Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)

Director:

Stephen Herek

Writer (WGA):

Patrick Sheane Duncan (written by)

Release Date:

19 January 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Tagline:

We are your symphony Mr. Holland. We are the melodies and the notes of your opus. We are the music of your life.

Plot:

A frustrated composer finds fulfillment as a high school music teacher.

Plot Keywords:

School | Teaching | Teacher | Composer | High School

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Richard Dreyfuss	...	Glenn Holland
Glenne Headly	...	Iris Holland
Jay Thomas	...	Bill Meister
Olympia Dukakis	...	Principal Jacobs
William H. Macy	...	Vice Principal Wolters (as W.H. Macy)
Alicia Witt	...	Gertrude Lang
Terrence Howard	...	Louis Russ
Damon Whitaker	...	Bobby Tidd
Jean Louisa Kelly	...	Rowena Morgan
Alexandra Boyd	...	Sarah Olmstead
Nicholas John Renner	...	Cole at 6 Years Old
Joseph Anderson	...	Cole at 15 Years Old
Anthony Natale	...	Cole at 28 Years Old
Joanna Gleason	...	Adult Gertrude
Beth Maitland	...	Deaf School Principal

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild language.

Runtime:

143 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | American Sign Language

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Philippines:G | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Germany:6 (w) | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | Singapore:PG | USA:PG (certificate no. 33797)

Filming Locations:

Christie School - Highway 43, Marylhurst, Oregon, USA

Company:

Hollywood Pictures

Trivia:

Composer Michael Kamen was so inspired by the story told in this film that he started a non-profit organization dedicated to providing musical instruments to underprivileged students.

Goofs:

Factual errors: After finding out his son is deaf, Mr. Holland teaches his class about Beethoven's deafness while writing his seventh symphony. Beethoven lost his hearing gradually. He wasn't completely deaf until he wrote his ninth symphony.

Quotes:

Bill Meister: Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Coach Meister. Your marching buddy.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Best! Movies! Ever!: Hot for Teacher (#1.21)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

THE PRETENDER

Excellent film, with even better music

Richard Dreyfuss is outstanding (as is the whole cast) in this thoroughly enjoyable film. I really liked it the first time, but with repeated viewings, I'd say that this film got even better. It's a little predictable, but so what? For me, it was impossible not to care about these characters, and the ending was the perfect heartwarming note to go out on. It was rather funny as well, but my favourite thing about this movie was the music. It seems only fitting, considering the importance of music to this film, that it would have a great number of songs, but I was astonished by how much I LOVED the music in this movie. All-in-all, this was a completely satisfying film, and I would call it a must-see.