What do Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Alec Baldwin, Greer Garson, Rodney Dangerfield, Sean Connery, Kevin Kline, Timothy Hutton and George C. Scott all have in common? They have made movies set in private schools.
There are several classic movies which are set in private schools. Aside from lovely shots of manicured campuses and grand buildings, most of these films don't represent private schools accurately. But then, that was not their intent.
For example, the Harry Potter series gives a romanticized view of life in an English boarding school. The dining hall and faculty gowns still exist in many English schools. Everything else is delightful fantasy. Goodbye Mr. Chips! is a two tissue tear jerker. Dead Poets Society always leaves a lump in your throat. School Ties shows the kind of nasty prejudice which was the norm way back when.
Hollywood tends to view private schools the way media does in general. It plays private schools as bastions of privilege and wealth. Military schools are an easy backdrop for shoot 'em ups. In any case there is much more to private schools than those themes. Here are a few titles to add to your collection.
The List
- with Cliff Gorman, Susan Tyrrell, Dick Shawn
- with Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, Marilyn Lightstone
- with Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Fejt枚, Francine Racette
- with Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis
- with DJ Qualls, Rachel Blanchard, Colin Fox
- with Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, James Garner
- with Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard and Ethan Hawke
- with AnnaSophia Robb, Uma Thurman, Isabelle Fuhrman
- with Kevin Kline, Emile Hirsch and Joel Gretsch
- ) with Andreas Wilson, Henrik Lundstr枚m, Gustaf Skarsg氓rd
- with Sean Connery, Rob Brown, F. Murray Abraham
- with Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn
- with Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley
- (1950) with Alastair Sim, Margaret Rutherford, John Turnbull
- with Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Richard Harris
- with Thora Birch, Desmond Harrington, Daniel Brocklebank
- with Mariel Hemingway, Michael Caloz, Ben Cook
- with David Keith, Robert Prosky, G.D. Spratlin
- ) with Piper Perabo, Jessica Par茅, Mischa Barton
- with Shawn Hatosy, Amy Smart, Alec Baldwin
- with Rachel Roberts, Anne-Louise Lambert, Vivean Gray
- with Phoebe Cates, Betsy Russell, Matthew Modine
- with Edward Burns, Jennifer Ehle, Thomas Gibson
- with Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams
- with Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin
- with Al Pacino, Chris O'Donnell, James Rebhorn
- with Jack Black, Mike White, Joan Cusack
- with Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O'Donnell
- with George C. Scott, Timothy Hutton
- with Dominique Swain, Brad Renfro, Bijou Phillips
Got a movie or TV series set in or having something to do with a private school? Please let us know via Facebook. @privateschoolreview
