What a great movie! Dreyfuss is awesome.

We just re-watched this 30-year old movie and realized how timeless is this story. A truly wonderful film, excellent writing and production values, and a very young Richard Dreyfuss (great performance). The tear-jerking ending is a little contrived, but still quite satisfying. Even if you saw it originally, try it again -- you're older, now, and it has new meaning for an older you.

Seriously, if you don't rate this movie as a 5 star or rating of 10 there is something seriously wrong with how you see movies. Kids probably 10 and above but definitely for teens thru grandparents thiis is a must see movie. Richard Dreyfus masterpiece.

This is an instant classic. Spectacular acting and writing. The last 30 minutes of this movie is unlike almost any other. Such a happy sad ending that will bring a smile to everyone’s face.

As a retired High School Band Director I can tell you this wonderful movie hits the mark in every possible way ! Accurate and heart felt with a terrific score by the late great Michael Kamen. Richard Dreyfuss and Olympia Dukakis are superb with kudos to the rest of the wonderful cast. Bravo ! 🎶✨

Not quite a magnum opus, Mr. Holland's Opus nevertheless gets a tremendous titular performance from Richard Dreyfuss and ultimately overcomes its more formulaic storytelling.

A masterpiece! Five stars!

I have no feelings on this movie whatsoever, I feel like on one hand it's a really cute movie that has some heartfelt moments and real emotions, it can also be really funny at some points. But on the other hand this movie can be really unfunny, and boring, the best part of the movie, for me is either when Mr. Holland sang that adaptation of "Beautiful Boy" or the end when all his students ever preformed for him. Also that one girl who asked the Mr. Holland to run away with her or whatever and he wrote a song for was just really creepy for so many reasons. So yeah I both loved this movie and hated it.

A feel-good movie that isn't cheap or manipulative with it's uplifting final resolutions. Arguably, this is Dreyfuss' opus as an actor.

Great acting with a good moral to the story

This is definitely a feel-good movie. I just watched it again and loved it.

Perfect little movie that pulls on the heartstrings

There’s no denying that the first and most prominent word that comes to mind when I think of Mr. Holland’s Opus is “schmaltz.” This movie does not hold back on the sentimentality even for a moment. There are a few scenes where it starts to get on my nerves, and most of that is related to his home life. While I can see what the film-makers were doing with the storyline of his son, and the rift in his marriage, almost all of these moments felt like added fluff that didn’t need to be there, particularly considering the movie is already well over 2 hours. I was much more interested in the rest of the movie, which felt somewhat derivative of It’s a Wonderful Life. The main character feels forced into a career (in this movie as a teacher,) but eventually learns how to do it well, and then he must be shown that his life had great value even if he wasn’t always following his dreams. That’s also part of why I didn’t like the family detours, because at a certain point it feels like his wife and child resent his career. But the story works better if he is the one who is resenting his own career choices, and they remain supportive. That being said, I love every moment of this movie that involves Mr. Holland teaching his students. When he is challenging them, holding their hands as they overcome life’s struggles, or just teaching them a love of music, I felt just as inspired as the kids in the film. Richard Dreyfuss does a marvelous job with the lead role, and is superb at slowly shifting the personality of the character based on how long he’s been doing this job. There is also a solid supporting cast, many of whom are familiar faces that audiences will recognize, despite the fact that their names are a little less well-known. Mr. Holland’s Opus is built to make you cry, and I’ll admit that I did a few times even though I’ve seen the film before. There are a couple of moments which are overdone, and I started to feel like the tears were being forcibly extracted from my face, but otherwise the emotions come across as genuine. The music that they selected for the film is an eclectic mix, and I appreciate that. Most of the way through, Mr. Holland’s Opus works well for me. It’s a movie that I admire for how it exalts teachers, and touches on the value of the arts, even if the overall film is not a masterpiece.

Hollywood Pictures presents director Steven Hereck of Dead Poets Society and Richard Dreyfuss in a story about music coming from the heart and not just the notes. A professional music composer named Mr Glenn Holland during 1965 becomes fed up. He now takes a teaching position in the music class at a high school in Portland, Oregon. It might not be the passion he's looking for. The students are lacking in any musical quality but Glenn has an idea of using rock and roll to incorporate into his teachings. The other challenge is he and his wife, Iris struggle to make ends meet. When they have a child he's born deaf so it's painful to know they they can't talk to him normally. Holland here faces a double edged sword with his work load increasing with extra practices, rehearsals, orchestras and bands. The principal feels like rock n roll increases the lack of discipline students need. The movie's 3 main qualities include its depiction of the profession, how it stands as a history lesson for multiple perspectives, and that tissue-destroying swan song of an ending reel. It also celebrates the importance of the arts and the blend of popular and traditional music. The film jumps between various points in Holland's life seeing what went right and what went wrong. Holland bonds with these students helping them find their sound yet it's tearing him away from his home life. Still he wants to correct a few wrongs dedicating himself to special needs for his child. The last thing Holland wants is to do 1 wrong thing for either side. A teacher only has two jobs; full children's minds with knowledge and provide a moral compass. Society and schools have changed significantly from the 1960s to the 1990s. It's true too that half of all teachers quit after their first 5 years given they have to make the income by taking on second jobs. Holland sees all the swerves changing during the passage of time from gender roles, the acceptance of rock n roll music during war, the advent of computers, and marginalizing budget cuts of the arts. Out of all the growth, the leaps in technology and skills learned the biggest occupational hazard is constant doubt. Students come and go, and the years blur together. You never know you do well until someone says you did. A teachers life's work is collected by the many lives they impact. Sure this movie feels romanticized and its overly-long but its core helps make the sacrifices worthwhile. This movie goes to show that the power of music unites us all.

Better watch out because love for music and people can do this to your life. 😊

I watched this last night and I really enjoyed it. I would have rated it higher but this just isn't the type of movie I'm into. Otherwise a good film about the importance of music.

Inspiring... and not completely unrealistic.

Heartfelt and powerful with a great performance from Richard Dreyfuss.

Beautiful movie that portrays a heartwarming story about family and fellowship. I highly recommend watching this movie!

The movie of MR. HOLLAND, like the character of Mr. Holland, touched my life at a formative age and, though I may not have realized it when I was child, had a profound guiding influence on the person I would become: A musician, a teacher, a tenacious believer in dreaming, a persistent (albeit often small) rebel to authority, a life-long Lennon fan. As I rewatched this film for the first time in maybe 20 years, like picking up an instrument too long silent and unplayed, every beat came back to me easily, a matter of emotional muscle memory as tears welled up at the same moments that plucked my heartstrings growing up. It is an ageless story, sometimes a bit heavy-handedly told, of a young and ambitious and idealistic person growing older and more resigned to life's smaller victories and pleasures, setting the sights of his desire no doubt lower, to a degree, but also further, with the deeper satisfaction that can only come after a lifetime, speaking the truth of Lennon's line: Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. Like a sweeping weepy Romantic symphony, the film plays the audience's feelings like a fiddle through a broad affective dynamic from quiet tragedy to bombastic rage to soaring joy, all expertly lead by Dreyfuss in what I think is among his best performances, and perhaps his last truly great one.