Plot: What’s it about?
The 80’s saw the rise of a young comic by the name of Robin Williams and he made his mark (or “Mork”, rather) in television on the show Mork and Mindy in which he played an alien trying to learn how the humans “worked.” As anyone could see, Williams’ immense talent was far too big for the small screen and he made several notable films including The World According to Garp, Moscow on the Hudson and Good Morning, Vietnam. He also has the innate ability to do comedy as well as he does drama, though it’s been a long-running joke that Dead Poets Society is one of the few dramatic roles in which he didn’t sport a beard. Many feel that his role in this film is his best, though ironically he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar a decade later in Good Will Hunting.
Williams plays John Keating, a graduate of a prestigious New England prep school. Keating is the new English teacher, though the film focuses on a group of students. Painfully shy Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke) is trying to live up to his brother’s reputation. Class clown Charlie (Gale Hansen) rebels against the institution and Neil (Robert Sean Leonard) wants to pursue a career in acting, though is overbearing father (Kurtwood Smith) wants him to be a doctor (ironically enough, actor Leonard would later go onto fame in television’s “House, M.D.” playing a doctor). As privileged teens, these boys have it all but it’s not until they meet the quirky Mr. Keating who teaches them to “suck the marrow out of life.” The students reform a group that Keating was part of entitled “The Dead Poets Society” as they find a newfound interest in their studies. Naturally every character has their own obstacle to overcome and some do and others…don’t. However it’s the inspiration given by Keating that gives the students the confidence to do what they once couldn’t.
I’ll come out and say that I think that Dead Poets Society is far and away the best role that Robin Williams has ever had. Yes he was good in Good Will Hunting, but I feel that role was a bit engineered for him to win an Oscar whereas he really deserved it more in this film. Then again, if everyone got an Oscar for the role they should have, we’d have a lot of winners for some very different roles. The ensemble cast is what really makes the film work and this movie served as a launching pad for young actors like Josh Charles, Ethan Hawke and Robert Sean Leonard. As for Williams, it was another critical and commercial hit for him and he’d have a few more in the years to come with films like Aladdin, Mrs. Doubtfire and Patch Adams. If you’ve never seen the movie, it’s not to be missed and it does somewhat break the mold of the “New England Prep School” films that are out there. Director Peter Weir is in top form here.
Video: How does it look?
I’ve seen “Dead Poets Society” in just about every format possible from VHS to LaserDisc to DVD to Blu-ray and now 4K. The 1.85:1 HEVC 4K image does give us some enhanced detail as well as an expanded color palette. There are a few shots that come off as a bit soft, though on the whole detail has been improved. Some of the shots are a bit muddled as many of the scenes are shot indoors and in dorm rooms and while this might lend itself to a somewhat darker look, it’s pulled off quite nicely. It’s not the picture perfect version that most of us had hoped for, but it’s an improvement – so we can’t complain too much.
Audio: How does it sound?
This movie has and never will be an audio powerhouse, so if you’re looking for something that will blow the roof off the place then you might want to look elsewhere. A new Dolby Atmos mix has been made for this Blu-ray and though vocals seem strong and consistent, there’s not a whole lot else going on in the other channels. The surrounds are present, but not really that active. This is one of those films that really doesn’t matter how good the sound is as the action on screen will be more than sufficient.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Audio Commentary – Director Peter Weir is joined by cinematographer John Seale and writer Tom Schulman give a pretty solid track. Some nuances about the script and the cast are explored, but fans of the film should find it an interesting listen.
- Dead Poets: A Look Back – Essentially that. We get some candid remarks from the cast (conspicuously absent is Williams) about the shoot and their respective characters. Of not, this was produced for the 2006 Blu-ray, so just add two decades to get an idea of what they look like now.
- Raw Takes – A single scene is explored to coincide with a pivotal scene in the film.
- Master of Sound: Alan Splet – Peter Weir is joined by filmmaker David Lynch (yes, that one) as they discuss the work of legendary sound designer, Alan Splet.
- Cinematography Master Class – The film’s cinematographer, John Seale, gives us some direction about the film’s look and feel, though it gets railroaded by a voiceover narration. Odd.
- Theatrical Trailer
The Bottom Line
Dead Poets Society was Robin Williams’ swan song. It’s his best performance (to me) and led to other dramatic work for him in roles like Good Will Hunting and The Fisher King. Disney’s new 4K offering gives us the same supplements that we’ve had for quite some time, but goes give a new 4K transfer as well as a Dolby Atmos sound mix.
