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The Emperor's Club

Play trailer Poster for The Emperor's Club PG-13 2002 1h 49m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
50% Tomatometer 127 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Kevin Kline stars as Arthur Hundert, a dedicated and inspiring classics professor who has devoted his life to teaching at a prep school for boys. New student Sedgewick Bell, the headstrong son of a powerful senator, joins his class and inexorably alters Mr. Hundert's life. It is a clash of wills and personalities as these two people seemingly battle for the hearts and souls of the other students at St. Benedictus.
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The Emperor's Club

The Emperor's Club

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Critics Consensus

Though Kline is excellent in his portrayal of Hundert, the movie is too dull and sentimental to distinguish itself from other titles in its genre.

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Critics Reviews

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Nell Minow Common Sense Media 12/28/2010
4/5
Some mature content, but fine for many teens. Go to Full Review Steven D. Greydanus Decent Films 08/01/2003
B
William Hundert (Kevin Kline) isn't charismatic or cool… I like that about him. He isn't selling his own personality, authenticity, or commitment; he isn't selling education as self-actualization (Dead Poets Society)… Go to Full Review Chuck Rudolph Slant Magazine 11/30/2002
Hundert may be remembered by his pupils but the movie will be quickly forgotten. Go to Full Review Jas Keimig The Stranger (Seattle, WA) 12/09/2021
I'm not quite sure who The Emperor's Club is for. It plays like a patrician knock-off of Dead Poets Society... Go to Full Review John A. Nesbit Old School Reviews 05/31/2012
C-
A soulless rehashing of Dead Poet's Society is hardly the savior of American education Go to Full Review Michael Dequina TheMovieReport.com 01/29/2009
2/4
Prep school professor tries to mold his students into upstanding young men, in particular one problem student. Ho-hum. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jun 11 The reviews comparing this to Dead Poets Society and how it doesn’t match up are missing the point. This is a fantastic movie that shows love, caring, compassion and understanding. It is even more poignant than ever and has an incredible message. Not to mention the cast of Kevin Kline, Patrick Dempsey, Paul Dano, Emile Hirsch & Jesse Eisenberg. It is a movie that deserves much more credit as do most of Kevin Klines movies around this time. Ignore the bad reviews and take a leap of faith to watch this. See more bob p 09/27/2022 Kevin Kline is superb but the plot could have been more. Stilted and unexciting ending. Nonetheless very much a good watch with good acting and some drama. See more 02/24/2021 Tolerable, but the plot line is pointless. The acting is good, but it isn't worth your time. The movie more or less takes the viewer's hopes and dreams and crushes them. This is definitely not a "feel good" story, and I'm not sure why it ever made it out of the drawing boards. See more 08/21/2020 Maybe it's not the most original movie you've seen, but still it is beyond doubt a masterpiece of the genre. You'll see excellent performances and moral messages that will definately make you watch this movie again and again. "All roads lead to... the Emperor's Club". See more steve d 06/30/2020 There is nothing new here but Kline's charming performance makes it fun. See more 04/20/2020 Kline was great but anything else is very dull and inconsistent. The Emperors Club really felt like a rip off of Dead Poets Society with no interesting narrative. See more Read all reviews
The Emperor's Club

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Cast & Crew

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Michael Hoffman

Director

Kevin Kline

William Hundert

Steven Culp

Older Martin Blythe

Embeth Davidtz

Elizabeth

Patrick Dempsey

Older Louis Masoudi

Joel Gretsch

Older Sedgewick Bell

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The Emperor's Club

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Movie Info

Synopsis Kevin Kline stars as Arthur Hundert, a dedicated and inspiring classics professor who has devoted his life to teaching at a prep school for boys. New student Sedgewick Bell, the headstrong son of a powerful senator, joins his class and inexorably alters Mr. Hundert's life. It is a clash of wills and personalities as these two people seemingly battle for the hearts and souls of the other students at St. Benedictus.
Director
Michael Hoffman
Producer
Andrew S. Karsch, Marc Abraham
Screenwriter
Neil Tolkin, Ethan Canin
Distributor
Universal Pictures
Production Co
Fine Line Features, Beacon Communications, Longfellow Pictures
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 22, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 4, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$14.1M
Runtime
1h 49m
Sound Mix
Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, SDDS, DTS, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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