''Mr. Holland's Opus'' is a 1995 American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

film directed by

Stephen Herek Stephen Robert Herek (born November 10, 1958) is an American film director. Herek was born in San Antonio, Texas. He attended the University of Texas at Austin. Career His career as a film director took off in 1986 with the cult horror class ...

, produced by

Ted Field Frederick Woodruff "Ted" Field (born June 1, 1953) is an American media mogul, record executive, entrepreneur and film producer. He co-founded Interscope Records with Jimmy Iovine and founded Interscope Communications to develop and produce fi ...

Robert W. Cort Robert W. Cort (born January 13, 1951) is an American film producer. Since 1985 he has produced forty-eight feature films which have grossed more than $2.5 billion in worldwide box office. These include: ''On the Basis of Sex'', ''Three Men and ...

, and

Michael Nolin Michael Nolin is an American former motion picture producer, former studio executive and former writer/director. Production credits His producing credits include ''Mr. Holland's Opus'', which won a Christopher Award and for which Richard Drey ...

, and written by Patrick Sheane Duncan. The film stars

Richard Dreyfuss Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (; born Dreyfus; October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for starring in popular films during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, including '' American Graffiti'' (1973), ''Jaws'' (1975), '' Close Encounters of the ...

in the title role of Glenn Holland, a dedicated high-school music teacher who attempts to compose his own music while struggling to balance his job and life with his wife and profoundly deaf son. The cast also includes Glenne Headly,

Olympia Dukakis Olympia Dukakis (June 20, 1931 – May 1, 2021) was an American actress. She performed in more than 130 stage productions, more than 60 films and in 50 television series. Best known as a screen actress, she started her career in theater. Not lon ...

William H. Macy William Hall Macy Jr. (born March 13, 1950) is an American actor. His film career has been built on appearances in small, independent films, though he has also appeared in mainstream films. Some of his best known starring roles include those i ...

, and

Jay Thomas Jay Thomas (born Jon Thomas Terrell; July 12, 1948 – August 24, 2017) was an American actor, comedian, and radio personality. He was heard in New York from 1976–1979 on top-40 station 99X, and later on rhythmic CHR station 92KTU, and in ...

. The film was nominated for the

Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay The Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay – Motion Picture is a Golden Globe Award given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Winners and nominees 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s See also * Ac ...

. Richard Dreyfuss received nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and the

Academy Award for Best Actor The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The ...

Plot

In the fall of 1964, 30-year-old Glenn Holland is a successful and talented musician and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

from

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

. He switches gears, taking a position as a music teacher at John F. Kennedy High School so that he can spend more time with his young wife Iris and work on his symphony. The film covers his 30-year teaching career, set amongst the changes in American society. Holland at first struggles in his new job, but learns how to connect with his students by using

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

and other popular music to convince them that music is a fun and worthwhile pursuit. He becomes a popular teacher at the school and rises to the task of creating a school marching band with help from the football coach, Bill Meister, with whom he becomes lifelong friends. Holland persuades principal Helen Jacobs to maintain funding for the school's arts programs, despite a shrinking budget and the objections of vice principal Gene Wolters. The time Holland devotes to his classes, the marching band, orchestra, productions and mentoring both struggling and talented students leaves him little time to work on his symphony, or to spend with his family. When his son, Cole, is found to be deaf, he is severely disappointed that he will never be able to share his love of music. He fails to learn American Sign Language properly, leaving him unable to communicate with his son and creating a rift between him and Iris, who has to raise Cole mostly by herself. As the years progress, Holland grows closer to his students at Kennedy High and more distant from his own son. An argument with his teenage son finally makes Holland realize the error of his ways and he learns to communicate with his son and help him visualize the music he can't hear, and repairs his relationship with his wife. In 1995, Wolters (who is now the principal) shuts down the school's arts programs, citing further cuts from the Education Board and the need to prioritize reading, writing and math, and Holland is laid off as a result. Holland makes an impassioned plea to the Board to no avail and becomes despondent, believing that his teaching career has amounted to nothing. On his last day, Holland's wife and son, now a teacher himself, help him clear out his office and take him to the auditorium. It is packed full of current and former students who greet him with a standing ovation. Gertrude Lang, a struggling clarinetist from Holland's first year teaching, now Governor of Oregon, gives a speech praising Mr. Holland, that his legacy is more than just the symphony; it is all the people he has helped and influenced over 30 years. She joins past members of the school's orchestra, who have been practicing the symphony in secret, on stage. Mr. Holland conducts them in its premiere performance.

Cast

as Glenn Holland, a

who becomes a music teacher at John F. Kennedy High School. * Glenne Headly as Iris Holland, Glenn's wife. *

as Bill Meister, the gym teacher and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

of John F. Kennedy High School's football team who befriends Glenn. *

as Principal Helen Jacobs, the principal of John F. Kennedy High School, who retires in 1972. *

as Vice Principal Gene Wolters, the vice-principal of John F. Kennedy High School who later becomes principal in 1972. * Jean Louisa Kelly as Rowena Morgan, a talented singer who seeks to embark on a showbiz career. * Joanna Gleason as Gertrude Lang, an aspiring clarinet player who eventually becomes the governor of Oregon. ** Alicia Witt as younger Gertrude Lang * Damon Whitaker as Bobby Tidd, one of Glenn's students. **

Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. After making his f ...

as adult Bobby Tidd (uncredited) * Terrence Howard as Louis Russ, a football player and wrestler who becomes a bass drum player in the marching band. *

Alexandra Boyd Alexandra Boyd is a British actress, director, screenwriter and producer. Her acting credits include Clarissa Mason in ''Coronation Street'' and Sarah Olmsted in Mr Holland's Opus. In recent years she has turned to screenwriting and film direct ...

as Sarah Olmstead, a drama teacher. * Anthony Natale as Coltrane "Cole" Holland (age 28), Glenn and Iris' son, who is 90% deaf. ** Joseph Anderson as Coltrane "Cole" Holland (age 15) ** Nicholas John Renner as Coltrane "Cole" Holland (age 6) *

Beth Maitland Beth Maitland (born May 12, 1958) is an American actress who is best known for her portrayal of Traci Abbott in the CBS Daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' from 1982 to 1996 & since 2001 on a recurring basis. She also stars as Glo ...

as Deaf School Principal, the principal of a deaf school that Cole is enrolled in.

Production

The movie was written by Patrick Sheane Duncan, directed by

, and was filmed in and around

, with many exterior and interior scenes taking place at Ulysses S. Grant High School. Other scenes were filmed in Portland's St. Johns neighborhood and Hollywood District.

Archival footage

Archival footage seen in the film includes: * Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech *

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

and John F. Kennedy * ''

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

'' *

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

's resignation speech * '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' * '' Saturday Night Fever'' * '' Stop Making Sense'' * Murder of John Lennon * Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park

Music

The film features an

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l score by

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician. Biography Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was bor ...

and many pieces of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

. Kamen also wrote '' An American Symphony'' ("Mr. Holland's Opus"), the work on which Mr. Holland is shown working throughout the movie. Kamen's arrangement won the 1997 Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement.

Soundtrack releases

Two soundtrack albums were released for this film in January 1996. One is the original motion picture

score Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian ...

, and includes all of the original music written for the film by Michael Kamen. The second album is a collection of popular music featured in the film: # "Visions of a Sunset" – Shawn Stockman (of

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan ...

) # " 1-2-3" – Len Barry # " A Lover's Concerto" – The Toys # " Keep On Running" –

Spencer Davis Group The Spencer Davis Group were a British band formed in Birmingham in 1963 by Spencer Davis (guitar), brothers Steve Winwood (keyboards, guitar) and Muff Winwood (bass guitar), and Pete York (drums). Their best known songs include the UK numbe ...

# " Uptight (Everything's Alright)" –

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

# " Imagine" –

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

# " The Pretender" – Jackson Browne # " Someone to Watch Over Me" – Julia Fordham # " I Got a Woman" –

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

# "

Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" is a song written and performed by John Lennon. It was released on the 1980 album ''Double Fantasy'', the last album by Lennon and Ono released before his death. Paul McCartney has stated this is one of his favour ...

" – John Lennon # "Cole's Song" – Julian Lennon and Tim Renwick # ''An American Symphony'' ("Mr. Holland's Opus") – London Metropolitan Orchestra and

Reception

Box office

In the United States, gross domestic takings totaled US$82,569,971. International takings are estimated at US$23,700,000, for a gross worldwide takings of $106,269,971. Rental totals reached $36,550,000 in the US. Although the film is included among 1995 box-office releases (it ranks as the 14th-most successful film of that year), it was only released in a few theatres in New York and Los Angeles on December 29, 1995, because Disney felt, accurately, that Richard Dreyfuss' performance had a good chance of getting an Oscar nomination if it beat that year's in-theatre deadline.

Critical

The film holds a 75% "Fresh" rating from 28 reviews at

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

. The site's consensus states: "A feel-good story brought to life by a terrific ensemble cast, ''Mr. Holland's Opus'' plucks the heartstrings without shame -- and with undeniable skill."

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

reported that audiences gave the film a rare "A+" grade. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' film review cited Dreyfuss for "a warm and really touching performance"; '' Variety'' also called his performance "quite effective and surprisingly restrained". ''Variety'' further noted the "nostalgic aura" that permeates the film, "which encourages viewers to think fondly of — and pay tribute to — the one teacher in their lives who made a difference".

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave the film 3 1/2 out of 4 stars, commending its starring and supporting casts and agreeing with the film's message of the ability of high school teachers to inspire their students, as well as the importance of cultural offerings on the curriculum. Writer Patrick Sheane Duncan was nominated for the

at the

53rd Golden Globe Awards The 53rd Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1995, were held on January 21, 1996 at The Beverly Hilton and were televised on NBC in the United States. The nominations were announced on December 21, 1995. Winners and ...

. Dreyfuss was nominated for the

and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama.

Accolades

The film is recognized by

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

in this list: * 2006: AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – Nominated

The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation

Inspired by the motion picture, its composer, Michael Kamen, founded

The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization established in 1996 by Michael Kamen (1948-2003), the composer for the motion picture ''Mr. Holland's Opus''. It is headquartered in Studio City, Los Angeles. According to the Foundati ...

in 1996 as his commitment to the future of music education.

Musical version

A world premiere musical version adapted from Duncan's screenplay was staged from August 12 to September 17, 2022 at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Ogunquit, Maine. Book, lyrics and direction are by Tony Award winner BD Wong with music by Wayne Barker.

References

External links

* * * *
The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation
{{Stephen Herek 1995 films 1995 drama films American drama films American Sign Language films Films about classical music and musicians Films about composers Films about deaf people Films about educators Films directed by Stephen Herek Films set in the 1960s Films set in the 1970s Films set in the 1980s Films set in the 1990s Films shot in Portland, Oregon Films set in Portland, Oregon Hollywood Pictures films Interscope Communications films PolyGram Filmed Entertainment films Films set in schools Films scored by Michael Kamen 1990s English-language films 1990s American films