other pictures bound to get a lot of attention are : `` steel magnolias , '' the herbert ross -directed adaptation of the hit off-broadway play set in a southern beauty salon ; `` born on the 4th of july `` -lrb- universal -rrb- , oliver stone 's profile of paraplegic vietnam hero ron kovic ; `` letters '' -lrb- mgm/ua -rrb- , a relationship movie that teams jane fonda with robert de niro and reteams director marty ritt with his `` norma rae `` writers irving ravitch and harriet frank , jr. -rrb- ; `` family business `` -lrb- tri-star -rrb- , a three - generation family drama starring sean connery , dustin hoffman and matthew broderick and directed by sidney lumet ; `` always , '' another `` serious '' steven spielberg movie , this one starring richard dreyfuss and holly hunter ; and `` dead poet 's society `` -lrb- touchstone -rrb- , which stars robin williams as a popular teacher in a boy 's prep school and directed by the gifted australian peter weir .