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:

Teacher Student Relationship | Musical Education | Drummer | Composer | Football Coach

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:

Philippines:G | South Korea:All | Iceland:L | 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:

Every person in the film that portrayed a deaf person is deaf in real life.

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:

Iris Holland: Why is everyone else's child more important than yours?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME

How I wish I had my own Mr. Holland

What a wonderful movie. I just watched it and am in awe of Richard Dreyfuss' amazing acting. Only being 15 but an avid music lover myself, I sat there wishing I had a teacher like Mr. Holland that inspired me like so many of the students in the movie, that made learning fun by connecting with the students, by doing everything Mr. Holland did. The stories of the students were real and believable. I connected with the girl that played the clarinet, Gertrude Lang, because sometimes I even feel that I'm never good at anything.

Every person of every age can appreciate and love this movie. At the end, when Mr. Holland's goodbye party was discovered in the gym and he took the stage, I was crying.

What a wonderful movie. History-wise, music-wise, and story-wise.