The History Boys is a British film released in October 2006. It was adapted by Alan Bennett from his play of the same name, which won the 2005 Olivier Award for Best New Play and the 2006 Tony Award for Best Play. It was directed by Nicholas Hytner, who directed the original production of The History Boys at the Royal National Theatre in London, and features the original cast of the play. The History Boys is a six-time Tony Award winning play (and later movie) by English playwright Alan Bennett. ... Nicholas Hytner (born May 7, 1956) is an award-winning British theatrical and opera producer and director. ... Published by Faber/Profile Books in 2005 Alan Bennett (born May 9, 1934) is an English author and actor noted for his work, his boyish appearance and his sonorous Yorkshire accent. ... Richard Griffiths (born 31 July 1947) is a Tony award winning English actor who has appeared on stage, film and television. ... Clive Merrison (born 15 September 1945) is an English actor of film, television, stage, and radio. ... Frances de la Tour (born 30 July 1944) is a Tony Award winning English actress. ... Stephen Campbell Moore (born Stephen Thorpe) is an English actor. ... Samuel Anderson is a British actor. ... Samuel Barnett is an English actor. ... Dominic Cooper (born June 2, 1978) is an English actor who has performed on stage, screen and radio. ... James Corden (born 17 August 1978[1]) is an English BAFTA-winning actor, writer and producer. ... Sacha Dhawan is an English actor. ... Knott in The Secret Garden1993 Andrew Knott (born on 22 November 1979) is a British actor. ... Jamie Parker is an English actor. ... Russell Tovey (born 14 November 1981 in Essex, England[1]) is an English actor. ... Georgia Taylor (born Claire Jackson on February 26, 1980 in Wigan, Lancashire) is a British actress, best known for playing Toyah Battersby in the long running television soap opera Coronation Street from 1997-2003. ... Fox Searchlight Pictures logo. ... is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The year 2006 in film involved some significant events. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The year 2006 in film involved some significant events. ... Published by Faber/Profile Books in 2005 Alan Bennett (born May 9, 1934) is an English author and actor noted for his work, his boyish appearance and his sonorous Yorkshire accent. ... The Laurence Olivier Awards, previously known as The Society of West End Theatre Awards, were renamed in honour of British actor Laurence Olivier, Baron Olivier in 1984, having first been established in 1976. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award® but is formally the Antoinette Perry Award is an annual American award celebrating achievements in theater, including musical theater. ... Nicholas Hytner (born May 7, 1956) is an award-winning British theatrical and opera producer and director. ... The History Boys is a six-time Tony Award winning play (and later movie) by English playwright Alan Bennett. ... The Royal National Theatre from Waterloo Bridge The Royal National Theatre is a building complex and theatre company located on the South Bank in London, England immediately east of the southern end of Waterloo Bridge. ...

Plot

The story is set in a boys' grammar school in Sheffield in 1983. Crowther, Posner, Dakin, Timms, Akthar, Lockwood, Scripps, and Rudge have recently obtained the school's highest ever A-level scores and are hoping to enter Oxford or Cambridge, taking a seventh-term entrance exam in History. The General Studies teacher, known by staff and boys alike by his nickname "Hector" (Richard Griffiths), is their favourite, and works alongside their deputy head and regular History teacher, Mrs. Lintott (Frances de la Tour). A grammar school is a school that may, depending on regional usage as exemplified below, provide either secondary education or, a much less common usage, primary education (also known as elementary). Grammar schools trace their origins back to medieval Europe, as schools in which university preparatory subjects, such as Latin... For other uses, see Sheffield (disambiguation). ... An A-level, short for Advanced Level, is a General Certificate of Education usually taken during Further Education and after GCSEs. ... The University of Oxford (informally Oxford University), located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the most prestigious universities in the world. ... Richard Griffiths (born 31 July 1947) is a Tony award winning English actor who has appeared on stage, film and television. ... Frances de la Tour (born 30 July 1944) is a Tony Award winning English actress. ...

The headmaster, Felix (Clive Merrison), hires an energetic young contract teacher named Irwin (Stephen Campbell Moore) to assist Hector and Mrs Lintott in preparing the boys for the Oxbridge entrance exams. Irwin's style is utterly different from Hector's and Mrs. Lintott's; while the older teachers emphasise cultural and factual knowledges and the quest for truth, Irwin urges the boys to put a spin on their historical analysis, to value originality above objective truth. Clive Merrison (born 15 September 1945) is an English actor of film, television, stage, and radio. ... Stephen Campbell Moore (born Stephen Thorpe) is an English actor. ... Oxbridge is a name used to refer to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest in the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world. ...

As the plot progresses we learn that Hector habitually offers some of his students rides home on his motorcycle and surreptitiously fondles his passengers. The boys have all come to a mutual understanding on the subject and, while mildly annoyed, laugh off their teacher's advances and more or less willingly continue to take turns riding home on the back of his bike. This practice eventually lands Hector in trouble as he is reported to the headmaster by a school crossing guard who witnesses his action. The headmaster insists that Hector retire early, and also that Hector and Irwin share a class; when they do, the group engages in a tense discussion about how best to analyze the Holocaust. For other uses, see Holocaust (disambiguation) and Shoah (disambiguation). ...

As part of their General Studies the class acts out scenes from romantic films and literature, and Posner (Samuel Barnett) sings a love song – Rodgers and Hart's "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" – which he pointedly directs towards Dakin (Dominic Cooper). Later he seeks out Irwin to discuss his attraction to Dakin. Dakin, who characterises himself as an aspiring lecher, is currently pursuing an affair with the headmaster's secretary, Fiona (Georgia Taylor). He is not displeased by Posner's attention, but finds himself interested by Irwin. Gradually, Dakin's quest to impress Irwin on an intellectual level evolves into a flirtatious, potentially sexual pursuit of his young teacher – who, as Posner, his friend Scripps (Jamie Parker) and even Hector note, is visibly attracted to Dakin. Samuel Barnett is an English actor. ... Rodgers and Hart was the songwriting team consisting of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. ... Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered is a popular song with lyrics by Lorenz Hart and music by Richard Rodgers. ... Dominic Cooper (born June 2, 1978) is an English actor who has performed on stage, screen and radio. ... Georgia Taylor (born Claire Jackson on February 26, 1980 in Wigan, Lancashire) is a British actress, best known for playing Toyah Battersby in the long running television soap opera Coronation Street from 1997-2003. ... Jamie Parker is an English actor. ...

After interviews, when the boys receive their replies through the post, it seems that they have all gained Oxbridge places, except for the group's gauche sportsman, Rudge (Russell Tovey). When Mrs Lintott questions him, it turns out that Rudge had already been told at interview that he has a place, due to a family connection with the college (he lets his interviewers believe erroneously that his father was a scout in the 1950s). Russell Tovey (born 14 November 1981 in Essex, England[1]) is an English actor. ...

Dakin approaches Irwin in his classroom after the celebrations and reveals that he found no record of Irwin's attendance at Corpus, the Oxford college he claimed as his alma mater, and Irwin confesses that he lied about his past. Dakin then invites Irwin to give him a blowjob "as a thank you". They make an appointment to "have a drink" on Sunday. Dakin tells Irwin that he has seen two sides to Irwin – a reckless, challenging intellectual and an uptight, cautious personality – and he cannot reconcile them. College name Corpus Christi College Named after Corpus Christi, Body of Christ Established 1517 Sister College Corpus Christi College President Sir Tim Lankester JCR President Binyamin Even Undergraduates 239 Graduates 126 Homepage Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ... Alma mater is Latin for nourishing mother. It was used in ancient Rome as a title for the mother goddess, and in Medieval Christianity for the Virgin Mary. ... Oral sex consists of all the sexual activities that involve the use of the mouth, tongue, etc. ...

Dakin then proceeds to the Headmaster's office and, by threatening to reveal Felix's own sexual harassment of Fiona, forces him to reinstate Hector.

The boys prepare to leave the grammar school at the end of that term, and Hector agrees to give Dakin a ride home on the motorbike "for old times' sake". However, before they leave, the headmaster runs out and stops them, saying that Hector should not take one of the boys. He suggests that Hector take Irwin instead. Dakin gladly hands the helmet to him, and the screen fades to white as they drive off, the boys waving happily and laughing.

Fast forward to a few days later, as it is revealed that the bike was in an accident on the way home, possibly caused by Irwin leaning the wrong way on a corner. Irwin was badly injured; Hector did not survive. At the memorial service, the boys sing "Bye, Bye, Blackbird" and the headmaster gives a trite eulogy. The scene then changes abruptly to an almost empty hall with only the eight boys and Mrs. Lintott present. "Will they come to my funeral, I wonder," Mrs Lintott remarks, before recounting the futures of the eight boys. They have entered a variety of careers: Rudge has become a builder, Dakin a tax lawyer, Crowther a magistrate, Scripps a journalist, Timms the owner of a dry cleaning chain, and Posner a teacher who followed in Hector's footsteps, with similar ambivalence and angst, yet without "touching the boys." Lockwood (Andrew Knott), who entered the army, died as a result of friendly fire at the age of 28 while serving in the York and Lancaster Regiment, an infantry regiment that was actually disbanded in 1968. It is also revealed that Irwin stops teaching and becomes a maker of TV history documentaries. Knott in The Secret Garden1993 Andrew Knott (born on 22 November 1979) is a British actor. ... For other uses, see Friendly Fire (disambiguation). ... The York and Lancaster Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army. ... Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme in World War I Infantry or footmen are very highly disciplined and trained soldiers who fight primarily with small arms(rifles), but are trained to use everything from their bare hands to missle systems in order to neutralize...

The film ends with a collection of moments involving Hector, leading up to the moment that a photograph of the entire class was taken at Fountains Abbey, a scene from earlier in the film. The photo spans the entire screen, and the closing credits are played over the photo. Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire, England, is a ruined Cistercian monastery, founded in 1132. ...

Cast

• Richard Griffiths (Hector)
• Clive Merrison (Headmaster)
• Stephen Campbell Moore (Irwin)
• Frances de la Tour (Mrs Lintott)
• Samuel Anderson (Crowther)
• Samuel Barnett (Posner)
• Dominic Cooper (Dakin)
• James Corden (Timms)
• Sacha Dhawan (Akthar)
• Andrew Knott (Lockwood)
• Jamie Parker (Scripps)
• Russell Tovey (Rudge)
• Penelope Wilton (Art Teacher)

Richard Griffiths (born 31 July 1947) is a Tony award winning English actor who has appeared on stage, film and television. ... Clive Merrison (born 15 September 1945) is an English actor of film, television, stage, and radio. ... Stephen Campbell Moore (born Stephen Thorpe) is an English actor. ... Frances de la Tour (born 30 July 1944) is a Tony Award winning English actress. ... Samuel Anderson is a British actor. ... Samuel Barnett is an English actor. ... Dominic Cooper (born June 2, 1978) is an English actor who has performed on stage, screen and radio. ... James Corden (born 17 August 1978[1]) is an English BAFTA-winning actor, writer and producer. ... Sacha Dhawan is an English actor. ... Knott in The Secret Garden1993 Andrew Knott (born on 22 November 1979) is a British actor. ... An editor has expressed a concern that the subject of the article does not satisfy the notability guideline or one of the following guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia: Biographies, Books, Companies, Fiction, Music, Neologisms, Numbers, Web content, or several proposals for new guidelines. ... Russell Tovey (born 14 November 1981 in Essex, England[1]) is an English actor. ... Penelope Wilton OBE (born 3 June 1946) is an English actress who is well known for appearing in the sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles and in Cry Freedom. ...

Critical acclaim

According to Time ^[1], the film is better than the original play, as the transformation to film improved the 'flow and intimacy' of the production, while preserving the messages it seeks to convey. Rolling Stone ^[2] notes that some sense of familiarity with the subject of the film is lost in the cutting of nearly an hour from the original play, but the dialogue remains witty and pointed as is the customary style of the author. New York^[3] describes the film as 'brilliant and infectious', and filled with Alan Bennett's customary deadpan humour. The author writes as though he simultaneously envies the extrovert characters he has created, yet is happy to stand apart from them. Hector's classes ramble, but manage to inspire the boys to the extent that they are pleased to adopt his approach to learning, and contentedly go along with his eccentric behaviour. The film is peppered with literary references and carries an encouragement to engage with life. Deadpan is a form of comedic delivery in which humour is presented without exhibiting a change in emotion or facial expression. ...

Analysis

Furthermore, due to the intricate social issues discussed throughout the History Boys the play has been added to the list available for study at A-level drama and theatre studies, and should shortly be added to the English syllabus.

The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures named The History Boys one of the Top Ten Films in its 2006 awards.^[4] The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures was founded in 1909 in New York City, just 13 years after the birth of cinema, to protest New York City Mayor George B. McClellan, Jr. ...

Awards

The film has been nominated for the 2007 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film - Limited Release.^[5] The GLAAD Media Awards were created in 1990 by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to recognize and honor the mainstream media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBT community and the issues that affect their lives. ...

Griffiths and de la Tour received BAFTA nominations for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organization that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, childrens film and television, and interactive media. ...

Trivia

Even though based in Yorkshire, the setting of the school was filmed in Watford Grammar School for Boys and Watford Grammar School for Girls in Hertfordshire. Watford Grammar School for Boys is based in Watford in Hertfordshire, UK. A Free School was founded as a charity school by Francis Coombe in 1640 and re-founded as a school for boys and girls by Elizabeth Fuller in 1704. ... For the similarly named county in the West Midlands region, see Herefordshire. ...

Even though the film is set in 1983, books can be seen in the library that were not printed until later, for instance Michael Burleigh's book on the The Third Reich, which wasn't printed until 2001. Michael Burleigh is a British author and historian. ...

Differences from play

Whilst there are several differences between the film and the play due to the contracted running time of the film, among the more obvious ones are:

• In the play, Irwin (now using a wheelchair) leaves television and works in government in an unspecified capacity.
  
• Lockwood does not die in the play, instead he becomes a magistrate.
  
• Posner attempts to blackmail Irwin in scenes set in the present day.
• At the play's end, Posner fares far worse than he does in the film. Mrs Lintott describes him as living a lonely life, keeping "a scrapbook of the achievements of his one-time classmates" and having "a host of friends... though only on the internet, and none in his right name or even gender." She concludes by saying "He has long since stopped asking himself where it went wrong."

Wheelchair seating in a theater. ... A magistrate is a judicial officer. ... For other uses, see Blackmail (disambiguation). ...

References

TIME redirects here. ... is the 107th day of the year (108th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... This article is about the magazine. ... is the 107th day of the year (108th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 107th day of the year (108th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 341st day of the year (342nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ...

External links

• The History Boys at the Internet Movie Database
• "The History Boys" Discussion Forum
• The History Boys Review at Recenzenci.pl