DramaMusic

Mr. Holland's Opus

- Of All the Lives He Changed, the One That Changed the Most Was His Own.

In 1965, passionate musician Glenn Holland takes a day job as a high school music teacher, convinced it's just a small obstacle on the road to his true calling: writing a historic opus. As the decades roll by with the composition unwritten but generations of students inspired through his teaching, Holland must redefine his life's purpose.

Release Date : 1995-12-29

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Hollywood PicturesInterscope CommunicationsPolyGram Filmed EntertainmentThe Charlie Mopic Company

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Glenn Holland

Original Name : Richard Dreyfuss

Gender : Male

Character Name : Iris Holland

Original Name : Glenne Headly

Gender : Female

Character Name : Bill Meister

Original Name : Jay Thomas

Gender : Male

Character Name : Principal Jacobs

Original Name : Olympia Dukakis

Gender : Female

Character Name : Vice Principal Gene Wolters

Original Name : William H. Macy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gertrude Lang

Original Name : Alicia Witt

Gender : Female

Character Name : Louis Russ

Original Name : Terrence Howard

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bobby Todd

Original Name : Damon Whitaker

Gender : Male

Character Name : Rowena Morgan

Original Name : Jean Louisa Kelly

Gender : Female

Character Name : Sarah Olmstead

Original Name : Alexandra Boyd

Gender : Female

Character Name : Cole at 6 Years Old

Original Name : Nicholas John Renner

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cole at 15 Years Old

Original Name : Joseph Anderson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cole at 28 Years Old

Original Name : Anthony Natale

Gender : Male

Character Name : Adult Gertrude

Original Name : Joanna Gleason

Gender : Female

Character Name : Deaf School Principal

Original Name : Beth Maitland

Gender : Female

Character Name : Study Hall Student

Original Name : Patrick Fong

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Mims

Original Name : Benjamin J. Dixon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ms. Swedlin

Original Name : Kathryn Arnett

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Sullivan

Original Name : Freeman O. Corbin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ms. Godfrey

Original Name : Moira Feeney

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Shapiro

Original Name : Joshua Minnick

Gender : Male

Character Name : Miss Reeves

Original Name : Ashley Hamrick

Gender : Male

Character Name : Miss Schumaker

Original Name : Janine Shouse

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Hosta

Original Name : Spencer Riviera

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Malone

Original Name : Dan Vhay

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. McMartin

Original Name : Sean Bevington

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Russ

Original Name : John Henry Redwood

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dr. Sorenson

Original Name : Ted Roisum

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ralph

Original Name : Mark Daniels

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ms. Wayne

Original Name : Kaili Carlton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. McKenzie

Original Name : Adam Fitzhugh

Gender : Male

Character Name : Boy 2

Original Name : Eric Michael Cole

Gender : Male

Character Name : Boy 3

Original Name : Joe Campbell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Girl 2

Original Name : Tomiko Peirano

Gender : Male

Character Name : Girl 3

Original Name : Kasey Nelson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Girl 4

Original Name : Zoe McLellan

Gender : Female

Character Name : Deaf School Teacher

Original Name : Kelly M. Casey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chaplain

Original Name : Michael Mendelson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Auditioner 1

Original Name : Alex Dudgeon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Auditioner 2

Original Name : Rachel Wooley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Auditioner 3

Original Name : Jordan Carlton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Auditioner 4

Original Name : Aurora Miller

Gender : Male

Character Name : Auditioner 5

Original Name : Paul Bernard

Gender : Male

Character Name : Auditioner 6

Original Name : Mary Kay O'Mealy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Auditioner 7

Original Name : Dieffyd Gilman-Frederick

Gender : Male

Character Name : Auditioner 8

Original Name : Tara Eng

Gender : Male

Character Name : Auditioner 9

Original Name : Jay Frank

Gender : Male

Character Name : Toby Klein

Original Name : Conan Doherty

Gender : Male

Character Name : Diner Waitress

Original Name : Stacey Siegel

Gender : Male

Character Name : Football Player 1

Original Name : Nicolas Sirianni

Gender : Male

Character Name : Football Player 2

Original Name : Jacob Adams

Gender : Male

Character Name : Football Player 3

Original Name : Chris Marth

Gender : Male

Character Name : Football Player 4

Original Name : Brent Archie

Gender : Male

Character Name : Football Player 5

Original Name : Kevin Calaba

Gender : Male

Character Name : Football Player 6

Original Name : Keith Swift

Gender : Male

Character Name : Billy Faraday

Original Name : John Boyer

Gender : Male

Character Name : Secretary

Original Name : Linda Williams Janke

Gender : Male

Character Name : Superintendent

Original Name : David Clegg

Gender : Male

Character Name : City Official

Original Name : Don Burns

Gender : Male

Character Name : Adult Stadler

Original Name : Dennis Biasi

Gender : Male

Character Name : 1st Chair Cellist

Original Name : Alexander Emmert

Gender : Male

Character Name : Graduate (uncredited)

Original Name : Cazzey Louis Cereghino

Gender : Male

Character Name : Auditorium extra (uncredited)

Original Name : Michael R. Ferraro

Gender : Male

Character Name : Woman in audience (uncredited)

Original Name : Elizabeth Fournier

Gender : Male

Character Name : Stadler (uncredited)

Original Name : Balthazar Getty

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bobby Tidd - Adult (uncredited)

Original Name : Forest Whitaker

Gender : Male

Reviews

Wuchak

@Wuchak

2021-06-23

***Taking a bypass from your dreams and finding your true calling*** A composer (Richard Dreyfuss) puts his lofty ambitions on hold to become a high school music teacher in Portland, Oregon, from 1965-1995. Glenne Headly plays his wife, Jay Thomas the coach, Olympia Dukakis the principal and William H. Macy the irritating vice principal. "Mr. Holland’s Opus" (1995) is a good school-oriented drama that’s episodic in nature since it spans 30 years. The first 40 minutes were decent, but I was wondering if the film would be able to absorb me into its story, especially considering its considerable length. It did, particularly the episodes concerning Terrence Howard (playing Louis Russ) and angelic Jean Louisa Kelly (Rowena). The movie’s kind of a meshing of “Dead Poets Society” (1989) crossed with “Forrest Gump” (1994), although not great like either of those flicks. But it’s a solid drama. A 19 year-old Alicia Witt is on hand as one of the students in the first act. The film runs 2 hours, 23 minutes and was shot in Portland, Oregon, and nearby Marylhurst. GRADE: B

Filipe Manuel Neto

@FilipeManuelNeto

2023-09-12

**Another good film about an outstanding teacher marking the lives of his students... another one.** One of the things I like most about a film, in addition to telling a good story and positively entertaining us for an hour or two, is to reflect on different subjects and themes. This exercise of critical questioning, free and reachable to the public, much more attractive than a six-hundred-page book, is one of the most important qualities of cinema. And this film has lots of themes and topics worthy of our reflection. First, I should say that the film is very good! It is very forgotten today and deserves to be revisited. It is, I think, the best film of Stephen Herek, an average director, more focused on TV, actually. The merit of the film falls, largely, on the great quality of the script by Patrick Sheane Duncan, who created the story of a composer who becomes a music teacher at a high school to earn some income and ends up marking several generations of students, teaching them to love music while trying to protect and support their own son, who was born deaf. In addition to a deep and moving story, we have good actors working in a very committed way: Richard Dreyfuss may be an actor who is a little far from the spotlight, but he gives us an extraordinary performance in this film and was nominated for the Oscar (he lost to Nick Cage, who shone in “Leaving Las Vegas” in a more psychologically challenging role). Glenne Headly and a young Terrence Howard gave him welcome and very solid support. The film moves us with its story, highlighting the importance of music and the relevance of artistic education. In a society where, more and more, we are appreciated for the money we earn to our employers (or companies, or countries), the arts and human sciences (history and philosophy, for example) are underappreciated because they are considered to have very few professional opportunities and practical applicability. The situation could not be more unfair: the human sciences teach us to think, to have a critical conscience and a vast general culture, while the arts transmit us an aesthetic sense and a capacity for self-expression that, unlike writing, tends to be universally intelligible. It's a shame that human resources directors often turn out to be such obtuse people, with such short horizons. The film addresses deafness in an interesting way, showing us that even a deaf person can appreciate music and that deafness is no impediment to an active and happy life. The film has only two major problems: the first problem, and for me the most serious, is falling back on the older clichés about school films involving teachers, and all the impact they have. This was done, much more effectively, in “Dead Poets Society” and “Mona Lisa Smile”. At this point, the most essential of the plot, there is nothing original. The second problem is that unreasonable romantic tension between Holland and one of his young and seductive students. We all know that the relationship between a student and her teacher is one of the most appealing erotic fantasies among middle-aged men, and I can understand why they included that sub-plot, but it's beside the point and should never have been included in the final cut.