Brideshead Revisited
by Julian Jarrold
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DVD details
Actor: Emma Thompson, Greta Scacchi, Michael Gambon, Patrick Malahide, Sarah CrowdenDirector: Julian Jarrold
Brand: BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.40:1
Running Time: 133 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-01-13
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: MIRAMAX
Product features:
- Inspired by the best-selling novel, BRIDESHEAD REVISITED is a riveting drama of love, power and betrayal, featuring stunning performances by Academy Award(R) winner Emma Thompson (Best Actress, HOWARDS END, 1992) and Matthew Goode (THE LOOKOUT). When the charming aristcrat Sebastian invites Charles Ryder to his family's estate, Charles becomes seduced by the opulent lifestyle of the Marchmain fami
DVD Reviews of Brideshead Revisited
DVD Review: Depressive and ugly tone
Summary: 2 Stars
It is probably about 15 years since I read the book so I can't really say with any degree of accuracy whether this adaption is faithful to the book but I think I would have remembered some elements which take the epicentre of this adaption. I don't at all recall homosexuality being such a grand theme in the piece - am I misremembering? Further, Catholicism is depicted as the religion for those who suffer from a massive and morbid guilt complex - surely this was not the main theme of the book? In all, whilst some of the scences are beautifully done cinematatographically speaking, I would say the undercurrent if not overcurrent is one of supreme ugliness and depression. DVD Review: Brideshead Revisited directed and produced by the cast of Jersey Shore
Summary: 1 Stars
I'm trying to find a single redeeming quality to this, erm, "adaptation" of Brideshead Revisited. The clothes? Nope; whoever did the costumes for this didn't notice that none of the clothes fit right -yo, nice gap between suit and shirt collars, dudes, and are often from the wrong periods. The actors? Nope; they're so abysmal, most of them have a hard time managing to ape an upper class 1930s British accent. It pains me to get into what they look like: the leading lady reminds me of a cross-dressed character from Rocky Horror Picture show (Dr. Frank N. Furter; seriously -have a look, they could have been separated at birth). The directing? Screenplay? Well, they took the names and places from the book and screenplay and made it into something which is a sort of tawdry inversion of the original thing. Imagine you took the characters of Jersey Shore and dressed them up to play a Shakespeare play in a one hour episode. That's kind of the overall effect. The pregnant pauses; the making of stink faces at each other, the ridiculous campy gayness of Sebastian Flyte, the screaming fits at engagement balls: all are very Hollyweird trash, and have zero to do with the story, or the time and place in which this was supposed to have taken place.
They fact that they managed to "modernize" the theme of the book into the exact opposite of what it was intended; Waugh was a convert to Catholicism, and the anti-Papist invective of this nonsense ... it's like presenting the letters of Abelard and Heloise as an argument for polyamory. The morons who made this turkey may have managed to delude themselves into feeling clever about it, but they've simply informed the world what utter cretins they are.
Everyone involved in making this antinomian piece of garbage should be fed to the wood chipper. I'm all for antinomianism when it's meaningful or done well, or even mildly entertaining: this was just tedious offal.
DVD Review: Et in Arcadia ergo....
Summary: 1 Stars
...but only if you watch the TV version. This is a pathetic remake. The acting is lousy, the script a 'Reader's Digest' version of the epic novel, and the cinematography abominable. The sets are nice...except they, too are borrowed from the Granada version. It's the same house, same everything. Waugh's book deserves a long, detailed version, and 1981 masterpiece was as nearly perfect as one can possibly expect. So the question is begged, as other reviewers have posed: Why? What was the point of remaking a classic? I don't get it. Somethings are best just left alone. We are not amused. DVD Review: Stay clear! An absolutely deplorable adaptation
Summary: 1 Stars
Whatever you do, don't watch this terrible film! If I could rate this movie a negative fifty I would not hesitate to do so. If you have not read Brideshead Revisited, this film version will poison your mind and ruin your chance to enjoy an incredibly well-written work of literature. Thank god I read the book first!
Wanting to share the story with a friend, I was horrified by the extreme license taken by the director. There are so many changes to the plot that the story was almost unrecognizable. Particularly egregious is the overlapping of the two love affairs, making it appear that Sebastian's drinking and decline are a direct result of being spurned by Charles in favor of his sister. This is only one of many awful changes--note to lit students--you are sure to get an "F" if you watch this in lieu of reading the text!
Even to call this film an adaptation would be stretching the truth. The key theme of longing for past luxuries in a world changed by war is completely missing. The tone of the film is also off--In the book all of the characters have redeeming qualities--even Boy Mulcaster is an amusing cad. In contrast, I had little sympathy for any of the characters portrayed in the film.
Many reviewers have mentioned how much better the 11 hour mini-series with Jeremy Irons is. I would sure hope so! This film was such torture that it will be a while before I am ready to give the mini-series a look.
DVD Review: Brideshead Absentis
Summary: 1 Stars
Having read Waugh's classic on the "tugs" of faith and watched the original mini-series more times then I remember over almost thirty years now, I seriously doubted this story could be condensed into two hours. A last, I was not disappointed! It wasn't the same story. The movie twists and turns in directions never written by Waugh. (Sadly as Andrew Davies, one of the films writers, has done excellent work over the years.) This, however, is not another version of Brideshead Revisted but a new creation; a creation built more on pretty scenery and anti-climatic moments lost to all depth of the characters.
The underlying issues of faith and religious up-bringing are totally lost, spun into a broad statement about Catholicism rather then its personal meaning to individual lives. The central message of the book has been stripped to a minor secondary theme. The faith journey is lost.
Charles' relationship with Sebastian is dumbed down to mere sexual experimentation rather then human bond. This Charles would never carry his feelings for Sebastian throughout his life. Without the former, you cannot truly grasp the latter relationship with Julia. The relationships are separate not concurrent, they are paths on his journey to faith. Sadly the desire and depth of Charles and Julia's relationship, so strongly captured in the mini-series "Orphans of the Storm" episode, is totally lost here. In this, their reunion seems more like a 3AM quickie.
Take the $20 you planned on spending for this, add another $20 and buy the mini-series instead. The larger investment returns so much more....so much more!
Description of Brideshead Revisited
Inspired by the best-selling novel, Brideshead Revisited is a riveting drama of forbidden love, power and betrayal, featuring stunning performances by Academy Award winner Emma Thompson (Best Actress, Howard s End, 1992) and Matthew Goode (The Lookout). When the charming aristocrat Sebastian invites Charles Ryder to his family's estate, Charles becomes seduced by the opulent lifestyle of the Marchmain family, and by Julia, Sebastian's sister. As their romance deepens, repercussions follow, and Charles discovers that at Brideshead, love, money and power come at a price. It's a spellbinding story you'll want to revisit again and again. Bonus Features include Deleted ScenesFilmmakers' Audio Commentary
The World Of Brideshead Featurette
For director Julian Jarrold (Becoming Jane), this sumptuous production represents a two-fold challenge: taking on a classic novel and a celebrated television production (Brideshead Revisited premiered on PBS in 1982). Thankfully, he's up to the task. Adapted by Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice) and Jeremy Brock (Mrs. Brown), Evelyn Waugh's 1945 text tracks the hard-won maturation of artist-turned-soldier Charles Ryder (Match Point's Matthew Goode). At the optimistic outset, the middle-class striver enters Oxford where he meets Sebastian Flyte (Perfume's Ben Whishaw), black-sheep scion of the Catholic Marchmain clan. Through his hedonistic friend, Ryder gets to know Flyte's sister, Julia (Hayley Atwell), and the dynamic changes. Were this a Jane Austen adaptation, Ryder's financial shortcomings would present the biggest obstacle, but the indomitable Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson, cast against type) concentrates her disapproval on Ryder's atheism. Sebastian, on the other hand, wants Charles for himself; his drinking accelerates once he realizes Ryder loves Julia more. As World War I gives way to II, Ryder tangles with the Marchmains until forced to choose between freedom and compromise. In the end, comparing a two-hour movie to a 12-hour series makes as much sense as comparing a drawing to a sculpture. Both qualify as art, but one reveals more dimensions than the other. Like the series, Jarrold's narrative loses some steam once the focus shifts from Sebastian to Julia, but Goode's deft performance as Charles Ryder is just as riveting as that of Jeremy Irons before him. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Stills from Brideshead Revisited (Click for larger image)
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