The History Boys

2006

109 mins

Directed by Nicholas Hytner
66%
70%
16+
Comedy
Drama

Based on screenwriter Alan Bennett’s own highly-acclaimed play (using the same director and cast also), ‘The History Boys’ is a... More

Based on screenwriter Alan Bennett’s own highly-acclaimed play (using the same director and cast also), ‘The History Boys’ is a comedy/drama set in 1983 Yorkshire. It follows eight A students, about to leave college for uni. But before they leave, they must prepare for university entrance exams and thinking them a little rough round the edges their headmaster hires Irwin (Campbell Moore) to ready them.

Irwin clashes with their flamboyant and idealistic English teacher Hector (played by the awesome Griffiths, always to be known by me as Uncle Monty from ‘Withnail & I’). Whilst at first an academic rivalry, it soon becomes clear that feelings run deeper. Dakin (Cooper), the boys' unofficial leader, is the one both teachers play to most fervently and to whom they both nurse a crush on.

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Where to watch The History Boys

The History Boys is available to stream in Australia now... More on YouTube and Google TV and Apple TV Store.

There is no screening information for this title.

The History Boys | Ratings & Reviews

66_%103 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes® rating
70_%35,475 reviews
Audience score rating
16+Age suitability
Children & Media rating

"The screen, like the stage, can barely contain this marvelous play of intelligence..."

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Wall Street Journal

"Audiences coming cold to this largely faithful adaptation of Alan Bennett's clever but contrived classroom comedy won't be so wowed, given picture's irrevocably stagy feel. Nicholas Hytner's flat-footed direction doesn't help, nor do picture's younger cast members' over-rehearsed performances, although the seasoned thesps shine..."

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Variety

"The current of intellectual energy snapping through the ferociously engaging screen adaptation of Alan Bennett’s Tony Award-winning play feels like electrical brain stimulation..."

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The New York Times

"If you liked the play and the compelling ideas Bennett kicks around, the movie makes for an intellectually invigorating couple of hours..."

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Hollywood Reporter

"The film can't hide its stage origins, and in cutting almost an hour on the journey from stage to screen some resonance is lost. But Bennett's dialogue sparkles and skewers with killer wit. Dig in..."

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Rolling Stone

"Equal parts drama, comedy, mystery, satire and spoof, this is a cracker. Do not miss it..."

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New Zealand Herald

"Part school days nostalgia trip, part gay-themed drama Alan Bennett's The History Boys won endless awards when it hit The National Theatre. Cut'n'pasted to the big screen - same director, same cast - it's kept all its probing, comic smarts..."

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