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Dangerous Minds
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John N. Smith
Produced by	Don Simpson Jerry Bruckheimer
Written by	Ronald Bass Novel by LouAnne Johnson
Starring	Michelle Pfeiffer
Music by	Eddie Haley
Distributed by	Hollywood Pictures
Release date(s)	August 11, 1995 November 24, 1995 January 16, 1996
Running time	99 min.
Country	United States
Language	English Spanish
IMDb profile

Dangerous Minds is a 1995 drama film based on LouAnne Johnson's autobiographical account of her experience as a Marine who left her career to become a teacher at a well-off high school attended by bussed-in students from a ghetto. The film, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, focuses on the challenges of growing up in the inner-city of East Palo Alto, California and of the efforts of a dedicated teacher to allow her class to learn basic elementary education.

When a retired U.S. Marine, LouAnne Johnson, arrives at Parkmont High School with poor, angry minorities from East Palo Alto, California, she finds a class of tough, street-wise kids, involved in gangs and drugs, whom Johnson quickly dubs the "rejects from hell." Her initially meek demeanor, small stature, and white skin earn her the nickname "white bread" from her students. Determined to have them trust and respect her, she quickly changes her presentation, wearing leather jackets, teaching karate to her students and cursing in the classroom. Creating her own curriculum for her "mentally challenged" and extremely antagonistic class, she starts having them read poetry, using Bob Dylan lyrics to teach symbolism. Johnson rewards her students for their hard work by giving them candy bars to say good job, toy prizes and trip to a boardwalk theme park. Along with helping her students with school work, she also provides emotional support to several students, including a couple of wise-cracking boys who are too caught up in street politics for their own good, and a teen who's dealing with the reality of being pregnant in high school. Although she intends to leave at the end of the year, the students quote the lyrics of the Dylan songs that they learned and insist that she's their "light" and refuse to let her leave. Touched, she agrees to stay.

The school in the film is based on Carlmont High School (San Carlos CA) , but was filmed at Burlingame and San Mateo High Schools (San Mateo and Burlingame CA) , 15 miles from the school where Johnson originally taught.

The rap-based music score is written by Soulja Slim, who also wrote one of the theme songs. The movie also featured the Grammy Award-winning song "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio.

The film became a box office success grossing a total of US$179,519,401.54 in its worldwide revenues and went on to inspire a number of films including Freedom Writers, High School High and One Eight Seven. It also spawned a short-lived spinoff TV series, which features Johnson's further adventures at the school.

The appearance of Skye Bassett, playing the minor character Jodie, in the movie, and her eventual death some time after its premiere, is described in Dave Eggers' novel A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.

• Total Domestic Grosses - $84,919,401.00
• Total Overseas Grosses - $94,600,000.00
• Total Worldwide Grosses - $179,519,401.00^[1]

• Dangerous Minds (TV series)
• Dangerous Minds (Soundtrack)
• Freedom Writers
• One Eight Seven

• Dangerous Minds at the Internet Movie Database
• Dangerous Minds at Michelle Pfeiffer, The Face
• Website of LouAnne Johnson
• Movie stills