Mr. Holland's Opus

Synopsis: Glenn Holland is a musician and composer who takes a teaching job to pay the rent while, in his 'spare time', he can strive to achieve his true goal - compose one memorable piece of music to leave his mark on the world. As Holland discovers 'Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans' and as the years unfold the joy of sharing his contagious passion for music with his students becomes his new definition of success.
Genre: Drama, Music
Director(s): Stephen Herek
  Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 4 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.3
Metacritic:
59
Rotten Tomatoes:
74%
PG
Year:
1995
143 min
1,957 Views


Senator Barry Goldwater|is campaigning in Colorado.

The Warren Commission, almost a full|year after the Kennedy assassination...

- Glenn, it's time.|- No, just a little more.

If you don't get up right now,|I'm gonna cut one of your piano strings.

Ugh...

- What time is it?|- Quarter to seven.

- A quarter to seven!|- Mm-hm.

Oh, God.

Does the sun really come out this early?

It was a surprise to me, too. I took|a picture in case it never happens again.

- Nobody gets up this early.|- Oh, yes, they do.

Come on, come on, come on.|Please, please, please, please, please!

- Come on, come on, come on, come on.|- No, no, no! This is a stupid idea.

Oh, this is definitely not my scene, Iris.

It's just a gig. If it doesn't work,|you can try something else.

- What time am I supposed to be there?|- 7.30.

7.30!

What kind of people like to|go to work at 7.30 in the morning?

# One, two, three

# Oh, thats how elementary

# Its gonna be

# Come on, lets fall in love

- # It's easy|- # It's so easy

# Like taking candy from a baby

- # A, B, C|- # A, B, C

# Falling in love with you was

# Easy for me

# And you can do it, too

- # Its easy|- # It's so easy

# Like taking candy from a baby

Hi. I'm Glenn Holland.|I'm the new music teacher.

Vice Principal Wolters.

Holy cow!

- A Corvair.|- Yeah.

I take it you didn"t read|Ralph Nader"s book.

Well, unless Ralph|is willing to buy me a new car,

I'm gonna have to stick with this one|until the wheels fall off.

Well, you may not have to|wait that long. Heh-heh.

- Have a nice day.|- Thanks.

- # Its easy|- # It's so easy

# Like taking candy from a baby

You look lost, Mr Holland.

Helen Jacobs. Remember? I hired you.

Oh!

Of course you did. I'm sorry. It was not|that I'm lost. I was just looking for the...

- Well, yes, of course I'm lost.|- What an auspicious beginning.

This way.

Your first day as a teacher,|Mr Holland. Excited?

Nervous. Boy, I never thought I"d be here.

No? Why not?

Well... like most people,|I only got my teaching certificate

so I"d have something to fall back on.

This isn't a drive-in, Mr Claridge.|Hands off!

You know, Mr Holland, I don't think|of teaching as a fallback position.

- No, no...|- I grow nervous around people who do.

I'm... I'm really very happy|to be here. Really.

Good. You"ll drop by my office later on.|I have a list of students you"ll be advising.

Advising? Can I ask when|I'm supposed to be doing this advising?

That's for you and the student to arrange.|You meet your orchestra when?

Fifth period.

- Are they any good?|- They try hard.

By the way, I'll need a complete|lesson plan from you by Friday.

- Right.|- For September and October.

Right.

All right. People, come on,|let"s take our seats a little quicker, please.

A little quicker. We"re losing time.|Come on in, come on in.

My name is Mr Holland.

This, of course, is a title of courtesy|that I will extend back to you -

"Mr" or "Miss",|as the circumstances allow.

Welcome to Music Appreciation.

This is a class in which we will be|studying the history of music.

Um, who would like to give me|a definition of what music is?

Any music. What do you think?

What do they think that music is|in... in general? What do they think?

Anybody?

Nobody?

OK. Let"s, uh... let"s go to the text.

And we turn to page, um... four.

And we read that "Music is sound|in melodic or harmonic combinations,

whether produced|by voice or instrument. "

Now, questions?

Anybody... at all?

No?

Hm?

Good.

All righty, uh...

Now, I just... you know, I just...|want you all to relax, have a little fun.

We"re not here to impress each other.

OK. All right, let"s get ready.

Everyone? Come on.

You ready?

OK, here we go.

It was good.

Miss Aronson.|Would you stand up, please?

Stand up, please.

Is that skirt regulation length?|On your knees, both of you, right now.

I thought so. Come with me to the|principal"s office. You are going home.

You can come back|when you"re dressed properly.

- You"re not being fair.|- I am.

If I allow you to do it,|everyone is allowed to do it.

- Hi.|- Hi.

Come on, out of my way.

- Teachers don't wait.|- Pardon me?

High school is not a democracy.|Teachers don't wait.

Bill Meister. Phys ed.

- Glenn Holland. Music teacher.|- Hi.

- There you go.|- Oh, my God!

- What is this?|- It's Monday. It's Turkey Spam Surprise.

You could mortar walls with it.

Word of advice:
Always bring a bag lunch.

- Where"s yours?|- I ate it in second period.

Sylvie! Don't tease me. I need extra.

So what have you been doin"|for the last ten years?

I've been playing music.|Been on the road.

You know, um... clubs and weddings|and bar mitzvahs. That sort of thing.

Wait a minute. I bet you met|a ton of chicks in those clubs, huh?

So you"re in these clubs,|there are all these women there...

- Why"d you become a teacher?|- Well...

Actually, I started teaching|because I was hoping

it would give me some free time to do|some composing. I'm a composer.

- What? What's so funny?|- Oh, the free time.

Glenn, I can't remember|the last time I had that was free.

I've got it all figured out.

With your salary, plus what I take in|with the photography,

in four years we should have|enough for you to quit

and do nothing but compose music|and become famous and make us rich.

- I'll never make it.|- I made us $32 today.

Big deal. I made 32 kids|sleep with their eyes open.

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Patrick Sheane Duncan

Patrick Sheane Duncan (born 1947) is an American writer, film producer and director.A graduate of Grand Valley State University in Allendale Charter Township, Michigan, Duncan's career has been influenced by his Vietnam War experiences, which inspired the television mini-series Vietnam War Story (1987) and its sequel Vietnam War Story: The Last Days (1989) and the films 84C MoPic (1989) and Courage Under Fire (1996). Additional writing credits include A Home of Our Own (1993), The Pornographer (1994), Nick of Time (1995), Mr. Holland's Opus (1995), and the television movies A Painted House (2003), Elvis (2005), and the Little Red Wagon. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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