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Amazon.co.uk Review
It’s always a danger to go back and offer a fresh take on a classic text that’s already made the transition to television so well. In the case of Brideshead Revisited, the 1981 miniseries has become so revered that it’s understandable few have been tempted to tackle it since. Enter, however, writers Andrew Davies and Jeremy Brock, who have taken Evelyn Waugh’s novel, and created a television movie worth considering.
Set in 1925, the story of Brideshead Revisited doesn’t easily fit into a feature running time, but the end result still works well. The life of the Marchmain family, under the ultra-critical eye of Lady Marchmain (played by the excellent, as always, Emma Thompson, in a quite small role) throws together romance, religion and a handy dose of obsession too, as outsider Charles Ryder gets invited to the Brideshead estate by Sebastian Flyte. Inevitably, the pace of the production is a little too quick at times, and following all of the characters takes some work. Yet this is a solid piece of period drama.
What it isn’t is a rival for the original miniseries, and perhaps that’s why this take on Brideshead Revisited went down the television movie route instead. The consequence is that it does feel a little cramped, and while the production values are good, a bit more breathing room in the running time wouldn’t have hurt. Still, as it stands this is a perfectly fine take on the novel, even if it never has pretensions to be the definitive one. --Jon Foster
DVD Description
Privilege. Ambition. Desire. At Brideshead Everything Comes at a Price. A heartbreaking romantic epic, this adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s classic novel tells an evocative story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence. Oxford 1925. The unworldly undergraduate Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode) is befriended by the flamboyant and aristocratic Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw), son of Lord and Lady Marchmain (Michael Gambon and Academy Award-Winner Emma Thompson), and is thrilled by an invitation to Brideshead, the Marchmain’s magnificent ancestral home. Beguiled by his surroundings, Charles is entranced by the opulent house and the glamourous world of this eccentric family. While Lord Marchmain lives in Venice with his mistress, Lady Marchmain runs the house, the failure of her marriage redoubling the fierce Catholic faith imposed on her children – Sebastian and the beautiful Julia (Hayley Atwell). As Charles’s infatuation moves from the provocative Sebastian to the sophisticated Julia, it is a faith with which he finds himself increasingly at odds…
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This was Director Charles Sturridge's recent comment about the unique process enjoyed by the production team at Granada and the actors and technicians involved in the 1981 mini series. A special moment occurred where creativity was allowed to flourish and a 2 year process culminated in a piece of television history.
When the Producer Derek Granger also added, 'those days are gone', he wasn't referring to Waugh's landscape and characters but the art of film making.
The 2008 production could never conjure up the alchemy of 1981. And it has since been proved that high production values, which drown this film, do not equal art. In 1981 a one-off was created. Something unrepeatable.
If the mini series told us anything, it was that this novel needed to be adapted in full, with Waugh's voice at the forefront ....and that would take time. The investment Granada made in the attention to detail paid off. Audiences were prepared to watch a 13 hour story evolve.
My hope is that viewers of this film, new to Waugh and Brideshead, will get a flavour of this great story and with any luck seek out the 13 hour experience - which still shimmers unrivaled after 30 years - in another league.
When the Producer Derek Granger also added, 'those days are gone', he wasn't referring to Waugh's landscape and characters but the art of film making.
The 2008 production could never conjure up the alchemy of 1981. And it has since been proved that high production values, which drown this film, do not equal art. In 1981 a one-off was created. Something unrepeatable.
If the mini series told us anything, it was that this novel needed to be adapted in full, with Waugh's voice at the forefront ....and that would take time. The investment Granada made in the attention to detail paid off. Audiences were prepared to watch a 13 hour story evolve.
My hope is that viewers of this film, new to Waugh and Brideshead, will get a flavour of this great story and with any luck seek out the 13 hour experience - which still shimmers unrivaled after 30 years - in another league.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Despairing that I had to give this even one star...
I watched this film full of expectations with a friend of mine who had never read the book. She found it confused and odd as she had no idea of the origional plot. Film adaptions should not copy a book exactly-the relationship between Sebastian and Charles could never be perfectly understood in film. If this was why the film confused my friend I could have forgiven it. However, the scriptwriter and director seem to have interpreted the text in a completely different manner to how I did or anyone else I know who has read it. The text was bastardised into what they wanted it to be- A love story between Julia and Charles were a jealous Sebastian gets in the way.
I also found the love scene too much. The beauty of a love story is the secrecy of what goes on behind closed doors, and that is what Waugh created so spendidly in his book. Everything is out in the open in this film. In this horror of a film, Charles and Sebastian's relationship is destroyed by a clumsy kiss which I found uncomfortable to watch as well as being completely unrealistic as I felt no believable chemistry between the two.
I'm now off for a hot whiskey with honey...my throat is killing me from shouting at the t.v. for two hours! Any fans of Waugh thinking of watching this, DO NOT!! Unless of course your looking for an excuse vent some anger with a good yell at the t.v.....
I watched this film full of expectations with a friend of mine who had never read the book. She found it confused and odd as she had no idea of the origional plot. Film adaptions should not copy a book exactly-the relationship between Sebastian and Charles could never be perfectly understood in film. If this was why the film confused my friend I could have forgiven it. However, the scriptwriter and director seem to have interpreted the text in a completely different manner to how I did or anyone else I know who has read it. The text was bastardised into what they wanted it to be- A love story between Julia and Charles were a jealous Sebastian gets in the way.
I also found the love scene too much. The beauty of a love story is the secrecy of what goes on behind closed doors, and that is what Waugh created so spendidly in his book. Everything is out in the open in this film. In this horror of a film, Charles and Sebastian's relationship is destroyed by a clumsy kiss which I found uncomfortable to watch as well as being completely unrealistic as I felt no believable chemistry between the two.
I'm now off for a hot whiskey with honey...my throat is killing me from shouting at the t.v. for two hours! Any fans of Waugh thinking of watching this, DO NOT!! Unless of course your looking for an excuse vent some anger with a good yell at the t.v.....
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Like many of the reviews I have read on this film, I would give this no, or even negative stars, if I could. Its an absolute atrocity; a butchering of the book that turns the story into a Hollywood-ized movie that is infuriatingly crude and obvious. The writer of this film, not the actors, is the culprit: he has not only changed the events of the plot, but has written a screenplay that actually brings out the wrong message of the story. For example, Julia spends far too much time with Charles and Sebastien and she even accompanies them to Venice: anyone who has read the book would realise how completely inappropriate this is. There are several other instances of this but i would have to write an essay to explain them all.
Basically, dont waste time and money on this rubbish: watch the brilliant granada series - a dazzling, masterful adaption of the book.
Basically, dont waste time and money on this rubbish: watch the brilliant granada series - a dazzling, masterful adaption of the book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brideshead Revisited (Blu-ray)
We enjoyed the film very much although I did prefer the original TV version. Watching it on blu-ray was good.
Published 29 days ago by Christine
Brideshead Revisited [Blu-ray] [DVD] [2008]
If you are an avid fan of the original 1970`s tv series and of the book this adaptation will probably drive you bonkers, so don`t what ever you do buy it!!! Read more
Published 3 months ago by Etonie E
Disappointing
I remember the original series being on television when I was a child. I did not watch it at the time but I was aware that it received wonderful reviews and my family loved it. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Ava
Blu-ray at its best.
This is an exquisite HD transfer of the recent film and, not being region coded, it played flawlessly in my R1 Sony BDP350, which I appreciated since the film is not currently... Read more
Published 8 months ago by MR CHARLES POPE JR
Boring!
A waste of time and money. Just watching Downton Abbey a second time (I know it is TV, but nevertheless)one realises what could had been. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Kevin Kline
worth watching as much as 1981 version
After nearly 30 years there is scope for a re-make. I found the quality of the set / costumes excellent. Escapist movie certainly, and a bit too Hollywood, but OK.
Published 11 months ago by P. Micklem
Brideshead Revisited
I love this film and I loved reading the book. However if you are an avid fan of the book you may be a little thrown as events in the film appear different to the book - I'd... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Miss Fiona Mary West
Poor
Why oh why did any one feel the need to make such a lackluster version of what was already done to perfection in the TV series? Read more
Published 13 months ago by AngieT
brideshead on speed - contains spoilers
I wanted so much to like this adaptation, having been a huge fan of the book and the original Granada TV adaptation from 1981, but sadly that is impossible with this film. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Kraftwerker
Et In Arcadia Non Ego
This film is very literally a travesty, bearing absolutely no resemblence to Waugh's masterpiece in plot, emphasis, motive or tone; it's simply a different story, with the timespan... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Black Box
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