Editing Dead Poets Society (section)

==Reception==
===Box office===<!-- do not rename section without updating intro's forward ref -->
The worldwide box office was reported as $235,860,579, which includes domestic grosses of $95,860,116.<ref name="boxoff">{{cite web | url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=deadpoetssociety.htm | title=Dead Poets Society (1989) daily | work=[[Box Office Mojo]] | access-date=November 15, 2014 | archive-date=June 16, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616170633/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=deadpoetssociety.htm | url-status=live }}</ref> The film's global receipts were the [[1989 in film#Highest-grossing films|fifth-highest for 1989]], and the highest for dramas.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=1989&p=.htm | title=1989 Worldwide Grosses | work=Box Office Mojo | access-date=November 15, 2014 | archive-date=June 20, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150620004329/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=1989&p=.htm | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Critical response===
{{Unbalanced|section|date=March 2025}}
On [[review aggregator]] [[Rotten Tomatoes]], ''Dead Poets Society'' holds an approval rating of 85%, based on 65 reviews, with an average score of 7.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Affecting performances from the young cast and a genuinely inspirational turn from Robin Williams grant Peter Weir's prep school drama top honors".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dead_poets_society|title=Dead Poets Society Movie Reviews, Pictures |access-date=September 16, 2024|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|archive-date=April 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412085753/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dead_poets_society|url-status=live}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film received a score of 79, based on 15 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/dead-poets-society|title=Dead Poets Society reviews |access-date=January 25, 2010|website=[[Metacritic]]|archive-date=April 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428025200/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/dead-poets-society|url-status=live}}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film a rare "A+" grade on a scale of A+ to F.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-cinemascore-matters-box-office-225563|title=Why CinemaScore Matters for Box Office|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=August 19, 2011|language=en|access-date=March 2, 2020|archive-date=April 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426043610/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-cinemascore-matters-box-office-225563|url-status=live}}</ref>

''[[The Washington Post]]''{{'}}s reviewer called it "solid, smart entertainment", and praised Robin Williams for giving a "nicely restrained acting performance".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/deadpoetssocietypghowe_a0b21e.htm|title='Dead Poets Society'|last=Howe|first=Desson|date=June 9, 1989|access-date=October 17, 2010|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-date=October 10, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010121428/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/deadpoetssocietypghowe_a0b21e.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Vincent Canby]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' also praised Williams' "exceptionally fine performance", while writing that "''Dead Poets Society''... is far less about Keating than about a handful of impressionable boys".<ref name="canby" />

[[Pauline Kael]] was unconvinced about the film and its "middlebrow highmindedness", but praised Williams. "Robin Williams' performance is more graceful than anything he's done before [–] he's totally, concentratedly there – [he] reads his lines stunningly, and when he mimics various actors reciting [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] there's no undue clowning in it; he's a gifted teacher demonstrating his skills."<ref>Pauline Kael, Movie Love, pp. 153–157, reprinted from review that appeared in ''[[The New Yorker]]'', June 26, 1989</ref> [[Roger Ebert]]'s review for the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave the film two stars out of four. He criticized Williams for spoiling an otherwise creditable dramatic performance by occasionally veering into his onstage comedian's persona, and lamented that for a film set in the 1950s, there was no mention of the [[Beat Generation]] writers popular among college students of the era. Additionally, Ebert described the film as an often poorly constructed "collection of pious platitudes.... The movie pays lip service to qualities and values that, on the evidence of the screenplay itself, it is cheerfully willing to abandon."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dead-poets-society-1989 | title=Dead Poets Society | last=Ebert | first=Roger | date=June 9, 1989 | access-date=July 28, 2020 | archive-date=July 16, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716062934/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dead-poets-society-1989 | url-status=live }}</ref>

On their Oscar-nomination edition of ''[[At the Movies (1986 TV program)|Siskel & Ebert]]'', both [[Gene Siskel]] (who also gave the film a mixed review) and Ebert disagreed with Williams' Oscar nomination. Ebert said that he would have swapped Williams with either [[Matt Dillon]] for ''[[Drugstore Cowboy]]'' or [[John Cusack]] for ''[[Say Anything...|Say Anything]]''.<ref>{{cite episode|title=Oscar Nomination Surprises for 1990 |series=[[At the Movies (1986 TV program)|Siskel & Ebert]] |season=4 |number=22 |date=February 17, 1990 |network=Buena Vista Television |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n76p4ZZxHRg |access-date=February 24, 2023}}</ref> On their ''If We Picked the Winners'' special in March 1990, Ebert chose the film's Best Picture nomination as the worst nomination of the year, believing that it took a slot that could have gone to [[Spike Lee]]'s ''[[Do the Right Thing]]''.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INXYmuAoZQE |title=Siskel & Ebert: If We Picked The Winners |date=March 24, 1990 |access-date=February 24, 2023}}</ref> Film historian [[Leonard Maltin]] wrote: "Well made, extremely well acted, but also dramatically obvious and melodramatically one-sided. Nevertheless, Tom Schulman's screenplay won an Oscar."<ref name="Maltin 2008 p. 328">{{cite book |last=Maltin |first=Leonard |title=Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide |publisher=Plume/Penguin |publication-place=New York |year=2008 |isbn=9780452289789 |oclc=183268110 |page=328 |url={{Google books |id=6EgPDierNGUC |page=328 |plainurl=yes}}}}</ref>

[[John Simon (critic)|John Simon]], writing for ''[[National Review]]'', said that ''Dead Poets Society'' was the most dishonest film that he had seen in some time.<ref>{{cite book |title=John Simon on Film: Criticism 1982–2001|last1=Simon|first1=John |publisher=Applause Books |year=2005 |page=225}}</ref> [[Richard Schickel]] reviewed the film for [[Time (magazine)|''Time'']], commenting: "Williams, who has comparatively little screen time, has come to act, not to cut comic riffs, and he does so with forceful, ultimately compelling, simplicity."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Schickel |first=Richard |date=1989-06-05 |title=Cinema: A Bothered School Spirit |url=https://time.com/archive/6702701/cinema-a-bothered-school-spirit/ |access-date=2024-09-30 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref> [[Kevin Dettmar]] wrote in ''[[The Atlantic]]'': "The beloved film's portrayal of studying literature is both misleading and deeply seductive." He commented further on how literature was taught in the film (by Robin Williams's character John Keating), describing it as "the literary equivalent of [[fandom]]," and "anti-intellectual."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dettmar |first=Kevin |date=2014-02-19 |title='Dead Poets Society' Is a Terrible Defense of the Humanities |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/02/-em-dead-poets-society-em-is-a-terrible-defense-of-the-humanities/283853/ |access-date=2024-10-01 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref>

===Accolades===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[62nd Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]
| [[Steven Haft]], [[Paul Junger Witt]], and [[Tony Thomas (producer)|Tony Thomas]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="4"| <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1990 |title=The 62nd Academy Awards (1990) Nominees and Winners |access-date=October 17, 2011 |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706095721/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/62nd-winners.html |archive-date=July 6, 2011}}</ref>
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| [[Peter Weir]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| [[Robin Williams]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]]
| [[Tom Schulman]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Argentine Film Critics Association|Argentine Film Critics Association Awards]]
| [[Silver Condor Award for Best Foreign Film|Best Foreign Film]]
| Peter Weir
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| [[Casting Society of America#Artios Awards|Artios Awards]]
| [[Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Big Budget Feature (Drama)|Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film Casting – Drama]]
| Howard Feuer
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.castingsociety.com/awards/artios/1990 |title=Nominees/Winners |publisher=[[Casting Society of America]] |access-date=February 9, 2019}}</ref>
|-
| [[American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers|ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards]]
| Top Box Office Films
| [[Maurice Jarre]]
| {{won}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| rowspan="6"| [[43rd British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Awards]]
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| Steven Haft, Paul Junger Witt, Tony Thomas, and Peter Weir
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="6"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1990/film |title=BAFTA Awards: Film in 1990 |publisher=[[British Academy Film Awards]] |access-date=September 16, 2016}}</ref>
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Direction|Best Direction]]
| Peter Weir
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Actor in a Leading Role]]
| Robin Williams
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Original]]
| Tom Schulman
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]]
| [[William M. Anderson]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Original Music|Best Original Film Score]]
| Maurice Jarre
| {{won}}
|-
| [[British Society of Cinematographers#Award categories|British Society of Cinematographers Awards]]
| [[British Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film|Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film]]
| [[John Seale]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://bscine.com/media/uploads/awards/bsc-cinematography-feature-film.pdf?v |title=Best Cinematography in Feature Film |publisher=[[British Society of Cinematographers]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604021621/https://bscine.com/media/uploads/awards/bsc-cinematography-feature-film.pdf?v |archive-date=2021-06-04 |access-date=June 3, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| [[16th César Awards|César Awards]]
| [[César Award for Best Foreign Film|Best Foreign Film]]
| Peter Weir
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.academie-cinema.org/evenements/ceremonie-des-cesar-1991/ |title=The 1991 Caesars Ceremony |publisher=[[César Awards]] |access-date=July 10, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| [[Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 1989|Chicago Film Critics Association Awards]]
| Most Promising Actor
| [[Robert Sean Leonard]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://chicagofilmcritics.org/awards-blog/archives |title=1988–2013 Award Winner Archives |publisher=[[Chicago Film Critics Association]] |date=January 2013 |access-date=August 24, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[David di Donatello|David di Donatello Awards]]
| [[David di Donatello for Best Foreign Film|Best Foreign Film]]
| rowspan="2"| Peter Weir
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="3"| 
|-
| [[David di Donatello for Best Foreign Director|Best Foreign Director]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor|Best Foreign Actor]]
| Robin Williams
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[42nd Directors Guild of America Awards|Directors Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film|Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures]]
| Peter Weir
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dga.org/Awards/History/1980s/1989.aspx?value=1989 |title=The 42nd Annual DGA Awards |publisher=[[Directors Guild of America Awards]] |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| [[Ciak|Golden Ciak Awards]]
| Best Foreign Film
| Peter Weir
| {{won}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[47th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama|Best Motion Picture – Drama]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="4"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/dead-poets-society |title=Dead Poets Society |publisher=[[Golden Globe Awards]] |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama]]
| Robin Williams
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director|Best Director – Motion Picture]]
| Peter Weir
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Motion Picture]]
| Tom Schulman
| {{nom}}
|-
| colspan="3"| [[Goldene Leinwand|Golden Screen Awards]]
| {{won}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| [[Joseph Plateau Award]]s
| colspan="2"| Best Foreign Film
| {{won}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[Jupiter Award (film award)#13th Jupiter Award / 1991|Jupiter Awards]]
| Best International Film
| Peter Weir
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="2"| 
|-
| Best International Actor
| Robin Williams
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Nastro d'Argento]]
| Best Foreign Director
| Peter Weir
| {{won}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| [[National Board of Review Awards 1989|National Board of Review Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[National Board of Review: Top Ten Films|Top Ten Films]]
| {{draw|6th Place}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1989/ |title=1989 Award Winners |publisher=[[National Board of Review]] |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| Online Film & Television Association Awards
| colspan="2"| Film Hall of Fame: Productions
| {{won|Inducted}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oftaawards.com/film-hall-of-fame/film-hall-of-fame-productions/ |title=Film Hall of Fame: Productions |publisher=Online Film & Television Association |access-date=June 6, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| Political Film Society Awards
| colspan="2"| [[Political Film Society Award for Democracy|Democracy]]
| {{won}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| [[Turkish Film Critics Association|Turkish Film Critics Association Awards]]
| colspan="2"| Best Foreign Film
| {{draw|6th Place}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| [[Warsaw Film Festival]]
| Audience Award
| Peter Weir
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://wff.pl/pl/about-wff/history/6-edition |title=6th Warsaw Film Festival |publisher=[[Warsaw Film Festival]] |access-date=February 6, 2022}}</ref>
|-
| [[42nd Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen]]
| Tom Schulman
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |title=Awards Winners |publisher=[[Writers Guild of America Awards]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205095022/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |archive-date=December 5, 2012 |access-date=June 6, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[11th Youth in Film Awards|Young Artist Awards]]
| colspan="2"| Best Motion Picture – Drama 
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms11.htm |title=11th Annual Youth in Film Awards |access-date=March 31, 2011 |publisher=[[Young Artist Award]]s |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409024401/http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms11.htm |archive-date=April 9, 2014}}</ref>
|}

'''[[American Film Institute]] Lists'''

The film was voted #52 on the [[AFI's 100 Years…100 Cheers]] list, a list of the top 100 most inspiring films of all time.<ref>{{cite web |author=American Film Institute |url=http://www.afi.com/100Years/cheers.aspx |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers |publisher=Afi.com |access-date=August 13, 2014 |archive-date=March 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320160930/http://afi.com/100Years/cheers.aspx |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The film's line, "''Carpe diem''. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.", was voted as the [[AFI's 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes|95th greatest movie quote]] by the [[American Film Institute]].<ref>{{cite web |author=American Film Institute |url=http://www.afi.com/100years/quotes.aspx |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes |publisher=Afi.com |access-date=August 13, 2014 |archive-date=April 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415022946/http://www.afi.com/100Years/quotes.aspx |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Buckmaster |first=Luke |date=2019-07-16 |title=Dead Poets Society: 30 years on Robin Williams' stirring call to 'seize the day' endures |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jul/16/dead-poets-society-30-years-on-robin-williams-stirring-call-to-seize-the-day-endures |access-date=2024-10-14 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

===Legacy===
After Robin Williams' death in August 2014, fans of his work used social media to pay tribute to him with photo and video reenactments of the film's final "[[O Captain! My Captain!]]" scene.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/robin-williams-death-jimmy-fallon-fights-tears-pays-tribute-with-oh-captain-my-captain-20140814-103uwh.html |title=Robin Williams death: Jimmy Fallon fights tears, pays tribute with 'Oh Captain, My Captain' |date=August 13, 2014  |website=[[Sydney Morning Herald]] |access-date=November 15, 2014 |archive-date=September 1, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140901165613/http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/robin-williams-death-jimmy-fallon-fights-tears-pays-tribute-with-oh-captain-my-captain-20140814-103uwh.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Upon hearing about Williams' death, many teachers came forward to pay him their respects online, and even revealed that they were inspired to become teachers because of his character, Mr. Keating, from ''Dead Poets Society''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Townsend |first=Lucy |date=2014-08-13 |title=The real teachers inspired by Dead Poets Society |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28756375 |access-date=2024-10-14 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles feature prominently in the [[music video]] for "[[Fortnight (song)|Fortnight]]" by American singer [[Taylor Swift]] from her album ''[[The Tortured Poets Department]]'' (2024), as a nod to the similarity between the two titles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Josh Charles Thought Ethan Hawke Was 'Punking' Him About Being Asked to Star in Taylor Swift's 'Fortnight' Video |url=https://people.com/josh-charles-thought-ethan-hawke-was-punking-him-about-being-in-taylor-swift-fortnight-video-8645279 |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=People.com |language=en}}</ref>