Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

"Mr. Holland's Opus" was created in the spirit of Frank Capra, in which the story of the life of the main characters is a sort of alchemical process that leads to the knowledge that is most important in life. R. Dreyfuss most excellent performance. Worth mentioning - unlike movies in which the younger actor's mask turns into an older one, Dreyfuss here was rejuvenated at the very beginning of the film.

That is the length of this wonderful movie. You will not notice the time as you are drawn in to the story. I can only give it the standard accolades, as not much more needs to be said. Insiring, feel good, warm.It is a credit to teachers,musicians, Fathers, anyone who gets up and goes to work each day feeling their job is not important.Mr. Dreyfuss seems to have the Midas touch as an actor, for he turns every role into something golden. The characters of Cole and Rowena were particularly poignant.It is a wonderful investment of 146 minutes. This film probably did set out to be a heartwarming inspiring film, but it did so much more

I enjoyed this film in its initial theatrical run, then repeated viewings. Just recently (I don't have it on DVD yet) it came on TV so I recorded it as my teenage boys haven't seen it.So my wife, the boys and I watched it together and enjoyed it. Great performances all around, especially for Richard Dreyfuss. He was fantastic as the composer-turned-high school music teacher. A wonderful blend of drama and comedy! Having the historic aspect of world events was a terrific idea. I would say another reason we enjoyed the film was how it presented teaching.....that it can be done in other ways to get across to students.The soundtrack for the film was also chosen well!

The same problem that plagued "Akeelah and the Bee" is present in "Mr. Holland's Opus." The various episodes that occurred through Holland's life are each played with the emotional intensity as appropriate for a climax.Thus, put together, the film is skewed by such a sequence of highly charged emotional "peaks." The result is that the drama's form is thrown off, and instead of a general rise to a climactic plateau, the entire conceit is full of too many peaks.By the time the last scene comes, there's no where to go but to pile on the emotion, straining what intensity there is left to the breaking point. If the scenario had been put together with less routinely occurring crises, it would have helped shape the drama more palatably. As it is, by the end I just wanted to say, "Oh please, no more."Richard Dryfuss puts his all into this effort, and his work is most commendable. It's the writer and director that let him down by not better shaping the film's broad structure. A pity, for this could have been a really significant piece of work set in the public schools.