The History Boys
Nicholas Hytner
England | 2006 | 104mins | 35mm | Colour

The film follows a group of eight boys; an unruly, yet highly intelligent class of history students in pursuit of sex, sport and an undergraduate place at Oxford or Cambridge. They have a formidable faculty to deal with. Bounced between their maverick English master; a young and shrewd teacher hired to up their test score; a grossly out-numbered history teacher; and a headmaster obsessed with results, the boys attempt to sift through it all to pass the daunting university admissions process. Their journey becomes as much about how education works, as it is about where education leads.

Originally a play which swept the boards firstly in the West End (winning three Olivier awards, including Best New Play), and then when it transferred to Broadway (winning six Tony awards). In a rare occurance; the original stage cast have all been used in the film and it has been adapted by Alan Bennett, the playwright and Nicholas Hytner, the play’s original director.