79
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco ChronicleHurrah! Poetry and passion, comedy and tragedy are fused into one absolutely marvelous affirmation of independent spirit in Dead Poets Society. [2 June 1989, Daily Notebook, p.E1]
- 100Mr. ShowbizMr. ShowbizOne of Australian director Peter Weir's most sensitive films.
- 100The New YorkerPauline KaelThe New YorkerPauline KaelThe picture draws out the obvious and turns itself into a classic. [26 June 1989]
- 90Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonSure, the heroes and villains are arranged in a convenient moral gallery. But the performances, Weir's adroit direction and John Seale's superb cinematography take care of that banality.
- 90The New RepublicStanley KauffmannThe New RepublicStanley KauffmannNothing about this film sounds, as described, novel. Yet it grips, because it has been made with plentiful feeling and vigor. [June 26, 1989]
- 90VarietyVarietySings whenever Williams is onscreen.
- 80Los Angeles TimesMichael WilmingtonLos Angeles TimesMichael WilmingtonCommands respect and affection. [2 June 1989, Calendar, p.6-1]
- 75USA TodayMike ClarkUSA TodayMike ClarkWilliams is impressively restrained as well as funny, so fans need not fret. It only means that instead of Good Morning, Preppies, we're given a bittersweet, even eerie Goodbye, Mr. Hip. [2 June 1989, Life, p.1D]
- 70TimeRichard SchickelTimeRichard SchickelWilliams, who has comparatively little screen time, has come to act, not to cut comic riffs, and he does so with forceful, ultimately compelling, simplicity. [June 5, 1989]
- 50Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertNot the worst of the countless recent movies about good kids and hidebound, authoritatian older people. It may, however, be the most shameless in its attempt to pander to an adolescent audience.