- Actors: Jackson Kyle, James Wilby, Kristin Scott Thomas, Rupert Graves, Anjelica Huston
- Directors: Charles Sturridge
- Format: PAL, Widescreen, Colour
- Language English
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: PG
- Studio: Prism Leisure
- DVD Release Date: 19 Sep 2005
- Run Time: 113 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B0000CERTD
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 41,613 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
Adapted from Evelyn Waugh's Jazz Age satire, A Handful of Dust is a brutal story of a failed marriage with shattering consquences. James Wilby stars as a country gentleman, Tony Last, who loves rattling around his expansive estate, Hetton Abbey.
Tony's wife, Brenda (Kristin Scott Thomas), however, pines for London's excitement and commences an affair in the city with penniless aristocrat John Beaver (Rupert Graves). The fallout of Brenda's betrayal includes a family tragedy and creative divorce settlement ultimately undone when fed-up Tony goes on a naturalist trek through Brazil and becomes the hostage of a mad, illiterate explorer (Alec Guinness). One might wonder whether it's more appropriate to laugh or tremble at these events, and director Charles Sturridge's handsome, graceful production ingeniously accommodates the story's streaks of dark comedy and horror. With brief, memorable supporting roles for Anjelica Huston and Stephen Fry.----Tom Keogh
Product Description
Actors: Array
Director: Charles Sturridge
Manufacturer: Prism Leisure
Director: Charles Sturridge
Manufacturer: Prism Leisure
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Occasionally you see a film which stays in your mind and even disturbs you somewhat. This for me is one of those films. Not knowing much about it before hand I was n`t prepared for the savage story to be told of what people can do to one another. All the acting is superb and the music adds to the haunting effect that this film had on me. I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a good story portrayed with style and expertise
and see if it haunts you too
and see if it haunts you too
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
An excellent, outstanding film in every respect, directing, acting, you name it. The story, however, is maybe the cruellest account of human interaction I have ever come across in fiction and it left me feeling as if somebody had kicked me in the stomach. NOT a date movie by any means!
48 of 49 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This film has never received the recognition it deserves. Charles Sturridge's adaptation is near-perfect and although Evelyn Waugh was a notorious curmudgeon, he would be hard-pressed to find fault with this film. The cast are superb and I cannot imagine two better actors to play the Lasts.
During the late Eighties there was a brief fad for period films on this side of the Atlantic. Everybody raved about 'A Room With a View' but 'A handful of Dust' was virtually ignored. I am sure that posterity will reveal Charles Sturridge's work to be the better film of the two.
Finally, I must mention George Fenton's wonderful music, which complements and enhances the film. I have a CD of the soundtrack and have listened to it more times than I can remember. Perfect in every way.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Unusually Strong Cast for a TV Film
"A Handful of Dust," (1988), based on Evelyn Waugh's famous novel by the same name,A Handful of Dust (Penguin Modern Classics), a jazz-age satire, was made by London Weekend... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Stephanie DePue
Period piece which haunts...
I watched this film for the second time last night, after an interval of about 20 years. I didn't realise it was the one I had seen earlier until part-way through the story when I... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Redbarnchris
Disaster for the Lasts
I saw this film when it first came out and there are certain moments - certain scenes in it - that I have never quite forgotten. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Oliver Twist
Faithful adaptation that has aged well
Were you to start watching this film without any idea of who Kristen Scott Thomas, Rupert Graves, Stephen Fry etc. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Lauren H
a handful of dust dvd 1988
good film has it might be ,but the dvd by slam dunk media is a bad transfer and is also let down by 4.3 letterbox version and not 16.9 enhanced ,shame.
Published 16 months ago by K. Smith
Just brilliant!
You just can't fault this DVD of Eveleyn Waugh's most critically acclaimed novel. The acting is amazing, the scenery, photography and direction is just second to none. Read more
Published 19 months ago by V. Ballinger
A wasted opportunity
This movie really left me cold. Despite a great cast, the film really lacks punch. Also the look of it and the sound lets it down and appears to be of inferior quality. Read more
Published 20 months ago by P. Forsyth
Very good - well-acted - and good screen-play
This film is a faithful representation of Waugh's book. It is sharp, and paints a stinging picture of life in the upper echelons of the society of his day - something which did... Read more
Published on 19 Nov 2009 by Charlotte Bronte
Great Film Bad DVD
I don't understand why Amazon invites you to write reviews and when you do it does not post them without offering any explanation. Read more
Published on 11 Oct 2009 by Abdias
All that glitters...
The story opens in 1932, in the magnificent country estate of Tony and Brenda Last (James Wilby, Kristin Scott Thomas). Read more
Published on 17 Jun 2009 by Kona
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