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History Boys, The
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MPAA RATING: R for language and sexual content
Starring Richard Griffiths, Frances de la Tour, Stephen Campbell Moore, Clive Merrison, Samuel Barnett, Dominic Cooper, Samuel Anderson, and James Corden
The History Boys tells the story of an unruly class of bright, funny history students in pursuit of an undergraduate place at Oxford or Cambridge. (Fox Searchlight)
| GENRE(S): | Comedy | Drama |
| WRITTEN BY: | Alan Bennett (also play) |
| DIRECTED BY: | Nicholas Hytner |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: April 17, 2007 Theatrical: November 21, 2006 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 109 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | UK |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 6.0 (out of 10) based on 46 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Mark W. gave it an8:
Almost turned it off after the first 15 minutes but it really grew on me.
M B. gave it a9:
A sadly misunderstood film that aims to teach about the value of knowledge in itself, as opposed to the growing modern emphasis on grades and exams. Seeing this through the experiences of the teenagers also gives insight into the many issues most young schoolboys will run into in their lives, and immediately makes them easily identifiable characters. Personally I did not feel their performance was lessened any by their age (go complain about Daniel Radcliffe being too old for harry potter if you want-I'd like to see you try to find an acceptable replacement that would not be abhorred by the fans!) and felt that the original actors from the play were very effective - so effective in fact that once I stopped consciously focusing on their age, I forgot the issue entirely! The exploration of homosexuality is another theme the majority of schoolboys will come across, however little they may admit it, and i felt this film explored the issue well. There is a trend for Hector to be labeled a pedarist when the point was that the boys themselves allowed this to happen as an act of sympathy towards a suppressed man who had very few real pleasures in life. This man is in fact more admirable than anything else, as it is this man, who upon such a short description would appear as a corrupt, lecherous character, who teaches them the real value of learning and knowledge. The various teachers embody different aspects of learning too, and i especially noted the headmaster, more concerned with the grades students get than the students themselves, a trend sadly more common these days. All in all, I feel this film has been too harshly slated by those who only see what is on the surface, and ignore what the film is actually trying to say.
Vlad D. gave it a2:
This film was abysmal. It does not establish any sort of emotional connection between the viewer and any of the characters. The end should have made more of an impact, but instead, I remained completely apathetic throughout. The film, though it tries hard, is nothing but a string of loosely connected, or often, completely unrelated events (and extremely long, wordy, irrelevant quotations) culminating in an uneventful, predictable and overall boring conclusion. A scene that stands out in my mind as particularly terrible is when Dakin approaches Irwin, his teacher, about his desire for Irwin to "suck him off" at a future date, to which Irwin cancels his prior engagements and consents. This scene did nothing other than suggesting that every single character in this film is homosexual. To what end? Are we discussing the acceptance of homosexuals into society, or exploring the gradual process of a man examining himself and realizing he is homosexual, or even observing a budding "forbidden" relationship between student and teacher? No. This scene is entirely irrelevant, comes completely out of left field and has no bearing on any of the other events of the story. This 109 minute movie felt like four hours of the same four dull scenes looping over and over and over. Don't bother picking this up.
Mr. E gave it a9:
I had fun watching this film, despite my unfamiliarity with the play itself. The cast shone in each of their respective characters. A great story addressing some themes rarely combined for adolescents; coming of age, homosexuality, right and wrong... I know what I'll be talking about in my classes Monday morning.
Shannon P. gave it a7:
The dialog is entertaining, and not overly literary as some reviews suggest. The main flaw in the film is that the actors are too old to be playing even the oldest high school students, and the things they do and say are likewise more what you would expect from young men in their 20's. I suspect this was largely based on the writer(s)' college experience, grafted onto a high school setting. It almost works, and is worth watching despite this flaw. While this is hardly a "pro-homosexual" or "pro-pedophile" movie, it addresses these issues in a more complete and realistic context than is usually the case.
N K gave it a9:
Just saw same on video and just felt some of the criticisms of the film need correcting. first, the film does not state that the teacher's rather pathetic gropings are ok. neither is everyone ok with it. indeed, the teacher's best friend, the woman teacher is rather saddened to learn of it. and he is about to be fired for same. that said, the boys are 18 not 17 as the voice-over in the extra features makes clear. this extra term in preparing for university was abolished in the early 80s, and it was set before then. the boys find it all rather boring; they have bigger concerns. if one can look beyond the sex and longing and sadness, this is a fascinating discussion about what makes for the best teaching: facts, argument, or interest. but, as the comments suggest, few look past the sex. great acting, too.
D H. gave it a0:
This film was a severe disappointment. Critics raved, and I sat through what was perhaps the worst movie of all time. The first thing that bothered me was that the film was not even funny, nor was it witty (after trying so hard to be). The second thing that made this movie intolerable was the pederastric relationships between a male teacher and his boy students. This fat instructor was praised for his teaching even though he thought it was acceptable to fondle his boy students. And the worst thing about it was everyone in the school knew about it and turned the cheek. Also, there was another male teacher who had a seemingly pleasing relationship with a boy student. Take this movie off the shelves, it is not worth the space.
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