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Movies / On DVD / Brideshead Revisited
Brideshead Revisited

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Brideshead Revisited (2008)

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Reviews Counted:127

Fresh:81

Rotten:46

Average Rating:6.1/10

Consensus: Suspenseful and beautifully mounted, Brideshead Revisited does an able job condensing Evelyn Waugh’s novel.

Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for some sexual content.

Runtime: 2 hrs 14 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:03-10-2008

Synopsis: Though director Julian Jarrold's adaptation of the Evelyn Waugh novel BRIDESHEAD REVISITED spans decades and continents, it's a taut film that never drags and can excite contemporary audiences.... Though director Julian Jarrold's adaptation of the Evelyn Waugh novel BRIDESHEAD REVISITED spans decades and continents, it's a taut film that never drags and can excite contemporary audiences. Matthew Goode (MATCH POINT) stars as lower-class Londoner Charles Ryder, an aspiring artist who is beginning his studies in history at Oxford in the 1920s. A chance encounter with dandyish aristocrat Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw, PERFUME) changes the course of his life. The two embark on a close, intense friendship that is further complicated by the introduction of Sebastian's beautiful sister Julia (Hayley Atwell, CASSANDRA'S DREAM) and his overbearing, extremely religious mother, Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson). BRIDESHEAD REVISITED follows Charles from the carefree '20s through the beginning of World War II, focusing on his complicated relationship with the upper-class family and their estate, Brideshead. Along with ATONEMENT's Joe Wright, Jarrold (BECOMING JANE) represents a new era of British period filmmaking. Both men bring a modern sensibility to their work that makes their films feel fresh and sexy, though they never lose authenticity. Jarrold employs some handheld camera work and quick-cut editing in BRIDESHEAD REVISITED, two techniques that separate his film from others in the genre. Fans of the book--and the 11-hour 1981 miniseries--may bristle at the film's relatively brief running time, but screenwriters Andrew Davies (the BBC classic PRIDE AND PREJUDICE) and Jeremy Brock (THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND) have distilled the story into the essentials. BRIDESHEAD REVISITED deftly works with the conflicts of class, religion, and desire and, with its artful costumes and gorgeous settings, is essential viewing for fans of the genre. [More]

Starring: Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw, Hayley Atwell, Emma Thompson

Starring: Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw, Hayley Atwell, Emma Thompson, Michael Gambon, Greta Scacchi, Jonathan Cake, Patrick Malahide

Director: Julian Jarrold

Director: Julian Jarrold
Screenwriter: Jeremy Brock, Andrew Davies
Producer: Kevin Loader, Robert Bernstein, Douglas Rae
Composer: Adrian Johnston
Studio: Miramax Films

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Reviews for Brideshead Revisited

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Evelyn Waugh's greatest novel gets a respectable new film treatment from a team of Britain 's biggest names, although it will inevitably remain in the shadow of the 1981 TV series.

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
10/18/08
Mike Goodridge
Mike Goodridge
Screen International

This new version of the Evelyn Waugh tale of conflicts in class, sexuality and religion is more about the sumptuous imagery than the provocative subtext.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment 1 Comment
10/03/08
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

For the most part, this is an enjoyable, well made and superbly acted drama, though it drags towards the end and doesn't quite pull off its emotional climax.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/03/08
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

In the end, however, this is a film which though less ambitious than Atonement is very much the equal of The Duchess. Its weakness is the same as that of the latter: it has no guiding hand prepared to take risks and make it distinctive.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
10/03/08
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm
This is London

It's not much to offer a newcomer, who would be best advised to read Waugh's novel; failing that, to get hold of the TV serial. Either would be preferable to this copy of a copy, and a rather inadequately handled one at that.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
10/03/08
Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Independent

Lovely if you have the time. But if you have the time you may, I feel, be living in the wrong time.

Full Review Source: Financial Times | comment Comment
10/03/08
Nigel Andrews
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times

The movie is borrowed from Evelyn Waugh’s classic novel but lacks its many layers and subtleties.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment Comment
10/03/08
Sun Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Someone once said the only thing worse than nuclear war was Evelyn Waugh. Maybe they’d seen this.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
10/03/08
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

It isn't at all emotionally involving. Charles Ryder remains a cold fish, and Goode endows him with good looks instead of personality.

Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment Comment
10/03/08
Christopher Tookey
Christopher Tookey
Daily Mail [UK]

All isn’t fair in love and Waugh in an adaptation of his best-known work that’s often too tasteful for its good. Handsome and thoughtful, it might’ve had more appeal had first-choice leads Jude Law, Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly stayed.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
10/03/08
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
Total Film

Purists may baulk at Jarrold's liberties with the text but it's a well-constructed story that works on many levels. If you enjoyed the book or the series, revisit Brideshead.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
10/03/08
Tim Evans
Tim Evans
Sky Movies

It's a dutiful, good-looking slice of heritage cinema so empty that you expect Keira Knightley to show up at any minute.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
10/03/08
Sukhdev Sandhu
Sukhdev Sandhu
Daily Telegraph
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Kingsley Amis once said his difficulty with Brideshead Revisted was not that these people were behaving badly, but boringly. On the page, that isn't true, but here on the big screen, it turns out to be an insuperable problem.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
10/03/08
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The repressed victims are beautifully framed by Jarrold. The acting is faultless. But there is no reason why we should be revisiting Brideshead. The melodrama is so damp and overwrought it’s hard to care about these old ghosts.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
10/03/08
James Christopher
James Christopher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A good film that occasionally verges on greatness, but never quite gets there, this is a respectable adaptation of a much-lauded book that will no doubt find an appreciative audience in time.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
10/03/08
Alexander Larman
Alexander Larman
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Performances are good – Thompson and Gambon impress – but the insipid music is dreadful.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
10/03/08
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Okay for those who dote on ‘classics illustrated’ in the Merchant Ivory line, but not as fluid as all that.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
10/03/08
Angie Errigo
Angie Errigo
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Roman Catholicism is not diluted. Brideshead itself seems more like a cold cathedral than a home. And Sebastian's homosexuality is not fudged: he kisses Charles on the lips during one boozy summer. Ben Whishaw embraces an aristocratic camp.

Full Review Source: Teletext | comment Comment
10/02/08
Victor Olliver
Victor Olliver
Teletext

Tepid

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
08/26/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
Slant Magazine

A bleak and often befuddling 2-hour-15-minute disappointment.

Full Review Source: Times-Picayune | comment Comment
08/14/09
Mike Scott
Mike Scott
Times-Picayune
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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Latest News for Brideshead Revisited

January 27, 2009: Milk Among GLAAD Nominees Opens in new window
"Milk" has been a favorite on the awards circuit this year, and its hot streak has been extended courtesy of the GLAAD Media Awards, where it will compete in the Outstanding... More...

October 03, 2008: UK Critics Consensus: How To Lose Friends & Alienate People Does Just That; Whilst Brideshead Revisited Is Resisted
In the UK cinemas this week we have two literary adaptations with Simon Pegg as an irksome hack in How To Lose Friends & Alienate People, and Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited... More...

July 24, 2008: Critics Consensus: File The X-Files Under "Disappointing"
This week at the movies, we learn that the truth is out there (The X-Files: I Want to Believe, starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson) and that step-sibling rivalry can be... More...

July 23, 2008: Matthew Goode Talks Watchmen Opens in new window
He's out promoting Brideshead Revisited, but with a role in Watchmen, Matthew Goode knows what people really want to talk about -- and he was gracious enough to oblige Collider,... More...

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