Welcome to The Best Movies I’ve Never Seen! This is the part of the blog where I work my way through 100 films I’ve never seen that are generally considered to be great. You’re invited to watch along with me if you can find a copy or find it streaming. So grab some popcorn and let’s get started!

Dead Poets Society

1989

Directed by Peter Weir

Quick synopsis… Oscar nominee Robin Williams stars as John Keating, an unconventional teacher who inspires students through poetry. When the school fires him, his devastated students rally behind him, mindful of the ways he has changed their lives.

For the record… I’m changing up the way I’m doing things for these posts from here on out. That whole bullet point thing works better for movies I’ve seen before. Those bullet points work well when I’m pointing out issues that bug me or things that I love about movies I know by heart. Not so much with something I’ve never seen before.

Not that I ever spent time at any preparatory school or anything similar… but the first few minutes of this film remind me just how happy I am that I am no longer in school. Particularly as we take a quick montage through the first day’s classes. No thanks.

Of course, things are different in John Keating’s class. In spite of the stuffy and ultra-traditional backdrop of Welton Academy, Keating inspires his students to become freethinkers through the power of words and imagination and poetry.

Without a doubt, this is one of Robin Williams’ finest performances. I cannot believe I haven’t seen this movie before now, as incredible as it is. The ending is equally infuriating and inspiring. Before going into this, I had a good idea of the plot, so I thought for sure there would be one or two places where I’d tear up. But no tears came.

Kids, this is just a good movie that deserves to be seen at least once. Having now seen Dead Poets Society, it ranks at 424 out of 2,257 movies on my personal Flickchart list.

Have you seen Dead Poets Society? If so, what did you think of it? Have you ever been inspired to stand on a desk and shout “O Captain, my Captain”? Let me know what you think down in the comments below! Next week, come back for another classic that I’ve managed to miss throughout my entire life: Cool Hand Luke.