The History Boys (2006) on Netflix
Eight sixth-formers at a Sheffield boys' grammar school earn its best-ever A-Level results. Hector, Mrs Lintott and a new tutor, Irwin, prepare them for Oxford and Cambridge.
- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb6.8/1022,500 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes66%
Trailer
Plot summary
At Cutlers' Grammar School for boys in Sheffield, eight sixth-formers have just produced its best A-Level results yet, and the headmaster, Felix, wants them all placed at Oxford or Cambridge. They face a seventh-term entrance exam in History, taught by the deputy head, Mrs Lintott, while Felix hires Tom Irwin, a temporary tutor barely older than the class, to sharpen their exam technique. Irwin is exacting and difficult to impress. Hector takes the boys for General Studies, where they act out scenes, discuss and sing, and his affectionate style has made him a favorite. Dakin, the class flirt, is having an affair with Fiona, the headmaster's secretary, and Posner, who is Jewish, nurses a crush on him.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The History Boys (2006)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Nicholas Hytner, who had directed the original production at the Royal National Theatre in London, also directed the film, which features the original cast of the play.
- The school scenes were filmed in Watford in two real schools, Watford Grammar School for Boys and Watford Grammar School for Girls, and the film uses the uniform of Watford Boys.
- Bennett's book Keeping On Keeping On contains a chapter, "The History Boys, Film Diary", recording his experiences during and shortly after the making of the film, with entries from 14 July 2005 up to 24 August and a final one on 1 November 2005.
- The majority of the main cast later appeared in Bennett's 2015 film The Lady in the Van, with de la Tour in a prominent role and cameos for Cooper, Corden, Tovey and others; Griffiths had died in 2013, before that film was shot.
