maxim-umfang
Being a groped student or being forced to go to the Oxbridge universities is something normal in school. Well not really in real life, but in the movie "The History Boys" by Alan Bennett and Nicholas Hytner it is. The movie is adapted by the same named play, but with different elements.
It was released in October 2006.
First of all we will look at the selection of the actors for the movie. It was very well done, because it fits also to the imagination, which most of the readers have while reading the play. An example for that are the teachers Hector, Irwin and Mrs. Lintott. Especially Hector and Irwin were chosen very good by Hytner, because on one hand Hector's character and his "special interests" are fitting to the statue and his appearance (body and face) of Richard Griffiths while on the other hand Irwin fits into the imagination of a young teacher, who is not too young but also not too old and doesn't fit to it more than Stephen Campbell Moore. But its not just the teachers, who were chosen very well it's also the selection of the actors, who are playing the boys. Dakin was here the best selection, because the actor, who played him (Dominic Cooper) corresponds very good to the charisma, which is the bad boy charisma, who isn't as polite as the others, but still does care for school. But the actor of the Headmaster doesn't really fit into his character. Although he acts the role of him really good (as a kind of a villain), he is in our eyes not evil enough. What we imagined under the Headmaster was an old (this was something that was existent in the case of the actor) man with a strict "look" ( beard and severe look).
The next criteria we'll going to look at are the special effects, which weren't used a lot in this movie, because the main thrust of the movie was a serious matter of school life and also its ups and downs. The only scene, where many effects were used was the motorcycle ride of Hector and Irwin, where the accident was portrayed in a slow motion effect, which was followed by a white blanching.
At the end we are going to judge the realisation of the play to a movie. The realisation is very good. This can be seen in the way if how Hytner tried to make the environment look like in the 80's. Examples where it can be seen are the road, where Hector and Irwin are driving through. The houses are looking like in the 80's and also the cars were fitting to the time, when the play is taking place or the motorcycle of Hector, which was a small moped and that also was fitting into the 80's. Another example, where the realisation was well done, was at the motorbike accident scene, because it wasn't really shown, how the accident happened. Through that the viewer has still his free space for imagining on how the accident could have happened.
So to put it in a nutshell: The movie was very well done even if it's a bit of different compared to other movies people usually watch. But regarding our judging aspects the movie is very good and we can recommend it for everyone, who is interested in those kinds of movies.It was a good idea to put the theatre play of "The History Boys" by Alan Bannett into a film directed by Nicholas Hytner. The following reasons support my opinion.
There are many people who critisize this film but I don't understand why because both statistics and a lot of meanings by film critics are in favour with Hytner's work. On the one hand it's right to say that the book is original and contains the original plot but on the other hand the film has got more tension so that the reader feels more involved. Every film includes more emotions than the fitting book but that's a general fact and here we have the same case. The plots between the book and the film are different and in my opinion the plot of the film is better because it seems to be more logical for me and because the ending is a happier one because Posner becomes a teacher like Hector and is not failing in later life. It's not the original plot by Alan Bennett like he wrote it but it's not important that the plot is original one and is fitting to Bennett's story aslong as the plot is very likeable and catches the reader's attention.The History Boys - It's not what you think it is.Judging by the title you would think the film is about boys that are particulary interested in history, but this isn't the case. Actually it's about students with with exceptionally good A-Levels in the 80s whose goal it is to get into Oxford or Cambridge. You wouldn't have thought of that, huh?
And in addition to that there are a lot of homosexual tendencies which I personally didn't expect. How it is portrayed in the film differs quite a bit from the version of the original play.
This leads me to the first point of my review. Even though the film is also produced by the play's author Alan Benett and also directed by the same stage director, it differs particulary in the portrayal of the characters. For example Posner is a teacher at the end of the film where he doesn't have a job im the play. Changes like this make the film more engaging and it makes the character more insightful because Posner says that he struggles not to touch his students like Hector did and when he is asked if he is happy he states that he is not happy but also not unhappy about that. For me I like this ending for Posner a lot better because it shows the impact that Hector's actions had on the boys and especially on him.
Not only was the film produced by the same people but also the stage cast was carried over to the film which is pretty good in my opinion because it portrays some kind of consistency-like Dakin is still Dakin.
A lot of critics critized the film for not being the kind of movie that you would normally find in a cinema. It is not very action packed, it rather provides a message. Therefore it is not a film to entertain you, it is rather a piece of art, a play for the stage.
But I have to add this doesn't really hits my taste and I would recommend it for people that like such a style but for people like me that want to be entertained by a film I would not recommend it.The History Boys review:
*Wow I really like grabbing dicks!!!!!*
That's the mentality of Hector the teacher of "The History Boys". First things first the movie "The History Boys " is an adaptation of a play of the same name . The good points I can make about the movie are that the acting is convincing for the most part especially the role of Irwin and that Mrs. Lintott criticizes Hectors actions in the movie contrary to the play.Now to the negative aspects of the movie. None of the boys come across as likeable. This wouldn't be a problem if they were interesting at least, which isn't the case.
In my opinion the film still doesn't distance itself enough from the weird view on molestation displayed in the play and makes Hector a hero in the end.In conclusion I think the movie does a lot of things better than the play but still isn't able to turn it into an interesting story. Because of that I would give the film 5 out of 10 points.
lolliebutler
In my opinion various characters in the movie can teach us various things. As a whole the history boys show us that with self belief and determination you can indeed persevere and achieve your goals. Dakin personally displays our an adolescents feelings are so pure yet so vulnerable, he is immediately drawn in by Irwin and this ends up causing him to question his sexuality. We as educators need to remember that this is the stage where affection for the opposite / same sex starts to develop and should provide guidance and not judgement. Hector also falls in to this topic as he almost corrupts the boys judgement due to him bribing them with a lift home, but you end up seeing that this was a innocent act of loneliness on his part. Every character causes you to feel some kind of emotion for them and I really enjoyed that aspect of the movie.
nick_williams470
From the onset of this film I knew that I was in for an hour and a half of average British film making. This film is not entirely terrible however the plot line seems to lack direction with no climax and little to no sections that really grab the attention of the viewer. The film starts off OK, and as the viewer it seems that the film could have some artistic merit. However from then on, as I have mentioned, the plot lacks direction and is very uninteresting. There are scenes where all that happens is the students quote philosophers and poets, which leads to know progression in the plot and/or no advancement of our understanding of what is going on. To be honest the film is just plain weird, the only resolution that we as the viewer seem to come to is that all of the boys are homosexual, and that the male teachers are also gay and are sexually attracted to their students. All this film does is leave me with the impression that schooling in the 1980's in Britain was filled with sexual interaction between staff and students.The acting in itself is very good and the cast of mediocre British actors delivers brilliantlly on the content which they have been given, but they themselves are let down on the content itself, this is the only reason why this film does not receive a lower rating.All in all this film is watchable, but really there are much better things you could do with your day.
user-117-64456
It is worth noting that if you were a victim of abuse in your childhood this movie is not for you.The lack of appropriate action taken against the abuser in question as well as the displays of sexual harassment have the potential to upset viewers."The History Boys" handles the issue of the true value of literature well and challenges the audience in much the same way as "The Dead Poets Society". However, this theme is regularly eclipsed by the exploration of the sexual misconduct of one of the teachers. My review is this: if you are someone who was abused by another person in authority over you and that abuse was not stopped (despite it being known by more senior people) this movie will just be distressing for you.
