Dead Poets Society
Not a traditional blockbuster in the action sense, Dead Poets Society is a beautiful film centered around a group of school boys who find meaning and camaraderie in their shared passion for poetry. Led by Williams’ second most powerful performance of his career, this film ended its run at the box office with $236 million. The big award, however, went to Driving Miss Daisy starring Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy.
This win seems to have political ties; the Academy seemed to want to say something about race. But, if that’s what they wanted to do, Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, and the Civil War epic Glory also came out that year. Driving Miss Daisy has not held up well, either; it always appears in lists of worst Best Picture Winners. Especially since Williams’ untimely death in 2014, Dead Poets Society has gathered a strong following, all of them agreeing that this film deserved more than it got.