A Running Diary: Dead Poets Society

0:00-This is one of my favorite movies ever made. I haven’t watched it in about 2 years or so. I'm pretty excited about doing this. We'll see how this goes.

0:01-Great. The bagpipe song that they played at my brother’s college graduation for 4 hours straight and I have perfectly memorized still. All of my excitement to watch this movie just went out the window.

0:01-I would hate myself if my parents made me go to this school. I remember how much this looks like it sucks.

0:02-Tradition. Honor. Discipline. Excellence.

0:04- I just thought someone called Todd Anderson, "Chris Anderson". Maybe his brother's named Chris? I wasn't really paying full attention. Someone somewhere said Chris Anderson. How opposite of people are Todd Anderson and Birdman? Funny coincidence.

0:06- Why are all these kids friends with Neil? He seems like that douche that always goes “I’m gonna do so bad on this test!” and then when the tests come back, everyone bombed it, but he got a 98% or something. Goddammit Neil.

0:07- Neil’s voice cracks. Don’t know if it was supposed to. But his douchebag father played by the guy from That 70's Show is here now. Awesome role. Maybe this is why Neil is such a prick. His dad has got to be one of the all-time movie assholes.

0:09- Thank goodness I didn’t have to go to this school. These teachers are unbelievable. I would get kicked out of this school in a heartbeat.

0:11- Keating sighting. Robin Williams is beyond fantastic in this entire movie.

0:12- Oh! Captain, My Captain! This is important. Also, these kids seem like they’ve never heard a joke in their life before. Do they know how to laugh?

0:14- Whispering “Carpe Diem”. This part always bugged me. It’s weird. I know what they were trying to do with this scene. But it’s just awkward.

0:18- Is this kid named Knox? I’ll make some sort of metaphorical leap at some point with the odd names and stuff. Also, I’m so done with the “nervous nerd talking to a girl” thing. I know this movie was made like 30 years ago. But I’m glad movies have ditched it. For the most part, anyway.

0:19- “All good ones go for jerks”. Very true, but there’s obviously reasons why they don’t go for these guys either, lets be real.

0:22- RIPPING PAPER. Wait, how did Keating get a job here? Was he a boring teacher in his interview or something to trick the principal? Or headmaster as he’s called here? I know he went to Welton. But it just doesn't really make sense. Has he taught before? Was Welton his dream job? Lots of questions about this. At least they got some kind of teacher that doesn't put you to sleep.

0:24- Keating tells his students to “huddle up”. From now on, I want all of my teachers to incorporate this somehow.

0:26- Keating quotes himself in one of my favorite lines in the film “But only in their dreams can men truly be free, twas always thus, and always thus will be”. I love Robin Williams in this role. By the end of this running diary I’ll have convinced myself that he should’ve won Best Actor over Daniel Day Lewis in 1990. It’ll happen.

0:29- “Dead Poets Society” comes together. Weird corny lines. “I’ll try anything once.” “Yeah! Except sex! HAHA”. Good god.

0:31- Are these kids allowed to have social lives? What’s the deal here? Are they allowed off campus?

0:35- They make it into the cave to start the first Dead Poets Society meeting. First Ethan Hawke mention here: Dude is unreal. I think he’s starting to take over the “Actor’s Actor” title from Mark Ruffalo. Hawke is quietly brilliant in this film.

0:37- A kid wrote a poem on a porn poster. Metaphoric for sure. His name is going to be porn boy from now on.

0:38- If this movie were made modern day, who’d be playing who? I can see the quiet somber Ethan Hawke by Jesse Eisenberg.

0:39 OH GOD! It’s this song! I forgot about this part! Literally every time I’ve watched this movie this song gets stuck in my head for about 4 weeks. I have yet to truly listen to what they actually are even chanting. I just think about how weird it is. I’m sure there is something metaphoric here. I just don’t want to talk about it.

0:40- Back in the classroom. This is one of the most intriguing scenes to me. Is this whole part with the students laughing genuine? I feel like they just filmed Robin Williams doing funny things for 30 minutes and just filmed their reactions and that’s what happened there. I need to do a Top 10 best teachers in Film History at some point soon. Is Keating number 1? I think so. Duey Finn and Brendan Conlon are right up there, too.

0:42- They’re standing up on the desk to get a different perspective on life. I like this part. I love the lines they have for Keating while they all are jumping off the desk.

0:44 –Neil’s douche meter maxes out right here. He flips out on Todd for almost no reason. Todd just simply asked him a question. Jesus Neil, chill out.

0:49- This part was always weird. They’re reading poetry and kicking a soccer ball after they’re done reading. This is so interesting to me. It’s always fun to see if an actor is actually coordinated or athletic. Porn boy has no athleticism. Toe-poked the shit out of that soccer ball. That’s what’s learned here.

0:51- Neil brags to everyone about getting the lead part in the play as Puck. Over achiever for sure. He reminds me WAY too much of Jim Carrey in this next part when he’s typing up a fake letter from his dad permitting him to do the play. Todd starts opening up more; yay Todd!

0:51- BAGPIPES ARE BACK. Leave me alone bagpipes.

0:54- Keating gets Todd to “yawp”. This is a great scene. The 360 tracking Keating shot along with Ethan Hawke’s awkward brilliance is great. It makes you feel just as anxious as Todd. This is in the running for the scene they show at the Oscar’s. I obviously wasn’t alive in 1990, nor do I know if they showed a clip along with calling the names back then, but this more than likely would be the clip they show when they say: “And the nominees are…”

0:56- Awkward soccer montage. None of these guys look like they know how to play soccer. It ends with them lifting Keating. So I guess I’m okay with it.

0:57- Porn boy’s named Charlie. Almost at the hour mark and I just found this out now. He’s playing saxophone poorly. Anything that’s not the bagpipes I’m okay with.

0:59- Knox Overstreet is a porn name waiting to happen. He just got invited to a party. Yay Knox. Sidebar: I just had back to back comments involving porn while watching Dead Poets Society. This is not good.

1:02- Great Keating speech on conformity. “Road Less Traveled By” reference.

1:03- Arguably the best scene not involving Keating. Todd’s birthday present was the same as it was the year before. He and Neil open up to each other.

1:05- Charlie is pulling chicks for the group! Attaboy, Charlie. Easily my favorite supporting character. Charlie changes his name to “Newanda”, unsure how I feel about that.

1:07-1:10 Future Porn Star Knox Overstreet goes to Chris’s party. Dudes are in letter jackets. Can we all agree that no one gives a shit about letter jackets anymore? I wish I was alive for that fad. Knox can’t hold his shit. Uh oh, he’s going for it. He kisses just her forehead. Uh oh here comes Chet. That’s that for that. Poor Knox.

1:13- “Mr. Nolan, it’s for you! It’s God. He says we should have girls at Welton!”. Great line. Another stomach punch from Newanda/Porn Boy/Charlie.

1:14- Newanda/Charlie/Porn Boy is getting his ass paddled. Literally. The sound effects are so shitty on it too. It sounds like someone’s dropping a box full of paper. Again, more reason why I should never, ever attend this hell hole school.

1:17- Newanda/Charlie/Porn Boy gets a lecture from Keating in front of everybody for some reason. I wish this part was different, I wish it was just Keating and Newanda.

1:19- 99 cent version of Jim Carrey, Neil, goes back to his room and finds his douchy dad waiting for him, mad that he’s in the play. I don’t really know why this is such a big deal. If I found out my kid was the lead in a play I’d be like “Sick! Congrats!”

1:22- Honorable Mention for “And the nominees are…” scene between Neil and Keating. Very good scene.

1:24- Future Porn Star Knox Overstreet barges into Chris’s school with flowers and a poem. This is the worst acting in the film, certainly on par with pornstar acting. You’re on your way Knox!

1:26- My personal favorite moment from Williams’s portrayal as Keating. Just his facial expression alone shows that he knows Neil is lying to him about telling his dad he wants to do the play. Definitely not easy to do. I love Robin Williams as Keating. I can’t picture anyone else in this role. Well, besides Phillip Seymour Hoffman. But I can picture Phillip Seymour Hoffman in any role there is. Anyways, Robin Williams is just too damn good. This is one of those performances where you always say "Robin Williams was great in that!", but it's even better than you think when you watch it. I wish Keating had more screen time. You just want him on screen all of the time.

1:28- Knox and Chris do more poor acting and cliché lines. Chris reminds me of if Emily Osment was in high school in the 60s.

1:30- Now they’re at Neil's play. It's probably hard to act like you’re acting. To Neil’s surprise, his dad shows up to watch the play that he told him not to be in. The lighting goes over half of Neil’s face. There’s certainly something there.

1:33- Puck’s closing monologue metaphorically represents his current relationship with his father. Trying to “restore amends”. Wow this play is getting a standing O. Didn’t look THAT good from what I was seeing…

1:36- Neil and his Dad get into it. His dad tells him he’s withdrawing him from school and sending him to military school. The motif of “prison” comes up again, at its most crucial moment. Neil fails again to stand up to his father. His mom, who resembles a modern day Jacki Weaver, is torn apart, but even she doesn’t care about his play.

1:38- Some unbelievably well lit scenes, shit’s gonna get intense. Brb.

1:43- My eyes have tears in them.

1:45 Ethan Hawke is BEYOND fantastic in this snow scene.

1:47- Robin Williams throws one more brilliant scene at all of us. He sits in Neil’s desk, metaphorically “seeing the world as Neil saw it.” You were my choice for Best Actor, Robin! See, I told you I'd get there.

1:49- Cameron, the ginger, easily would’ve been played by Gabriel Basso if this movie was made in modern day. Great scene between him and Newanda/Charlie/Porn Boy, who became my third favorite actor in this film besides Williams and Hawke.

1:51- Cameron says “If you guys are smart you will do exactly as I did!” A motif/theme based on the conformity lesson earlier. Your move Dead Poets.

1:53- Newanda/Charlie/Porn Boy got expelled! No!

1:55- More hints at the conformity motif. They try and get Todd to sign the paper to stay in school there, showing that all his friend’s names have been signed.

1:57- God I love this movie.

1:58- OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN!

END CREDITS-Of course it wouldn't be complete without more bagpipes. Why don’t I watch this movie every day of my life? So grand. Something I didn't mention while viewing: Peter Weir directed the hell out of this movie. He really brought his A game here. I'll probably do more diaries of his films in the future. Good director.

Well, thanks for reading! I'll definitely be doing many more of these in the future. I'll be putting myself through some of the most painful films ever put to screen, but also movies like Dead Poets Society that I just love. It's gonna be fun.

You can follow Will Harmon on Twitter at @willharmon8