The History Boys
by Nicholas Hytner
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DVD details
Actor: Frances de la Tour, James Corden, Richard Griffiths, Samuel Anderson, Stephen Campbell MooreDirector: Nicholas Hytner
Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 112 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-04-17
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Reviews of The History Boys
DVD Review: A generally moving story that drags in places
Summary: 4 Stars
If you are a Dominic Cooper fan, then you will love this movie.
The movie seems to have two themes. One is the nature of education. There is a battle between Hector's 'old' style of teaching, which seems to be maybe learning for the sake of learning or bettering oneself (a romantic education) and Irwin's style of teaching, which sees history to be moulded into whatever is the most useful and interesting in making an argument (to treat history as a grand game to be played and manipulated).
The other theme is about same-sex attracted men falling for Dominic's character.
I found the first theme to be boring sometimes. I could not understand some of the dialogue, and sometimes I felt it went over my head. The language is very academic and high-falutin' at times. The second theme I found to be more exciting.
Both themes really tug at the heartstrings. You will probably be emotionally moved (in a good way) by watching this.
DVD Review: The Hysterical Boys
Summary: 5 Stars
I just watched this movie and loved it! If you're looking for bullets, blood or nudity then look elsewhere. If the subject of homosexuality bothers you then you might also be offended by this film.
If however, you are captivated by witty dialogue(there is some swearing along with it), an intelligent script, and can decipher English accents (there are subtitles available), then this might be a movie for you. There is plenty of action but it takes the form of verbal jousting.
The story centers around a tight knit group of older teenaged male students and the teachers who are trying to inspire them in order that they might be successful at gaining admittance to prestigious Oxford or Cambridge University. It is very much a story about relationships, and not surprisingly, the "natural" evolution of history.
The actors were expertly cast and use humour thoughout the film very effectively to make their points and simply entertain. The topic of homsexuality is touched upon more than once in the film but it is done in such a way as NOT to make the audience feel threatened or uncomfortable.
I highly recommend this film.
DVD Review: Young minds and all that...3-3.5 stars
Summary: 4 Stars
In the thoughtful and smart, yet somewhat unsuccessful film The History Boys there is a wonderful scene in which two of the characters, Posner (a would be candidate for Oxbridge)and Hector (the immense and immensely complicated and flawed teacher) talk about what makes a particular Hardy poem great. This scene almost does for teaching and poetry what (in Amadeus) Salieri's mental reading of Mozart's compositions did for classical music. It's a quietly powerful and moving scene and made me want to dig out that old volume of Hardy poems.
The History Boys makes learning about cultural history seem hip, musical, cinematic and contagious. Despite its subject matter (education and the methods of inspiration) it's not particularly profound (even though there is a death); but it's engaging, absorbing, and several of the characters are entirely magnetic to watch (Dakin, Posner and Tottie).
AND, if, like me, you want to hear yet another version of the immortal Lorenz Hart classic BB&B (put to mildly humorous and fun use) this is a pleasant few hours.
DVD Review: Another brilliant adaptation from a brilliant play
Summary: 5 Stars
Sometimes you just wonder why some adaptations from some plays are great and some are not. The History Boys is a very good example of a brilliant adaptation. Similar to Proof, The History Boys moved a single location play (sort of, although in the original play there are video footages projected to expand the space for imagination) to a multiple location film production but kept all the essence of the play.
The story is about a group of Oxbridge (Oxford & Cambridge) hopefuls at their last and extra term at their ordinary high school / secondary school after their A Level success. The play brilliantly talks about the validity and truth of history and the comparative and relative aspect of looking at history through a bunch of students and their three very distinct and different teachers. The teachers are the eccentric, free thinking, and completely fluid teaching approach Hector, facts-facts-facts Dorothy and "want anything but dull essays" Irwin. These teachers represent different approaches to their students and central ideas of how we should look at things. And they naturally provide a whole wealth of stimuli to prepare the boys for their Oxbridge dreams.
The teachers were played by three excellent actors - Richard Griffiths as Hector, Frances de la Tour as Dorothy (you can see them both in Harry Potter :) ) and Stephen Campell Moore as Irwin. This dynamic trio provided the much needed weight for the production as compared to the light heart side provided by the boys themselves. Richard Griffiths' performance was brilliant and so were the other two. The monologue by Dorothy about the role of women in history was brilliantly done. Also the double personality of Irwin (outward and articulate in classroom and retreating in personal life) was well portrayed by Stephen.
For the boys, none of them were particularly standing out except for Dominic Cooper who played Dakin. It is not because all the others were badly played or done but because all the parts were so well and balanced that you really feel that they are one group (which is important and central to the production). Dakin as a character stands out more because his beauty was the subject of various sexual tensions weaving in and out of the whole story. The History Boys did show us that how well a production could be if you got the ensemble right. All the boys show a different facet of humanity e.g. Posner's late coming of age and sexuality issues, Scripps' unconditional devotion to this faith while itching inside for sex, Rudge's black sheep role in the group etc. were all portrayal of humanity in one big group.
The dialogues in the movie were well written and there were a lot of quotations (or gobbets as Irwin put in the movie / play) of classic text but they were brilliantly mastered and articulated. Scripps and Posner got good chances of showing their performance range as they were the "performing duo" for the group during classes.
The History Boys is a clear demonstration of a good play with a good adaptation. The thing is all the main characters in the movie were played by the same actors on the stage that made the play a phenomenal success in the theatrical circle. So they really did live the characters' lives when they were shooting it. Alan Bennett brilliant writing once again proved that good writings will win over the audience.
One last thing though, if you do not like anything with same sex innuendos, this might not be your type of film as there are references to same sex issues from time to time. There are no sex scenes or such, but the references and connotations in the dialogues may put you off if you really dislike this kind of material. Otherwise, it is definitely a not to miss movie.
DVD Review: Better on the stage?
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this DVD on sale, not knowing anything about the movie or the play. It was moderately entertaining (I'd have given it 2.5 stars if Amazon had let me).
There were two things that really stuck out as awkward and just plain *bad* about this movie:
#1. The dialogue. When you see people dressed in the costumes of Shakespeare's era, you expect them to speak a little bit like you might want to have a glossary or Cole's Notes on hand to interpret what they're saying. When you see teen-aged boys in modern clothes speaking in high diction on a screen, it's just laughably awkward. Maybe it works on the stage. On screen, I was wincing in embarassment for the screenwriter. It felt artificial and contrived.
#2. Dakin. Oh boy, I don't know what to say about this. It seemed as though everyone in the movie wanted to sleep with him, from the cardboard cut-out token teenage girl to the teachers. I took my glasses off, put them on, squinted, looked at him sideways and...the guy is unattractive. He's also irritating, and arrogent, and smarmy. It's just not believable that all those people (or even, any people) would want to sleep with him. Every time he appeared on screen I wanted to wave him off so I could watch the other characters.
The film was diverting enough. Lintott, the female teacher was matronly and sensible (in some ways, the only sensible character in the movie, as she seemed to be the only one who didn't want to sleep with Dakin). Posner was dewy-eyed and charming. But they couldn't save this movie from the influence of the unappealing Dakin.
Description of The History Boys
From award-winning playwright Alan Bennett (The Madness of King George) comes this delightfully witty comedy of eight boisterous-yet-talented schoolboys hoping to gain admittance to England's most prestigious universities. They're aided on their quest by two teachers, a shrewd young upstart and an inspiring old eccentric, whose opposing philosophies challenge the boys to confront the true meaning of education and the relative values of happiness and success.Adapted from the original Tony Award winning play and starring the original Tony Award winning cast, The History Boys is an engaging, thought-provoking, and wickedly funny look at history, the pursuit of knowledge, and the utter randomness of life.
The play's the thing in The History Boys. Unlike most stage-to-screen transitions, Nicholas Hytner assembled the entire original cast for the celluloid version of Alan Bennett's award-winning work. (The two previously joined forces for The Madness of King George.) As in Hytner's National Theatre production, a group of Sheffield sixth-form boys, Timms (James Corden), Lockwood (Andrew Knott), Rudge (Russell Tovey), Scripps (Jamie Parker), Crowther (Samuel Anderson), Akhtar (Sacha Dhawan), Posner (Samuel Barnett), and Dakin (Dominic Cooper)--the latter two standouts--spend an extra term in 1983 preparing for their Oxbridge exams. Hector (Richard Griffiths) and Dorothy Lintott (Frances de la Tour) are their regular instructors (both performances garnered Tony Awards), while Irwin (Stephen Campbell Moore, Bright Young Things) is the enigmatic new history teacher. The Headmaster (Clive Merrison) brings him on board to lend the precocious lads "polish." Irwin, however, is more interested in encouraging them to think creatively--not merely to recite facts. The boys just want to get into Oxford and Cambridge. If that means withstanding the occasional grope from Hector and harsh word from Irwin, so be it. In the end, which boy gets in where isn't insignificant, but Bennett's greater concern is what they learn along the way. If Hytner isn't always successful in reconciling the intellectual with the more earthbound, The History Boys is one of the funniest films yet about Britain's educational system--and education in general. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Stills from The History Boys
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