Turner Classic Movies recently had a theme night for boarding school films. They broadcast two of the most famous of them back-to-back: Dead Poets Society and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. I had never seen either all of the way through. I was amazed to find that they are virtually the same movie. Idealistic teacher eschewing the conventional in favor of elevated individualism, much to the chagrin of his/her superiors. Betrayed by a trusted student who was spurred to betrayal when another student follows the teacher's inspiration to aspire, to dream, to be themselves, to live to express their true selves and meets a tragic death. Subsequently dismissed by his/her superiors, leaving behind a tainted legacy that likely will not survive the next term. Dead Poets Society came out about 20 years after Brodie, almost surely from different source material, yet I wonder how conscious Peter Weir, the director of Dead Poets Society was of the similarities. Not that it mattered to his job; he was the director of the material, not the creator.
No comments:
Post a Comment