Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
On the DVD: the letterbox widescreen format reproduces the 2.35:1 aspect ratio with absolute clarity. Subtitles are in French and German, with audio subtitles also in English, Italian and Spanish, and with 28 separate chapter selections. The "making-of" featurette and retrospective documentary complement each other with their "during and after" perspectives, while "Blind Loyalty, Hollow Honour" is an interesting short on the question of appeasement and war. The running commentary from Thompson, Merchant and Ivory is more of a once-only diversion. --Richard Whitehouse
Special Features
DVD 9
English
Region 2
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
very moving,
By
This review is from: Remains of the Day [VHS] (VHS Tape)
In spite of the magnificence of the stately home in which this is set this is a surprisingly low-key film, helped by a beautifully moody score. Everything about it is understated to great effect. Anthony Hopkins plays a butler who is anxious to distance himself from the fact that a previous employer, Lord Darlington (James Fox) was a notorious Nazi appeaser. His new employer (Christopher Reeve) loans him his car so that he can go and pay a long-overdue visit to the ex-housekeeper (Emma Thompson). During the journey Hopkins reflects on his past career at Darlington Hall.It is very hard to find the right words to describe what a beautiful film this is. Anthony Hopkins gives an incredible performance, quietly restrained but acting with every fibre of his being, as the man who has devoted himself to a lifetime of service, to the detriment of his own emotions and feelings. Nowhere is this more effective than in the scenes with his elderly father (Peter Vaughan), where he has the difficult job of portraying a man who cares deeply for his father but won't let anything (not even his father's death) get in the way of duty. Vaughan is also faultless as the man who has effectively turned himself into a human machine, there solely to serve others, and distraught when he can no longer do so. James Fox has the unenviable role of playing Lord Darlington, a man who, though you can understand his own personal reasons for wanting to appease the Germans (he made a pact in the trenches with a German friend that they would never go to war again), it is hard to be sympathetic to his naivety when dealing with the Nazi's. The scene where he orders the two Jewish refugees he has working for him to be sent away is quite chilling. As is the house-party where he lavishly entertains some of the German top brass, and behind his back they are quietly making note of all his fine arts, for when they finally get to commandeer the house! These are all deeply uncomfortable scenes to watch. The relationship between Hopkins and Thompson is the highlight of this film. Emma Thompson playing one of her most loveable characters, the oh-so English (almost Joyce Grenfell-ish) Miss Kenton. Hopkins is never better than when struggling with his attraction for her, and Thompson's increasing frustration with him that he won't break out of being a butler, not even for an instant! If you watch this film you won't regret it, it is intelligent, thought-provoking and deeply moving, and has some of the best acting you will ever see on film. I don't want to give too much away, but the ending perfectly sums up the old saying that to be reticent about love is possibly the worst mistake of all!
56 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic masterpiece,
By A Customer
This review is from: Remains of the Day [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Hopkins delivers one of the finest performances in cinema hisory as the loyal butler, too dedicated to his job to concentrate on the affairs of his own life. Both Hopkins and Thompson show supurb acting and on-screen chemistry that really sets a mark for the British film industry. The film contains a wide variety of fine co-stars with the likes of Hugh Grant and Christopher Reeve who add yet more strength to the overall quality of this film.Totally recomended to all who expect to be entertained by good acting and high standard drama.
35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding,
By
This review is from: The Remains of the Day [DVD] [2001] (DVD)
Remains of the Day is without question my favourite book. Indeed I have enjoyed all of Kazuo Ishiguro's books. Now ordinarily I would expect that watching a film of what I consider to be one of the great books, even a film as highly aclaimed as this one, is only going to lead to disappointment. Indeed I had put off watching this for years for that very reason, I did not want my memory of the book to be spoilt by an inferior film. What a foolish mistake that proved to be.This film is quite simply outstanding. It is failful to the novel and does an impressive job of adapting almost the entire book into film so the beautifully told story is not lost at all. It is the acting that really makes this though. Much has been said about Hopkins performance and it is one of his best (if not the best), but the supporting cast are equally strong. Emma Thompson is brilliant as Miss Kenton, playing the character just as I would have imagined. I can't recommend this highly enough.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
