The Emperor's Club

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The Emperor's Club

PG-13

2002

1h 49m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

50%

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127 Reviews

67%

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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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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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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Dec 28, 2010

4/5

Some mature content, but fine for many teens.

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Steven D. Greydanus

Decent Films

Aug 1, 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)…

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Chuck Rudolph

Slant Magazine

Nov 30, 2002

Hundert may be remembered by his pupils but the movie will be quickly forgotten.

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Jas Keimig

The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

Dec 9, 2021

I'm not quite sure who The Emperor's Club is for. It plays like a patrician knock-off of Dead Poets Society...

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John A. Nesbit

Old School Reviews

May 31, 2012

C-

A soulless rehashing of Dead Poet's Society is hardly the savior of American education

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Michael Dequina

TheMovieReport.com

Jan 29, 2009

2/4

Prep school professor tries to mold his students into upstanding young men, in particular one problem student. Ho-hum.

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Jun 11, 2025

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.

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bob p

@bobpotter50 Sep 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.

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Aaron L

@RT55567649 Feb 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.

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Aug 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".

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steve d

@RT35616104 Jun 30, 2020

There is nothing new here but Kline's charming performance makes it fun.

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Apr 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.

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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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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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