Dangerous Minds

Dangerous Minds follows Louanne Johnson, a former Marine who takes a job teaching English to a class of bright but disengaged teenagers at a tough inner-city high school. Her students greet her with silence and hostility, and the school's administration is skeptical of anything beyond conventional instruction. Drawing on her military background, Johnson abandons a formal approach and finds unconventional ways to reach the class, eventually earning their trust while clashing with her superiors over her methods. The film is a drama set in the United States.

The film was released in 1995 and runs 99 minutes. Directed by John N. Smith, it was his first feature, followed chronologically by A Cool, Dry Place in 1998. Ronald Bass wrote the screenplay, and Jerry Bruckheimer, Don Simpson and Michelle Pfeiffer produced it. Pfeiffer stars as Louanne Johnson, with George Dzundza, Courtney B. Vance, Robin Bartlett, Beatrice Winde and John Neville among the credited cast of 55.

Produced for a budget of 23 million dollars, the film took in about 180 million dollars worldwide, a strong return relative to its cost. On TMDB it holds a rating of 7 out of 10 from 1,345 votes, while the film critics' rating stands at 4.9 out of 10 from 44 reviews, a notable gap between professional and audience responses.