[[quoteright:200:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s_Opus_7943.jpg]]
'''''Mr. Holland's Opus''''' is a 1995 drama film, directed by Stephen Herek. It was partly intended as a remake of a previous film, "Follow Me, Boys!" (1966) but ended up very different. Among the most significant changes was the historical era covered. The original film was set in the 1930s and 1940s, this one covers a period of thirty years (1965-1995).

The film opens in 1965 with Glenn Holland (RichardDreyfuss) as a professional musical performer who wants to turn his efforts to composing a piece of orchestral music, something he intends as his {{magnum opus}}. Needing a job that pays enough to support himself and his wife Iris (GlenneHeadly), yet leaves enough free time to compose music, Holland accepts a position as a high school music teacher. He soon discovers the position leaves him firmly at the bottom of the hierarchy of teachers. And as his apathy for the job starts to become apparent, Principal Jacobs (OlympiaDukakis) starts demanding more actual effort from him.

The film then follows his life with a specific segment devoted to each decade and different trials he has to go through. His domestic problems include his only son Cole being effectively deaf and unable to understand his father's work. Iris forms a strong bond with the boy and learns sign language to better communicate. Glenn, however, can't bring himself to do it and ends up somewhat estranged from his own family. Meanwhile, his school life includes more than teaching music. He inspires troubled students to make something of themselves, change their lives for the better.

By 1995, Holland has spend most of his last three decades devoted to his students, at the cost of his personal life. His musical work is still incomplete and by now unlikely to ever see release. Even if completed, he is too old to re-establish his career. Then his life turns for the worst. New principal Gene Wolters (WilliamHMacy), who never cared for Holland anyway, decides to make necessary budget cuts. Among the first things to go are the music classes, leaving 60-year-old Holland unemployed. Holland fears he has wasted his life, and resigns himself to the fate of being forgotten by all those students he helped over the years.

Instead, he finds many of his former students have returned to help him complete his magnum opus and perform it for the first time, pointing out that their lives were made better because of him. It was time to repay the favor. The film ends with his family along with [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming an entire auditorium of his students]], both past and present, who have gathered to witness the aging Mr. Holland [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome conduct his masterpiece]].

The film earned Dreyfus an Oscar nomination for the Best Actor and a Golden Globe award. It was also a considerable box office hit, earning $106,269,971 in the international market. With almost 83 million from the United States market, it was the 12th most successful film of its year. MichaelKamen who wrote some of the original music of the film went on to found "The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation" devoted to "enabling more students to participate and experience a quality music education".

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!!This film provides examples of:
* AuthorAppeal: Done InUniverse when Holland stages a concert designed specifically for the hearing impaired, including lights timed with the music, inviting the deaf community to sit close so they can feel the beat and ending with Holland singing a song alongside sign language.
* BookDumb: Louis didn't seem to be stupid but is simply not good with grades, its repeated by everyone that he tries hard and is an excellent athlete. As band is based largely on effort that's why Meiser requested Mr. Holland take him in and improve his grades so he can go out for football and wrestling.
* BookEnds: The beginning of the film has Mr. Holland conducting his opus that was in his head. The ending has him conducting it for real.
* BrilliantButLazy: Stadler, one of Mr. Holland's students he helps. [[spoiler:He eventually turns around after attending Louis Russ' funeral with Mr. Holland.]]
* CallBack: During the Lou Russ segment, one boy in the band empties his spit valve on the shoe of the girl next to him. At the final Orchestra, he repeats this.
* DressCode: There is a scene where the principal sees that two girls are wearing skirts that are too short, so he sends them home.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: Mr. Holland takes a summer job as an instructor of student drivers. Ironically, one scene has ''him'' doing the crazy driving with two of his visibly worried students as passengers. He ignores traffic signs and signals, passes other cars on the right side, and even traverses a one-way street in the wrong direction, all while going well above the speed limit. The reason for this insane driving is revealed when Mr. Holland reaches his destination: [[spoiler: it's the local hospital, where his wife had given birth to their son shortly before he got there.]]
* EraEstablishingScene: One of these follows each major time skip in the story.
* [[FatherToHisMen Father To His Students]]: Mr. Holland becomes one of these over time as he helps all his students out. They repay the love at the end.
* GilliganCut: Several, one with regards to Louis getting excited over playing the drums (probably expecting something more glamorous like the snares) and cutting to him playing the bass drum. Another happens with Principal Jacobs asking Mr. Holland what he knew about marching bands and his OhCrap look jumps to him out on the field with the band.
* IMinoredInTropology: It becomes a minor plot point that that the school's physical education teacher "minored in modern dance"
* TheMuse: Mr. Holland is inspired by student Rowena Morgan (JeanLouisaKelly) and begins writing music again.
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: Coltraine "Cole" Holland.
* OddCouple: Mr. Holland's closest friend ends up being the gym teacher Bill Meister.
* OvershadowedByAwesome: Gertrude took her struggles with playing the clarinet so hard because her family were all over-achievers and she felt inadequate next to them.
** AllIsWellThatEndsWell -- by the end of the movie she is Governor of the state, complete with an ''entourage''.
* PopculturalOsmosis[=/=]PopculturalOsmosisFailure: When JohnLennon is assassinated (yes, that does come up in the film), Holland is surprised to find out that Lennon means something to his deaf son.
* PreAssKickingOneLiner: Coach Meister to the badly marching Marching Band.
--> ''Meister:'' Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Coach Meister. Your marching buddy.
* RealMenWearPink: The football coach minored in Modern Dance in college and choreographs the big dance number in the school musical. He also shrewdly uses it, because people will be expecting his football players, who he trains for the play, to be stumbling all over the stage and will come for the spectacle... but be blown away by the dancing.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Principal Jacobs gives Holland a verbal beating when she notices how much he doesn't care about his work. Later Coach Meister gives one to him when Holland says he cannot teach Lou Russ, a willing eager student.
* TheReveal: Iris realizes Cole is deaf when all the other kids at a parade jump at the fire truck siren while Cole remained perfectly asleep.
* TerribleIntervieweesMontage: The auditions for the musical are classic. "We've been at this all day, and the only ingenue we seem to have is Todd Markham!"
* ToTheTuneOf: It is pointed out that "A Lover's Concerto" by The Toys uses the sweet strains of Christian Petzold's "Minuet in G" stretched to four-quarter time.
* TookALevelInBadass: RogerEbert remarked that the band at the beginning started playing Beethovens Eighth symphony and you could barely recognize it. By the climax Mr. Holland had a band formed from his students that would rival any orchestra.
* TheVietnamWar: It is in the background of the eras and [[spoiler:where Louis Russ, the black student who drums, died.]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Rowena, Mr. Holland's extremely talented student singer, decides to more or less run away to New York to try and make it on Broadway. Though they share a touching farewell at the bus stop, she is never heard from again.
** Presumably ended up the same way as 99% of people with similar aspirations who head for the Cruel City looking for Fame and Fortune --- an empty shell of a hman being working a dead-end job; bitter, lonely and unfulfilled
* WhenYouComingHomeDad: Thinking that deafness makes music useless to Cole, Glenn refuses to share its beauty with him, [[TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes instead focusing on his hearing students]]. A teen-aged Cole calls him out on it.
* WorldOfCardboardSpeech: Given ''to'' Holland by the adult Gertrude Lang, the first student he managed to inspire and had become ''the state governor.''
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