Ìý User Rating 
It's no surprise when Robin Williams plays someone unconventional in a film, but his performance as inspirational teacher, John Keating, works very well in Peter Weir's school melodrama.
TECHNICAL FEATURES
Picture John Seale's atmospheric cinematography is well dealt with by a transfer to DVD that doesn't create extra grain for some of the misty-low lit scenes.
Sound The film now comes with a new 5.1 mix, which does offer extra atmospheric effect over the old stereo track.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Audio Commentary One Extracts from director Peter Weir, cinematographer John Seale, and scriptwriter Tom Schulman feature on a fairly well constructed commentary. Weir discusses his early films and how he came to realise "that you could come to hate film making", if he didn't maintain interests outside of the industry. Schulman provides structural detail of the story the film tells, and is at pains to emphasise that they were not trying to create evil characters out of the repressively traditional teachers.
Scrapbook This new half-hour documentary looks back on a production that brought many new talents to the fore. The most notable of these was Ethan Hawke, who is not short of praise for the influence Peter Weir had on his career development. His first impression was only that, "he spoke funny", especially as Hawke hadn't met many Australians before, but he soon tapped into Weir's ability to rouse passion and motivate the cast and crew around him.
Alan Splet Tribute David Lynch fans will recognise the name immediately as that of a man who contributed so vividly to the important sound design in many of Lynch's key films. He also worked with Weir on "Dead Poets Society", and "The Mosquito Coast". This ten-minute tribute takes a look at the work of a man who loved classical music, and thrilled those that worked with him.
John Seale's Masterclass John Seale shows us via a documentary made for the Australian Film Television and Radio School, how to light a room set, as featured in "Dead Poets Society", to reflect different seasons, and times of the day. This may prove a little too technical for some, but for those of you interested in a career in lighting and/or cinematography, this is a rare extra feature for a DVD.
Additional Extra Features Also on the DVD is eight minutes worth of deleted footage, and the original theatrical release trailer.
Region: 2
Chapters: 10
Ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Technical Features: Scene selection, animated menus, multiple languages and subtitles, audio description for the visually impaired, and English captions for the hearing impaired.
This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-S57 DVD player.
