X
- 2006
- R
- Fox Searchlight Pictures
- 1 h 49 m
- 2006
- R
- Fox Searchlight Pictures
- 1 h 49 m
Summary 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]
Directed By: Nicholas Hytner
Written By: Alan Bennett
- 2006
- R
- Fox Searchlight Pictures
- 1 h 49 m
- 2006
- R
- Fox Searchlight Pictures
- 1 h 49 m
The History Boys
74
6.6
Where to Watch
Summary 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]
Directed By: Nicholas Hytner
Written By: Alan Bennett
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 32 Critic Reviews
74
91% Positive
29 Reviews
29 Reviews
9% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 32 Critic Reviews
74
91% Positive
29 Reviews
29 Reviews
9% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
In The History Boys, as in all of Bennett's work, irony is what the characters live and breathe - and I mean irony in its truest sense, of using language to present opposite and often sly alternatives to accepted wisdom.
Wildean panache of this caliber is not the norm in movie dialogue, so on this score alone, The History Boys is a blessing. The top-drawer work of a fine ensemble is another.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 User Ratings
6.6
54% Positive
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
31% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
15% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 User Ratings
6.6
54% Positive
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
31% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
15% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
The film version of The History Boys is a lesser thing, more fixed in space and time and rendered almost unbearably "cinematic" in patches by Hytner's gymnastic camerawork. Yet the ideas and feelings of the piece remain so rich that it almost doesn't matter.
The History Boys is as much about the meaning and value of reading and learning as it is about the ho-humness of genital fondling by sir with love.
An excellent British drama adapted by Alan Bennett (The Madness of King George) from his celebrated play.
Though it preserves the terrific lead performance of Richard Griffiths - best known to film audiences as Harry Potter's evil stepfather - The History Boys is essentially filmed theater, with minimal, and usually clumsy, attempts to take the action out of the classroom.
Somewhere in the translation from stage to screen, The History Boys has become an intelligent misfire. What's left is a literate but listless film.
Production Company
Fox Searchlight Pictures,
DNA Films,
BBC Two Films,
UK Film Council,
National Theatre
Release Date Nov 21, 2006
Duration 1 h 49 m
Rating R
Tagline Meet The Boys Who Are Making History!
Awards
British Independent Film Awards
• 4 Nominations
Chlotrudis Awards
• 3 Nominations
London Critics Circle Film Awards
• 2 Nominations
