The second time I saw Dead Poets Society was with my family in Camden Haven on the mid-north coast, New South Wales, Australia (see image inset). That’s where we went to visit my grandmother on school holidays and where my mother currently resides.
Allow me to digress…The mountain you see in the background is called North Brother Mountain which was named by British explorer Captain James Cook in 1770. Well technically he named them the Three Brothers, but this is the northern most. The mountain was originally called Dooragan by the Australian Aboriginal local Birpai people. They tell a dreamtime story of three brothers of the Birpai tribe who were killed by a witch called Widjirriejuggi and were buried where the mountains stand. The youngest of the three was Dooragan, for whom the mountain is named. You can find a short story I wrote here of our family’s attempt to trek down Dooragan mountain.
Any-hows, in the small town Laurieton you see sitting at the foot of Dooragan (North Brother Mountain), I cajoled my family to see Dead Poets Society after I had just seen a screening which left me flabbergasted. I remember the cinema was restored to showcase the classic aesthetics of cinemas yesteryear. The only problem was, is the session was a double billing. Beaches and today’s featured movie Dead Poets Society. I think after Beaches my mother was left a bit strung out.
Dead Poets Society is the fourth movie to be presented here from legendary Australian director Peter Weir. The movie holds a special place in my memory because of the aforementioned experience with my family and the endearing location we saw it. Not to mention how it inspired me to ‘seize the day’ (Carpe Diem) as far as my studies and sports were concerned. I have presented at the end of this post two of my favourite scenes in the movie, namely the Carpe Diem scene and the ending.
Painfully shy Todd Anderson has been sent to the school where his popular older brother was valedictorian. His roommate, Neil Perry, although exceedingly bright and popular, is very much under the thumb of his overbearing father. The two, along with their other friends, meet Professor Keating, their new English teacher, who tells them of the Dead Poets Society, and encourages them to go against the status quo. Each does so in his own way, and is changed for life.
Below are excerpts from the Wikipedia reference:
The film, starring Robin Williams, is set in 1959 at the fictional elite boarding school Welton Academy, and tells the story of an English teacher who inspires his students through his teaching of poetry. The film was a critical and commercial success and received numerous accolades, including Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Williams. The worldwide box office was reported as $235,860,579 – the fifth highest for 1989, and the highest for dramas. The original script was written by Tom Schulman, based on his experiences at the Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, particularly with his inspirational teacher Samuel Pickering. During the shooting, Weir requested the young cast not to use modern slang, even off camera.
Here is some other cool movie trivia:
During filming, Williams used to crack many jokes on set, which Ethan Hawke found incredibly irritating. For the scene where Todd Anderson is spontaneously incited by John Keating to make a poem in front of the class, Williams apparently made a joke saying that Hawke was intimidating, which Hawke later realized was serious and that the joke referred to his earnestness and intensity as a young man. Ironically, Hawke’s first agent signed with Hawke once Williams told him that Hawke would “do really well”.
References:
1. Dead Poets Society – Wikipedia
2. Dead Poets Society – IMDB
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
I saw this in the theater…my date and I talked about it for hours…a great movie. I didn’t miss many Robin Williams movies starting with Good Morning Vietnam.
Hi Max. Good Morning Vietnam was great but I haven’t seen it in decades. Dead Poets was a standout movie because of the subject matter and resurrecting old truisms like Carpe Diem and Robert Frost poetry ‘The Road Not Taken’. I can see how it got you both talking about it for hours. The very sad twist towards the end was shocking to say the least. Fantastic movie which had a huge impact on me growing up. Thanks for sharing buddy.
Great movie…and info..
I haven’t seen Dead Poets in decades. I have got it in my movie folder somewhere. I too have related to this film because of my teaching background. I haven’t heard of The Holdovers. I’ll check out your review. Cheers.