Rating: 
Summary: Mr. Holland's best opus
Review: Mr. Holland is an average person with average talent for composing, in summary a simple guy with highs and lows in life. His best opus however is that because of his passion for music, touches and improves the lives of everyone in that high school. I think that there are many positive messages around this film that make it an extraordinary one. Mr. Holland's improvement and maturation as an individual is very positive, no matter if there are stereotypes or whatever. I was deeply moved when i saw it for the first time and everytime i can have the oportunity to see it again. It's very good to have it and review to appreciate those hidden details that are discovered only by repeating the experience of seeing a film.
Rating:
Summary: A Touching Story
Review: This movie really digs into your heart because it's about what is really important in life. The plot revolves around Mr. Holland, who must relinquish his composing and begin a teaching career in order to earn more money. At first, his teaching style bores the students, until he finds that he needs to make music "fun" for the kids. What he really wants to do is share his appreciation and true passion of music with the students. The movie follows some truly inspirational moments that Mr. Holland spends with his students. A sub-plot of the movie is Mr. Holland's relationship (or lack of) with his son, who is ironically deaf. Throughout the movie, Mr. Holland's experiences result in his spiritual maturation, which lead the viewers to realize that Mr. Holland's "Opus" is not only his compositions, but actually each one of the people he has touched.
The only bad thing in this movie is that it is very drawn out, other than that, it is a great movie that has depth and meaning.
Rating:
Summary: One of My Favorite Movies
Review: This movie never ceases to amaze me. The plot is unique, the acting is superb, and the conflicts and resolutions are exceptional.
Richard Dreyfuss plays a musician named Glen Holland who becomes a music teacher in 1965 in order to make a decent living for his wife, who becomes pregnant. He goes against his will, and he really hates the job at first because his style is too dry and the students were unresponsive. There was simply no connection between the teacher and the students. However, Dreyfuss develops a teaching style built around how music can change one's life. And this movie is about how each and every one of his students' lives were touched by Dreyfuss and his passion for music.
However, it is not all peaches and cream. There are some very sad aspects to this movie. Mr. Holland's first and only son is born deaf, which must was disappointing and heartbreaking for such a music fan as Mr. Holland. Mr. Holland is faced with the challenge of teaching music to his deaf son. I'm not going to give away the ending, but one moving part of this movieis the fact that even Mr. Holland's deaf son can understand the power of musicians like John Lennon.
This movie is truly moving and has a powerful message regarding musics profound influence. I recommend this movie to everybody; it is a fine piece of work.
Rating: 
Summary: And the band (shouldn't have) played on
Review: I don't know what the person who wrote this script had in mind, though the central plot of the great British weepy "Goodbye Mr Chips" does spring to mind. Unfortunately the script and the score total undermine this excellent plan. Richard Dreyfuss does his best to make Glenn Holland, the initially reluctant but eventually dedicated teacher, believable - and a very good best it is. But in the end there are too many clichés and not enough that is true-to-life. Above all else there is Mr Holland's "Great American Symphony". This is a key element of the plot because: - His need to make money whilst he composes his masterpiece is the only reason he becomes a teacher.
- His dream that the finished symphony will enable him to become a full-time composer is what keeps him going whenever things go wrong.
- The final climax of the film centres around Mr Holland's pupils, past and present, getting together one last time to play this masterpiece on the day that Mr Holland is fired from his post. Yet the symphony itself, when we finally get to hear it, is actually brief, vacuous, laughable, and totally unmemorable. If you've been paying attention to the plot you have to wonder how come Mr Holland himself is so unaware of his obvious lack of talent as a composer. The second major fault in the film also appears in the final scenes.
Throughout the film Dreyfuss/Holland has regularly clashed with Vice Principal Wolters (more brilliant character acting, this time by William H. Macy), who regards the music department as a waste of time, space and money.
In the end it is Wolters who informs Holland that, due to budget cuts, the music department is to be closed and that Holland's services are no longer required. When Holland comments on how happy Wolters must be to see him go, Wolters replies: "I care about these kids just as much as you do. And if I'm forced to choose between Mozart and reading and writing and long division, I choose long division." Sounds level headed, huh? But it ain't. If the script writer had actually known anything about modern teaching then he would have known that there were already a number of reputable studies in existence which show that a regular helping of classical-type music (at least once a week) will actually RAISE all-round academic performance - including in reading, writing and long division. So what do we get? An overly long film (just under 2.5 hours) with a fairly banal plot and an ending which features the triumph of mediocrity - both in teaching methods and in the symphony. I cannot help but imagine what it would have been like with a tighter script, a shorter running time, and an ending where the dawn of a new era of enlightened teaching was welcomed in by a genuinely creative piece of orchestral music. Bottom line: this film is like a damp rocket, all fizz and no fire. So sorry Mr Holland, if I want to watch a positive film about education I think I'll stick with Edward James Olmos in "Stand and Deliver". Apart from anything else it is based on true events - not just a giant helping of schmaltzy fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: Not many extras, but worth the purchase
Review: I highly recommend this movie for all music lovers and anyone who believes American schools should have music in the curriculum. Although the DVD does not have many extras, it's worth the upgrade from VHS to DVD for the enhanced picture and sound quality. All in all, it's a good purchase.
Rating:
Summary: And the band (shouldn't have) played on
Review: Whoever wrote this script must surely have been trying to create an up-to-date, americanised version of the great British weepy "Goodbye Mr Chips". Unfortunately the script and the score total undermine this excellent plan. Richard Dreyfuss does his best to make Glenn Holland, the initially reluctant but eventually dedicated teacher - and a very good best it is. But in the end there are too many clichés and not enough that is true-to-life. Above all else there is Mr Holland's "Great American Symphony". This is a key element of the plot because: - His need to make money whilst he composes his masterpiece is the only reason he becomes a teacher.
- His dream that the finished symphony will enable him to become a full-time composer is what keeps him going whenever things go wrong.
- The final climax of the film centres around Mr Holland's pupils, past and present, getting together one last time to play this masterpiece on the day that Mr Holland is fired from his post. Yet the symphony itself, when we finally get to hear it, is actually brief, vacuous, laughable, and totally unmemorable. If you've been paying attention to the plot you have to wonder how come Mr Holland himself is so unaware of his obvious lack of talent as a composer. The second major fault in the film also appears in the final scenes.
Throughout the film Dreyfuss/Holland has regularly clashed with Vice Principal Wolters (more brilliant character acting, this time by William H. Macy), who regards the music department as a waste of time, space and money.
In the end it is Wolters who informs Holland that, due to budget cuts, the music department is to be closed and that Holland's services are no longer required. When Holland comments on how happy Wolters must be to see him go, Wolters replies: "I care about these kids just as much as you do. And if I'm forced to choose between Mozart and reading and writing and long division, I choose long division." Sounds level headed, huh? But it ain't. If the script writer had actually known anything about modern teaching then he would have known that there were already a number of reputable studies in existence which show that a regular helping of classical-type music (at least once a week) will actually RAISE all-round academic performance - including in reading, writing and long division. So what do we get? An overly long film (just under 2.5 hours) with a fairly banal plot and an ending which features the triumph of mediocrity - both in teaching methods and in the symphony. I cannot help but imagine what it would have been like with a tighter script, a shorter running time, and an ending where the dawn of a new era of enlightened teaching was welcomed in by a genuinely creative piece of orchestral music. Bottom line: this film is like a damp rocket, all fizz and no fire. So sorry Mr Holland, if I want to watch a positive film about education I think I'll stick with Edward James Olmos in "Stand and Deliver". Apart from anything else it is based on true events - not just a giant helping of schmaltzy fiction.
Rating:
Summary: It's A Wonderful Life Revisited
Review: Mr. Holland's opus is a brilliant and moving production which is very remiscent of Frank Capra's "It's A Wonderful Life". The similarities between the two movies are limitless but here are a few. 1) Both of the protaganists give up their life's dream and become trapped in what they perceive as boring and mundane work after having been driven there by a series of circumstances beyond their control. 2) Both Mr. Holland (Richard Dreyfuss) and George Bailey (James Stewart) believe that their lives have been wasted. 3) Both characters eventually come to understand the impact that they have made in the lives of others as a result of a tramautic event which is caused by bureaucratic overseers who are each in their own way driven by money. 4) Both movies appear to be set in small towns that could be "Anywhere, USA" In short, I think that Mr. Holland's Opus is the 1990s version of "Its A Wonderful Life" remade with a modern theme. The soundtrack of this movie is exceptional and covers music from the 1960s to the 1990s which not only enhances the movie itself but also serves to generate an underlying atmosphere highlighting the milestones of Mr. Holland's life. Without a doubt, this is one of the best movies I have ever seen and I would recommend it to anyone. The ending of this movie is just as uplifting as Capra's and I am sure it is no coincidence that both movies have a musical finale.
Rating:
Summary: A great teacher movie
Review: Mr. Holland's Opus is about a struggling composer who has to teach at a local high school as a music teacher to support his pregnant wife Iris. Mr. Holland soon becomes a father to a deaf son. He has difficulties relating to his son since he can not hear. The story follows Mr. Holland's career and his personal life with his son Cole. When Mr.Holland plays at his son's school that is when he starts to become closer with Cole. All this time he is putting his own dreams of composing the Great American Symphony.
My favorite part is at the end when Mr. Holland enters the auditorium. Every one is on their feet claping for all that he has done for his students. It is at that moment that he gets to play his Great American Symphony. The story ends just as the synphony ends.
Rating: 
Summary: The WORST, WORST, WORST Film
Review: Terrible in every way. Aweful acting, an insultingly stupid story, and horrible music. This movie is a parody of itself. The ultimate insult coming at the end when the "opus" is the worst piece of music ever written--the type of thing that would make a 'real' music teacher crawl out a window. I can't believe reviews on this site say this is a tribute to teachers. God forbid our schools would fill with more Mr. Hollands who hit on students and don't know anything about the subject they teach. If you like sappy, overly-sentimental, long, not very clever flicks, enjoy. If you have any taste or sense of decency, STAY AWAY!!!
Rating:
Summary: The reviewer named Forget It missed It!!
Review: Hey, Forget It, sorry to put it so bluntly but you missed it. Richard Dreyfus's character is so great because he's not perfect. He never wanted to be a teacher. It's a story about how someone can not realize how their life really was important and valuable until it's all laid out in front of them. If Dreyfus's character was a nice guy when the dissapointments of his life happened, then the whole movie would not have made sense. Dreyfus's performance is incredibly realistic and his reactions are completely human. It's really one of his best roles, but I think maybe you need to have lived a little bit and experienced the dissapointments as well as the joy that life deals you to appreciate the movie. Recommend this movie highly!!
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