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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, looks at one of his favourite films which is on TV tonight…
There are not many films on offer this week, as apparently there is a song contest going on in Liverpool.
However there is a personal favourite being shown – Dead Poets Society (Saturday 9.25pm TG4), and I thought we might look behind the scenes at the making of the film.
For generations, Welton Academy students have been groomed to live lives of conformity and tradition-until a charismatic new professor, John Keating, played by Robin Williams, inspires them to think for themselves, live life to the fullest and “Carpe Diem” or “Seize the Day”.
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His unconventional approach awakens the spirits of the students and inspires them to make their lives extraordinary, but he soon draws the wrath of a disapproving faculty when an unexpected tragedy strikes the school.
Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society.
Directed by Peter Weir and written by Tom Schulman, with a soundtrack by Maurice Jarre, the film received numerous nominations and awards including the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for his first filmed script.
John Keating was based on a real-life professor, Samuel F. Pickering Jr, an English professor at the University of Connecticut.
When Schulman was 15, he had taken a course taught by Pickering while attending Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, with the teacher leaving a lasting impact on him and helped cement his love for literature.
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Before Williams was cast in the role that would get him his second Oscar nomination, several other high-profile actors were considered as Keating.
Mel Gibson had turned it down, Liam Neeson was considered while Dustin Hoffman was actually attached to star and direct with scheduling conflicts ultimately preventing it from happening.
Though he had been nominated for his work in ‘Good Morning, Vietnam’ two years earlier, Dead Poets Society was Williams’ first real dramatic role.
Famous for his improvisation skills, Williams improvised about 15 percent of his dialogue in the film, with Weir allocating time to allow Williams the opportunity to do what he was so brilliant at executing.
Weir was so invested in making the growing bond between Mr. Keating and the ‘poets’ realistic that he made the unusual choice to film the movie in chronological order.
While many were distracted by Williams’ larger-than-life persona, those on the set of Dead Poets Society could sense the sadness in the actor, who was going through a divorce from his first wife Valerie Velardi.
While most of the cast was between the ages of 18-20, making them pretty close to the characters’ ages, Gale Hansen (Charlie Dalton) was the oldest at age 29.
In an interview, Williams revealed Dead Poets Society was one of his favourite movies he ever appeared in.
“There was something in that movie that effected people beyond just a movie,” he said. “I met a guy who said, ‘Mr. Williams, I saw the movie Dead Poets and I used to work for a major corporation, I took off my business suit, I burned it and now I own an art gallery.’ I went, ‘I have to buy a lot of art from you now!’ Enjoy!
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