Movies Like Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)

Mr. Holland's Opus is a 1995 drama, music film from Stephen Herek with a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Beyond Silence and The Miracle Worker.

Drama Music

Beyond Silence

1996

Beyond Silence is about a family and a young girl’s coming of age story. This German film looks into the lives of the deaf and at a story about the love for music. A girl who has always had to translate speech into sign language for her deaf parents yet when her love for playing music grows strong she must decide to continue doing something she cannot share with her parents.

6.9

MagicScore

The Miracle Worker

1962

The true story of the frightening, lonely world of silence and darkness of 7-year-old Helen Keller who, since infancy, has never seen the sky, heard her mother's voice or expressed her innermost feelings. Then Annie Sullivan, a 20-year-old teacher from Boston, arrives. Having just recently regained her own sight, the no-nonsense Annie reaches out to Helen through the power of touch, the only tool they have in common, and leads her bold pupil on a miraculous journey from fear and isolation to happiness and light.

7.9

MagicScore

Children of a Lesser God

1986

Starting his new job as an instructor at a New England school for the deaf, James Leeds meets Sarah Norman, a young deaf woman who works at the school as a member of the custodial staff. In spite of Sarah's withdrawn emotional state, a romance slowly develops between the pair.

6.9

MagicScore

Up the Down Staircase

1967

Sylvia, a novice schoolteacher, is hired to teach English in a high school, but she’s met with an apathetic faculty, a delinquent student body and an administration that drowns its staff in paperwork. The following days go from bad to worse as Sylvia struggles to reach her most troubled students.

7.0

MagicScore

The English Teacher

2013

Small-town Pennsylvania schoolteacher Linda Sinclair balances her staid home life with an incredible passion for her subject. Then a former star pupil reenters her life after failing as a playwright in New York City. Seeing in his script the inspiration that she has always longed to instill in her students, this dyed-in-the-wool romantic enlists the help of long-suffering drama teacher Carl to mount the work as the high school’s next and riskiest production.

5.6

MagicScore

La scuola

1995

In a high school in the outskirts of Rome, it's the last day before the summer holidays. A literature teacher reminisces the past year and wonders what will become of the students he cared for as if they were his children.

6.8

MagicScore

Auguri professore

1997

Professor Lipari teaches in a public school and is in a full-on existential crisis. He has no faith in himself and in the possibility of changing the world for the better. At school, a former student of his who is also a teacher will change his attitude.

6.2

MagicScore

Man of a Thousand Faces

1957

The turbulent life and professional career of vaudeville actor and silent screen horror star Lon Chaney (1883-1930), the man of a thousand faces; bearer of many personal misfortunes that even his great success could not mitigate.

6.6

MagicScore

The River Wild

1994

Gail and Tom Hartman are struggling to stay together and decide to take a white-water rafting holiday adventure in Montana for their son Roarke's 10th birthday, only to meet up with a pair of mysterious men whose desperation grows, turning their vacation into a nightmare.

6.4

MagicScore

#10

All the Silence

2023

Miriam teaches sign language in the mornings and is part of a professional theater production in the afternoons, maintaining a stable and passionate relationship with her girlfriend Lola. Although her life is very much connected to the routine of a deaf person, her world begins to crumble when she discovers that she is losing her hearing.

6.8

MagicScore

#11

CODA

2021

As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family's fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music and her fear of abandoning her parents.

7.9

MagicScore

#12

Jack Strong

2014

Poland, 1970. Firmly determined to fight against Soviet tyranny and prevent the destruction of the world, the high-ranking officer of the Polish army Ryszard Kukliński makes a serious decision that will put his life, his family and the fate of an entire nation at risk.

6.5

MagicScore

#13

The Wife

2018

A wife questions her life choices as she travels to Stockholm with her husband, where he is slated to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

7.1

MagicScore

#14

Goodbye, Mr. Chips

1969

Academy Award-honoree Peter O'Toole stars in this musical classic about a prim English schoolmaster who learns to show his compassion through the help of an outgoing showgirl. O'Toole, who received his fourth Oscar-nomination for this performance, is joined by '60s pop star Petula Clark and fellow Oscar-nominee Michael Redgrave.

6.6

MagicScore

#15

The Ruthless

2019

Milan, Italy, 1967. Santo Russo, a boy of Calabrian origin, arrives north with his parents and younger brother to find better living conditions. Due to an absurd misunderstanding and his father's contempt, Santo ends up in prison, where he gets a “true education.” In 1978, he and his friends Slim and Mario embark on a 15-year criminal career, a successful and ruthless spiral of robberies, kidnappings, murders and heroin smuggling.

6.3

MagicScore

#16

There Will Be Blood

2007

Ruthless silver miner, turned oil prospector, Daniel Plainview, moves to oil-rich California. Using his son to project a trustworthy, family-man image, Plainview cons local landowners into selling him their valuable properties for a pittance. However, local preacher Eli Sunday suspects Plainview's motives and intentions, starting a slow-burning feud that threatens both their lives.

8.1

MagicScore

#17

The Silent Child

2017

A deaf 4-year-old girl named Libby lives in a world of silence until a caring social worker teaches her to use sign language to communicate.

7.2

MagicScore

#18

The Tribe

2014

Deaf-mute Sergey enters a specialized boarding school for the deaf. In navigating through the school's hierarchy, he encounters a corrupt underbelly of criminality, known as The Tribe. By participating in several robberies, he gets propelled higher into the organization, when he meets one of the Chief’s concubines Anya, and unwittingly breaks all the unwritten rules of the group."

6.7

MagicScore

#19

The Great Santini

1979

As he approaches manhood, Ben Meechum struggles to win the approval of his demanding alpha male father, an aggressively competitive, but frustrated marine pilot.

6.8

MagicScore

#20

Christmas Song

2012

Romance blossoms between two music teachers who compete for the same job.

5.6

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Mr. Holland's Opus?

The top films similar to Mr. Holland's Opus by MovieMagicScore are Beyond Silence (6.9), The Miracle Worker (7.9), Children of a Lesser God (6.9). Each shares drama/music themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Mr. Holland's Opus worth watching?

Mr. Holland's Opus holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10 from 433 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Mr. Holland's Opus?

Mr. Holland's Opus (1995) is a drama, music film directed by Stephen Herek, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Glenne Headly, Jay Thomas.

Where can I find more recommendations like Mr. Holland's Opus?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Beyond Silence Movies like The Miracle Worker Movies like Children of a Lesser God Movies like Up the Down Staircase Movies like The English Teacher Movies like La scuola

About movies like Mr. Holland's Opus

This ranked list pairs Mr. Holland's Opus (1995), a drama and music film from Stephen Herek, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Richard Dreyfuss take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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