Brideshead Revisited - Complete Series DVD 1981: Amazon.co.uk: Jeremy Irons, Diana Quick, Roger Milner, Phoebe Nicholls, Simon Jones, Anthony Andrews, Charles Keating, Claire Bloom, John Gielgud, Jeremy Sinden, Mona Washbourne, John Grillo, Charles Sturridge, Derek Granger: DVD

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Amazon.co.uk Review

Fill a bowl with alpine strawberries, break out the Château Lafite (1899, of course) and bask in Brideshead Revisited, the 1981 miniseries based on Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, adapted for the screen by John Mortimer (Rumpole of the Bailey). In his breakthrough role, Jeremy Irons stars as Charles Ryder, a disillusioned Army captain who is moved to reflect on his "languid days" in the "enchanted castle" that was Brideshead, home of the aristocratic Marchmain family, whose acquaintance Charles made in the company of an Oxford classmate, the charming wild-child Sebastian. Anthony Andrews costars as the doomed Sebastian, whose beauty is "arresting" and "whose eccentricities and behaviour seemed to know no bounds". The "entitled and enchanted" Sebastian takes Charles under his wing ("Charles, what a lot you have to learn"), but vows early on that he is "not going to let [Charles] get mixed up with [his] family." But mixed up Charles gets. He becomes a friend and confidante, not to mention a lover, to Sebastian's sister Julia (Diana Quick). Meanwhile, the self-destructive Sebastian's life spirals out of control.

Brideshead Revisited boasts a distinguished ensemble cast, including Laurence Olivier in his Emmy Award-winning role as the exiled Lord Marchmain, Claire Bloom as Lady Marchmain, and the magnificent John Gielgud as Charles's estranged father. Grand locations and a haunting musical score make this a memorable revisit of an irretrievable bygone era. --Donald Liebenson

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4:3
DVD 9
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Stereo English
Dolby Digital Stereo

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17 Reviews

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4.6 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)

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44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the finest British Drama series ever made., 23 May 2000

By	david.whelan@islworld.com (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brideshead Revisited [VHS] [1981] (VHS Tape)

When 'Brideshead Revisited' first came onto the nations screens back in the early 80's, it had a huge weight of expectation resting on its lofty shoulders. Adapted from one of Evelyn Waugh's finest novels by the brilliant John Mortimer, with an all star cast and a very large budget, the country expected greatness and they were not disapointed.

This is simply from start to finish, the finest British television drama ever. The stellar cast from Laurence Olivier down, seem to sense throughout that they are involved in something special and momentous and most give life time best performances. (The late John Gielgud's vague, but mischievous father is worth the admission price alone). The sets are sumptious and authentic and the tragic and intriguing story never fails to engage throughout. Words can never hope to sum up how wonderful this production is. It is almost twenty years since I first saw it and I still can vividly recall most scenes. Give yourself a treat and see what quality televsion can really be like. In this age of digital multi-channel programming, where quantity over quality is the new maxim, we will probably never ever see its like again, but thank heavens we still have it to treasure and wonder at today.

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62 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brideshead FINALLY revisited!, 6 Jun 2003

By	MartinP "MartinP" (Nijmegen, The Netherlands) - See all my reviews

After acquiring a DVD player just over a year ago, this was about the first thing I went looking for. And guess what: it wasn’t there! Whereas every last B-movie and sitcom-futility seemed available on disc, nobody had thought of issuing this towering monument of TV-history on DVD. Imagine my euphoria when, on a visit to Hong Kong six months later, I nevertheless found it! Fortunately the lady at the counter was kind enough to point out that it would be useless in Europe, as it was coded Region 1. As it turned out, Brideshead has been available on DVD for years in the US – but not in Europe! (The same, by the way, seems to be happening to another masterly TV-adaptation of a classis English novel, Vanity Fair).
Well, finally the waiting is over, and here it is. After opening the package, it still struck me as somewhat of a rushed job (an impression not helped by the fact that the first copy I got was faulty): the three discs come in a flimsy cardboard slipcase, and there is no additional material either in a booklet or on any of the discs, not even an index for the scene-tracks per episode. It is just the series, and nothing more (though the architectural drawing of Castle Howard from Campbell's Vitruvius Brittanicus, on the reverse of the fold-out containing the discs, IS gorgeous).
But well – who needs more, really? For anybody with a little sense of nostalgia, with a taste for the Twenties or for the English country house, or with even the slightest symptoms of Anglophilia, this is irresistible – and when you have two or more of these, be prepared to be blown away. Waugh's slow-paced, multi-faceted baroque tragedy is reproduced faithfully on screen from its exuberant start to its bitter-sweet ending. As an adaptation of the novel, the screenplay is a masterpiece in itself. Casting, locations and camerawork are all as near to perfection as humanly possible (apparently the success of Castle Howard as Brideshead was such that many people seem to think the house is actually called Brideshead). Anthony Andrews is astoundingly adept at portraying both Sebastian's lighter and darker sides; a still very young Jeremy Irons succeeds in keeping Charles and his tremendous character development centre stage in spite of the motley crowd surrounding him; and John Gielgud supplies marvellous comedy as Charles's subtly and somewhat maliciously deranged father; - to mention just a few. In short, and notwithstanding some excellent productions of later years, this series still has a very strong claim to being the best thing ever done for TV.
I have seen some DVD-buffs complain about the quality of the images: 'dull patches', 'dead colours' and 'unquiet backgrounds' seemed to interfere with their viewing pleasure. Frankly, I have no idea what they are talking about. If you own a giant TV-set and push your nose against the screen, who knows what you will see, but to me the DVD version looks infinitely better than the VHS-copy I owned. It is sharp, steady and clear, and better still, these qualities will remain intact over time – which is a good thing, for if ever there was a TV-series warranting repeated viewing, it is this one!

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brideshead Revisited, 25 May 2003

By	Graham S. Applin "grahamapplin129" (Hampshire) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In the early 1980's the adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's novel, Brideshead Revisited was a landmark in television drama.Watching this series again after more than twenty years reminds me that Brideshead is simply one of the most glorious and opulent pieces of television drama ever made. Every scene drips with the kind of production values which used to make British television the best on the planet; the script, the camera work and the wonderful ensemble acting (where is any one going to get a cast list to rival this one?)make this an absolute must for every one who wants to wallow in television bliss;it just has not dated at all.

However, the three DVD set, while handsomely packaged and beatufully presented has no extras or special features; not even a scene menu. You have the option of playing a DVD all the way through or selecting an individual episode. That is it!

Of course, the reason for buying this DVD is to be able to watch at one's leisure an extraordinary and unrivalled production. But it is a shame that the producers have not taken advantage of the medium of DVD to enhance the whole experience.

Nevertheless, this is an essential purchase; buy it, get some strawberrys, line up the Brandy Alexanders and watch.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Et in Arcadia Ego--Waugh, Chapter One (Vergil, Eclogue Five)
I especially enjoyed the first two hauntingly beautiful episodes that are set among the "dreaming spires" of Oxford and the dreamy palazzi along the Canal Grande of Venice... Read more

Published on 11 May 2007 by F. S. L'hoir

5.0 out of 5 stars A drama that literally transports the soul.
I have recently acquired the DVD edition of the series, and having just watched the first episode, "ET IN ARCADIA EGO", I cannot understand why some of the reviews express... Read more

Published on 1 April 2005 by P. W. Charnley

3.0 out of 5 stars Monumental work in a poor DVD release
This series was displayed twenty years ago in Portugal and it was one of my parent's favorite; being myself a child I couldn't understand why. Read more

Published on 5 Jan 2005 by john_loopx

5.0 out of 5 stars Great TV
This is a beautiful television production. Nothing I have seen capturesso well the manners, dress, language and attitudes of upper andupper-middle class Britain in the twenties... Read more

Published on 22 April 2004 by jbn 63

2.0 out of 5 stars Great film, terrible DVD quality
This was one of the best screen adaptations and I agree with many comments other reviewers have made in regards the original film/TV series. Read more

Published on 8 Jul 2003 by M. E. Amyatt-leir

3.0 out of 5 stars Where are the extras?
We've been waiting for this classic to be released for a long time. We've worn out both the "taped off the telly" video and the original 3 VHS box set. Read more

Published on 27 May 2003 by Peter Davies

5.0 out of 5 stars Waugh games perfectly dramatised
The most remarkable thing about the TV dramatisation of "Brideshead Revisited" is that when you return to the written word you realise how perfect the casting and the production... Read more

Published on 26 May 2003 by P. BRIGGS

5.0 out of 5 stars Brideshead Revisited
In the early 1980's the adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's novel, Brideshead Revisited was a landmark in television drama. Read more

Published on 25 May 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars Something I never thought I'd like
This is definitely not the type of film/series that I would usually watch but since I work at Castle Howard and was given a copy of the DVD to photograph for our website shop I... Read more

Published on 20 May 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars Revisit great television
The magic of the original television programme (repeated in the '90s) is finally coming to DVD. I always loved this programme, partly because it portrayed the life of Charles... Read more

Published on 22 Mar 2003 by Caillie

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Brideshead Revisited - Complete Series [DVD] [1981]

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