer, unusually restrained for him at the time. The young cast is admired almost everywhere, with Leonard and Hawke singled out, and Peter Weir is credited with a strong sense of time and place and a habit of lending simple scenes an air of myth.

The reservations are about the script. Several reviews find it pat, its conflicts manufactured and its villains overdrawn, and Roger Ebert calls the whole thing a collection of pious platitudes about nonconformity. The spread is wide, from firm recommendations to outright dismissals, and it follows the calendar: the harshest notices, from The New York Times and The New Yorker, date from the 1989 release, while later revisits are kinder. Slant Magazine, in 2014, is the exception, arguing the film preaches independence while practising conformity.

## Straight answers

**Is Dead Poets Society worth watching?**

*Dead Poets Society* is worth watching for the performances, and we scored it 80. Robin Williams shows unexpected restraint as the teacher, while Robert Sean Leonard and Ethan Hawke make the boys' response to him the heart of the film. The script sorts its adults too neatly into right and wrong, so go for the actors rather than the lessons.

**How long is Dead Poets Society, and what is it rated?**

*Dead Poets Society* runs 2h 09m and is rated PG by the MPA in the US. It is a drama film.

**Where can I watch Dead Poets Society in the US?**

*Dead Poets Society* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How does Dead Poets Society compare to The 400 Blows?**

*Dead Poets Society* is the warmer and more reassuring of the two, while [*The 400 Blows*](https://film.one/film/the-400-blows) is the better film. Both follow a boy resisting adult authority, but Truffaut leaves room for anger and neglect where Weir offers an inspiring teacher and tidy moral lessons. Choose Weir for comfort and the performances, Truffaut for something harder and less consoling.

**What should I watch after Dead Poets Society?**

After *Dead Poets Society*, try [*The History Boys*](https://film.one/film/the-history-boys) (2006, Fi1m 67): Another classroom full of bright boys, with sharper doubts about inspirational teaching. Then [*The 400 Blows*](https://film.one/film/the-400-blows) (1959, Fi1m 91): A boy resists adult authority, with less reassurance and more room for anger; and [*Billy Elliot*](https://film.one/film/billy-elliot) (2000, Fi1m 81): Artistic ambition meets parental resistance, with humour that makes the hurt count.

### Reviews we read (12)

- **Time Out**, CM (90/100, inferred): The casting of Robin Williams as the eccentric teacher is inspired, and the script focuses on paternal prejudice against artistic pursuits rather than falling into cliché. Weir draws sensitive performances from the young cast while infusing the film with his customary mysticism. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/dead-poets-society)
- **Empire**, Angie Errigo (80/100, inferred): The critic finds the film an often overlooked screen gem that radiates intelligence, humanity and warmth. She singles out Peter Weir's direction for creating a strong sense of time, place and people while imbuing simple acts with beauty and mystery. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/dead-poets-society-review/)
- **The Guardian**, Luke Buckmaster (80/100, inferred): The critic highlights the film's enduring cultural impact through its celebration of literature, individuality and the rousing 'O Captain! My Captain!' finale. They note how it continues to inspire appreciation for seizing the day and the power of inspirational teaching, even as some elements feel simplistic upon revisiting. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jul/16/dead-poets-society-30-years-on-robin-williams-stirring-call-to-seize-the-day-endures)
- **The Telegraph** (75/100, inferred): The review praises Robin Williams as superb in the role of the inspirational English teacher who shakes up a conservative 1950s boarding school with his passion for poetry. It singles out the heartening effect of his unorthodox methods and fine performances from the young cast. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/11287287/Dead-Poets-Society-review.html)
- **Variety**, Variety Staff (70/100, inferred): The story focuses on the youths and how creative flames are kindled then stamped out. Director Peter Weir fills the screen with compelling teenagers; the tale sings when Williams is onscreen, and young actors like Leonard and Hawke deliver strong performances. [Read](https://variety.com/1988/film/reviews/dead-poets-society-1200428019/)
- **The AV Club**, Noel Murray (60/100, inferred): The script is too pat in its depiction of idealistic souls being squelched by stern authority figures, but the young actors are extraordinary and Weir imbues the campus with the feel of an old myth playing out with dark inevitability. Williams is more restrained here than in his other films of the era, though his style sometimes clashes with the director's emphasis on the boys' gawkiness and real risks. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/good-morning-vietnam-dead-poets-society-1798171449)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (2/4): The critic views the film as a collection of pious platitudes about nonconformity that panders to adolescents without genuine depth. He singles out the shallow plundering of poetry quotes and the artificial, manipulative handling of the students' rebellion and tragedy for complaint. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dead-poets-society-1989)
- **Slant Magazine**, Odie Henderson (2/4): The film purports to be about the bravery of following one’s own path but is actually a conformist, less inspirational piece of cinema whose script manufactures every conflict and whose characters fail to seize the day when it matters. It singles out the young actors and Williams for relatively better work amid the contrivances and overbaked villains. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/summer-of-89-dead-poets-society-do-the-wrong-thing/)
- **The New Yorker**, Pauline Kael (30/100, inferred): Robin Williams gives a graceful, restrained performance as the liberating teacher whose rapport with students sparks creativity. The film is polished and on the side of youth and poetry but feels middlebrow and overly prepared, with a perception of reality like pulp fiction. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1989/06/26/stonework)
- **The New York Times**, Vincent Canby (30/100, inferred): The critic calls the film dim and sad, noting that the teacher character is a catalyst rather than central. Good performances from the young actors are praised, but the director is faulted for overusing fancified effects like eerie bird shots and prettily lighted scenes. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/02/movies/review-film-shaking-up-a-boys-school-with-poetry.html)
- **Collider**, Kendall Myers (8/10): The critic praises the film's timeless message of individuality and independent thought conveyed through Keating's unconventional teaching, along with Robin Williams' charming and endearing performance. Some outdated elements, including a problematic romantic pursuit subplot, are noted as flaws, but the film is still deemed a must-watch classic. [Read](https://collider.com/dead-poets-society-review/)
- **Eye for Film**, James Benefield (75/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a sentimental but well-made and enjoyable story of an inspirational teacher transforming boys at a strict boarding school through poetry and 'carpe diem'. Robin Williams' performance as the charismatic professor stands out as the highlight, though the film risks mawkishness and may divide viewers. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/dead-poets-society-film-review-by-james-benefield)

## Details

- **Director:** Peter Weir
- **Director:** Peter Weir
- **Writer:** Tom Schulman
- **Cinematography:** John Seale
- **Editor:** William M. Anderson
- **Music:** Maurice Jarre
- **Production design:** Wendy Stites
- **Costume design:** Nancy Konrardy
- **Producer:** Steven Haft, Paul Junger Witt, Tony Thomas
- **Cast:** Robin Williams as John Keating; Robert Sean Leonard as Neil Perry; Ethan Hawke as Todd Anderson; Josh Charles as Knox Overstreet; Gale Hansen as Charlie Dalton; Dylan Kussman as Richard Cameron; Allelon Ruggiero as Steven Meeks; James Waterston as Gerard Pitts
- **Runtime:** 2h 09m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG
- **Release (the US):** 9 June 1989
- **Genres:** Drama
- **Also in:** [Best Picture winners](https://film.one/collections/oscar-best-picture.md) (Nominee, 1989); [BAFTA Best Film winners](https://film.one/collections/bafta-best-film.md) (Winner, 1989); [Golden Globe Best Drama winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-drama.md) (Nominee, 1989)
- **Budget:** $16 million
- **Box office:** $236 million

## Where to watch in the US

- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd
- Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy $4.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $17.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-15.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IL, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- César Award for Best Foreign Film 1991: César Award for Best Foreign Film (won)
- Academy Awards 1990: Best Actor (nominated); Best Director (nominated); Best Picture (nominated); Best Writing, Original Screenplay (won)
- BAFTA Film Awards 1990: Best Actor in a Leading Role (nominated); Best Direction (nominated); Best Editing (nominated); Best Original Screenplay (nominated); Best Film (won); Best Original Music (won)
- David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor 1990: David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor (nominated)
- David di Donatello for Best Foreign Director 1990: David di Donatello for Best Foreign Director (nominated)
- Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay 1990: Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay (nominated)
- Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film 1989: Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film (nominated)
- Golden Globes 1989: Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (nominated); Best Director (nominated); Best Motion Picture – Drama (nominated); Best Screenplay (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *The History Boys* (2006), Fi1m 67: Another classroom full of bright boys, with sharper doubts about inspirational teaching. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-history-boys.md)
- *The Class* (2008): Teaching as daily negotiation, with a classroom that refuses easy uplift.
- *The 400 Blows* (1959), Fi1m 91: A boy resists adult authority, with less reassurance and more room for anger. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-400-blows.md)
- *Linda Linda Linda* (2005): Schoolgirls form a band, finding confidence through practice and each other’s company.
- *Billy Elliot* (2000), Fi1m 81: Artistic ambition meets parental resistance, with humour that makes the hurt count. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/billy-elliot.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/dead-poets-society