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Kevin Kline, Emile Hirsch, Jesse Eisenberg, Paul Dano, Rishi Mehta ... see more see more... , Harris Yulin , Rob Morrow , Edward Herrmann , Embeth Davidtz , Patrick Dempsey , Steven Culp , Joel Gretsch , Rahul Khanna , Roger Rees , Ben Levin , Gabriel Millman

A dedicated teacher learns some important lessons about himself years after he retired from the classroom in this drama. William Hundert (Kevin Kline) is an instructor at St. Benedict's School for Boy... read more read more...s, an exclusive private academy on the East Coast where Hundert drills his charges on the moral lessons to be learned through the study of Greek and Roman philosophers. Hundert is fond of telling his students, "A man's character is his fate," and he strives to impress upon them the importance of the ordered and examined life. In 1976, however, Hundert finds himself with an especially challenging group of students -- party-minded Fred Masoudi (Jesse Eisenberg) , introverted Martin Blythe (Paul Dano), bright but mischievous Deepak Mehta (Rishi Mehta), and most notably, openly rebellious Sedgewick Bell (Emile Hirsch). The son of a powerful politician, Bell pointedly runs against the current of Hundert's example, questioning the importance of the material, flouting the school's rules, talking out of turn in class, and devoting as much time to his interest in girls as in his studies. However, Hundert sees the possibility of great things in Bell, and encourages him to take part in the school's annual academic competition for the title of Mr. Julius Caesar. Hundert even goes so far as to bend the rules in scoring to favor Bell in the early stages of the contest, but his faith is betrayed when Bell is discovered cheating during the contest finals. Years later, Hundert is reunited with his students, where they learn the years have taught them all a great deal about their virtues and weaknesses. The Emperor's Club also features Harris Yulin, Rob Morrow, and Edward Herrmann. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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66% liked it

21,262 ratings

Critics

50% liked it

127 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 49 min.

Directed by: Michael Hoffman

Release Date: November 22, 2002

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DVD Release Date: May 6, 2003

Stats: 929 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (929)

  • paulsandberg
    May 31, 2010
    paulsandberg
    A film you swear you've seen before a hundred times, that is saved by a wonderful performance by Kevin Kline.
    This whistful looks into the world of academia is beyond cliche, from the oopsy moment of Professor Kline playing baseball with his students (and predicably smashes a de... read moreep fly ball that careens into the headmaster's car window - gee, where have I seen that before.... in just about every film of this genre).

    Still, there is enough witty dialog and a certain moral question that makes me give this film a watchable rating (if you've got nothing better to do on a weeknight).

    The main dramatic point of the film is a competition held each year called Mr. Julius Caesar, wherein Kline, the professor, gives the topic for a series of essays on Greco/Roman history. Kline then grades the essays, and comes up with a composite score. The top three then have a head to head competition in front of the rest of the school, taking turns answering increasingly difficult questions.
    The moral question comes as Kline has befriended the son of a Senator, and is pleased that he has finally reached the difficult student - to the point where he judges with his heart and allows the boy into the top three (where of course he attempts to cheat).

    I found this entire exercise to be distastful, but I've always found that making judgements on subjective writing to be thus. When the film later tries to make amends for Kline's lack of fairness, it just adds to the mediocracy; after all, he is supposed to be the hero, that pilar of moral judgement who is so loved by his former students. The points are made, driven in with a sledgehammer and the sentimentality so saccarin that my teeth hurt - derailing some of the more subtle points concerning honor.

    This film is certainly no "Good Will Hunting", "The Great Debators" or even the cheeky "History Boys" - it's certainly not original, and really hasn't much new or important to say, even though at times it says it quite well. For that, you can forgive some of its transparancies and transgressions, like the weak attempt at a love interest for Kline - which was totally superflous and unneccessary.

    In conclusion, one of the film's messages is that victory without morality, or contribution to society, is hollow and not what will be remembered over time - just as this film will fade away and be forgotten.
  • LWOODS04
    January 10, 2010
    LWOODS04
    KEVIN KLINE, EMILE HIRSCH, PAUL DANO, JESSE EISENBERG, EDWARD HERRMAN, EMBETH DAVIDTZ, PATRICK DEMPSEY

    William Hundert, St. Benedict's assistant headmaster, practices what he teaches. Striving to inspire his students to live rightly, he's the kind of impassioned Classics profe... read moressor who believes the history of the Greeks and Romans is more than just a lesson about the past. He also believes the role of a teacher is not only to educate the pupil but to mold his character. But in the fall of 1972, Hundert finds his cloistered world of tradition and influence upended with the arrival of new freshmen Sedgewick Bell, the son of a West Virginia senator. Almost immediately, teacher and student become embroiled in a turbulent battle of wills with repercussions that would still be felt a quarter of a century later.

    Kevin Kline is amazing in this movie just like he is in all his roles. Had some good other actors that I like in this movie as well like Emile Hirsch, Jesse Eisenberg, Paul Dano, Patrick Dempsey, and others. Had the feel of Dead Poets Society, but definitely two very different films. The resemblance is the all boys school, and the brilliant teacher. But besides that, two different tales. One is more of the story of a teacher and the other of its students. I do prefer Dead Poets Society over this one though. Probably because I have been a student and never a teacher. Kevin Kline was great, but so was Emile Hirsch. He is one of today's greatest young actor's in my opinion. Love his work. Had quite a few of young good talents in this movie including the elder ones that made this movie so great. Thought the ending was surprising. Probably not a movie for all. Some will probably find it a bit boring. It was in some parts. But the acting is what pulls this movie through. Worth the watch for the performances if nothing else.
  • allan913
    September 8, 2006
    allan913
    A magnificent movie. Funny and inspirational. Riveting and powerful. Kevin Kline is brilliant. Rich in character and tremdous in story.
  • fb1600989340
    January 21, 2012
    fb1600989340
    Saw this at school and didn't like it at all. Good acting but the story is horrible and pointless
  • Nutterjr
    November 25, 2007
    Nutterjr
    A lesser good Dead Poets Society.
  • Ivan6655321
    March 25, 2011
    Ivan6655321
    Sheds of Peter Weir's "Dead Poets Society" manifest in this fairly heartwarming film about the transcendent relationship between a teacher and his students, and how the first may undergo extreme anxiety and regret if ever he failed to inspire change to the latter.

    Kevin Kline, w... read morehom I knew most as the bumbling criminal Otto in "A Fish called Wanda", reversed all the characteristics of the role he became famous for and took on a mostly formalistic persona as the straightforward teacher, Mr. Hundert. Like all sentimental films yearning for some recall of memories to make a character evolve or eventually grow as a person, the film was told in a continuous flashback, looking at how his life as a Classics professor to able students could have been an ideal exercise of both his intellectual and emotional life; too bad he crossed paths with Sedgewick Bell(Emile Hirsch), a hard-headed, unprincipled youngster bent on breaking the conventions and rules of adequate education and the seemingly strong authority of Hundert himself.

    The true highlight of the film for me is the first 'Mr. Julius Caesar' contest, because there it lay the raw tension and anticipation of every questions and answers. Every slight pauses of the contestants. Every utterance of 'That is correct' by 'Mr. Hundert. Yes, for me, there should have never been a contrived rematch 25 years later for some kind of 'regaining an intellectual honor'(That's Sedgewick Bell right there). What is he trying to prove? That after all those years, he wanted to retell the tale of how he outsmarted his professor and the whole school by cheating into victory? Or was it just pure cinematic 'contrivance' to bring up another 'contrivance'?

    But then again, though I just can't fathom the logic of that particular 'rematch', I still quite liked the message of the whole film. If "Dead Poets Society" was about an educator's 'influence' to his students, "The Emperor's Club' is completely about the opposite. Although some teachers may say that they only teach because of the paycheck or because they just want to impart their knowledge to random minds, an unconscious inclination, I believe, always grows within them: that in some ways, they teach because they also want to touch 'lives' and in accord with human nature, also want theirs, although how experienced and filled up it may be, to be nurtured and embraced as well.

    For the majority of his life, Mr. Hundert was always haunted by the idea of how Sedgewick Bell got away with all of it. He questioned himself how he hasn't done anything about it. Here came the essence of the whole 'rematch' contrivance(which I learned to embrace as it is); it's not Mr. Hundert that failed Sedgewick Bell. He was given a chance to excel, he transgressed. It's himself.

    (This is a paragraph tailor-made for my reaction paper in Values Education regarding this film)"The Emperor's Club", above all, is an exploration of the realities of being a 'leader'. We live in an imperfect world inhabited by flawed individuals. Even Gandhi had his share of detractors. You just can't go in front of many people and collectively change their lives. What counts is whom you've changed, how, and if they are willing to. And in that case, Sedgewick Bell isn't. The Dathan to Moses. The Cassius to Julius Caesar. But beyond that are some 'Marc Antonys' that may just lend their trust, loyalty, and time for what you have to say.

    Early performances by young actors who has since made names for themselves by starring in equally great films by their own rights(Paul Dano in "There Will Be Blood", Emile Hirsch in "Into the Wild" and Jesse Eisenberg in the most recent "The Social Network").
  • SunilJawahir
    March 18, 2009
    SunilJawahir
    Pass. Offers nothing new to the whole inpirational teacher at a boarding school genre.
  • HenrikSchunk
    September 26, 2008
    HenrikSchunk
    A very wholehearted movie and it certainly is not easy to like it. Kevin Kline gives great performance and it is a shame that this peformance of his has virtually went unseen. The rest of the cast however is not very good I must say. It is no match for Dead Poets Society or The H... read moreistory Boys for example. The antagonistic character of a rascalish schoolboy giving Kline a hard time is painstakingly unbelievable and created without subtance and serves as mere reflector for the protagonists development as he faces his retirment and/or rectorship. Still, it is an enjoyable movie and highly recommend for fans of the neat sub genre that is classic-education movies that smell of pine.

    And the score is by Newton-Howard, and it is a good one indeed.
  • Parannoyed
    December 28, 2007
    Parannoyed
    Cute and enjoyable. I loved Kevin Kline's role as an inspriring professor of a private boy's school because he's just not the average professor we would usually end up with at school. He truly cares about his students and changes their lives. Yes, this might be kitschy although i... read moret works and it's got me writing this positive review... So i say: go out and rent this if you enjoy mellow dramas and attaching characters.
  • ileo
    December 9, 2007
    ileo
    A great film!

View All The Emperor's Club Reviews

Critic Reviews

Richard Roeper
November 25, 2002
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

Kevin Kline perfectly cast to play this. Full Review

Desson Thomson
November 22, 2002
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

This isn't a stand up and cheer flick; it's a sit down and ponder affair. And thanks to Kline's superbly nuanced performance, that pondering is highly pleasurable.

Stephen Hunter
November 22, 2002
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

It's a simpering, ineffective ersatz-drama, so simple-minded and unrealistic and so full of fussy stupidity, it exiles you.

Mike Clark
November 22, 2002
Mike Clark, USA Today

You don't have to be an especially tough grader to give a charitable B-minus to The Emperor's Club. Full Review

Peter Howell
November 22, 2002
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

The movie may not be worthy of an Oscar, but Kline's highly nuanced performance is certainly worthy of our attention. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
November 22, 2002
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

A substantial examination of character, morality and destiny. Full Review

Joe Baltake
November 22, 2002
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

Its valuable message makes it a must-see for children and teenagers, and even more so for those callous adults who have become casually corrupt in their efforts to simply get through life. Full Review

Jan Stuart
November 22, 2002
Jan Stuart, Newsday

Everything about The Emperor's Club feels like recycled goods. Full Review

Rex Reed
November 22, 2002
Rex Reed, New York Observer

This is a film of enormous heart, compassion and intelligence that tackles vital issues with wrenching, thought-provoking honesty and cinematic skill. Full Review

Eric Harrison
November 22, 2002
Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle

The film has the uncanny ability to right itself precisely when you think it's in danger of going wrong. Full Review

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    • Professor William Hundert: I am Shutruk-Nahunte, King of Anshan and Susa, sovereign of the land of Elam. By the command of Inshushinak, I destroyed Sippar and took the stele of Niran-Sin and brought it back to Elam, where I erected it as an offering to my god, Inshushinak. Shutruk-Nahunte 1158 BC
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The Emperor's Club Trivia

  • In which movie was there a character called Sedgewick Bell, who participated in the Mr. Julius Caesar competition at his school, St. Benedict's academy for Boys?  Answer »
  • Name the actor/actress by the movie he/she played in? Freedom Writers Brother Bear 2 Lucky 7 The Emperor's Club Rebellion Blonde The Treat Hugo Pool Face the Music  Answer »
  • In what movie do we learn about Shutruk-Nahunte?  Answer »
  • In what movie does Kevin Kline play a Professor Hundert at St. Benedict's Academy?  Answer »
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