20 awesome ’80s movies you should totally see before you die

11. Dead Poets Society (1989)

English teacher John Keating (Robin Williams) shakes things up at an elite all-male boarding school in 1959. Keating urges his students to embrace their individuality and seize the day.

Williams, largely considered a comedic actor, had already proven he could tackle dramatic roles thanks to his turn as Adrian Cronauer in Good Morning Vietnam (for which he earned an Academy Award nomination).

Keating’s teaching techniques are frowned upon by his superiors but embraced by the boys he hopes to inspire. Among the impressionable young men are some very familiar faces: Ethan Hawke (Reality Bites), Josh Charles (The Good Wife) and Robert Sean Leonard (House).

Keating’s techniques raise eyebrows but prove effective with one tragic exception. While the overall message of Dead Poets Society is an uplifting one, the film is also a tearjerker.

Following Williams death in 2014, many of his fans took to social media to pay tribute to the late actor by reenacting a scene in which Keating’s students stand on their desks and utter the phrase “O Captain! My Captain!” (written by Walt Whitman).

Though reviews of the movie and Williams’ performance were mixed, he still earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role.