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Reviewed by Steve Rogers
Film:	B
Video Quality:	A-
Audio Quality:	B-
Special Features:	C
DVD Review:	B-

Everybody has or will have a teacher that somehow affected them in a way that no other teacher has. A teacher who breaks through the institutionalized, cookie-cutter mold that is the American education system and makes an impact on the student's learning and life experience. I think that may explain the enduring popularity of Dead Poets Society, the 1989 coming of age story directed by veteran Australian filmmaker Peter Weir. The movie was seen by some as primarily a vehicle for the one-man show of Robin Williams, but Weir surrounded Williams with a group of talented, young newcomers to play the students, which allowed the film to ascend above the realm of Mork Goes to Prep School, and provide a serious multi-dimensional look at teen angst amidst the conformity of the 1950s.

Williams performance as John Keating, the maverick English teacher whose innovative teaching methods awaken the consciousness of a group of seniors in an elite but staid, all-male prep school, ranks as one of his best to date. He underplays the role and keeps his improv antics subdued just enough to make his teaching style seem believable and his connection to the students real. Their growing ability to think outside the restrictive box of the school's traditions never seems forced, and the film's tragic conclusion only underscores the reality of the students' experience.

Looking back at DPS nearly 20 years after its release, I'm struck by how well the film holds up in so many respects. Robert Sean Leonard is particularly impressive in a lead role and Ethan Hawke erects a perfect veneer of shyness and vulnerability to cover up his natural extrovertedness for the pivotal role of Todd Anderson. Gale Hansen as the aspiring bohemian and most rebellious student is a delight and it's unfortunate that he did not pursue acting full-time.

Dead Poets Society remains an ode to the joys of youthful discovery, the beauty and relevance of literature, the magic of first love, the thrill of going for broke. "Carpe diem" (seize the day) Keating exhorts his students. Janis Joplin put it more bluntly: "Get it while you can". The lessons of DPS extol the virtues of non-conformity, not for its own sake but to achieve true growth of character and spirit.

Video Quality

John Seale's gorgeous cinematography highlights this film and the 1.85:1 anamorphic video transfer presented on the disc. The picture is clean and sharp all the way through with vibrant colors and muted hues mixing perfectly. The film's most visually striking moment, of the students running through the woods at night, is as arresting on disc as the first time I viewed it in a theater. Dressed in their navy blue school overcoats with hooded heads conjuring up images of 14th Century druids, the students race up a hill and through the woods silhouetted against an inky black night by only moonlight and a few flashlights. It's an eerie yet beautiful scene and the disc handled it well, reproducing the nighttime images perfectly.

Audio Quality

The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track was not put to much use here, though a few ambient effects were noticeable and helped to enhance the creepy nature of the dark woods and cave where the kids meet at night. A large black bird dipping quickly into the picture as the students raced toward the cave had me literally ducking and glancing over my shoulder, so startling was the effect. But for the most part this dialogue driven film is confined to the middle of the sonic spectrum and performs quite well.

Special Features

The disc's bonus features were a sparse group of unevenly produced spots that did not do justice to the film's legacy. The main documentary "Dead Poets: A Look Back" features interviews with Hawke, Leonard and other members of the cast but oddly excludes director Weir. The most glaring omission however is the absence of Robin Williams, who is MIA for all of the special features. The greater portion of the doc is devoted to praise for Weir, not undeserved but a little goes a long way. There are glimpses in the doc of some unused scenes and intriguing behind-the-scenes shots but they are never fleshed out. "Raw Takes" is basically an extended deleted scene which finds Keating accompanying the boys and their dates back to the cave where he convenes a meeting of the Dead Poets Society as founding member or some such thing. It was wisely cut. There's also a dry featurette on sound editor Alan Splet, and "Cinematography Master Class" looks at Seale conducting a demonstration on how to light a scene. It's highly technical and only aspiring cinematographers will be interested.

The audio commentary features Weir, Seale and screenwriter Tom Schulman on separate tracks, with Weir and Schulman providing the most generous contributions. Weir's remarks offer delightful insights into the philosophical aspects of his filmmaking process, but I found Schulman’s commentary with its references to how his own experiences growing up worked into the film to be the most interesting. A grainy trailer completes the crop.

Summary

Though some have found the subject matter of Dead Poets Society a bit cloying, and its plot twists manipulative, I am still a fan. Robin Williams performance is simply a gem. While the audio and video elements are worthy of the special edition moniker, the bonus features fall flat and are a hodgepodge of the good, the bad, and the ugly. For now though, it's unlikely we will see another special edition of this fine film, so I will recommend it with the caveats stated in this review.