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Movies / On DVD / Brief Encounter
Brief Encounter

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Brief Encounter (1946)

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Reviews Counted:29

Fresh:25

Rotten:4

Average Rating:8.1/10

Runtime: 87 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Though he might be best remembered for sweeping epics such as DOCTOR ZHIVAGO and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, renowned British director David Lean began his film career with small-scale character studies... Though he might be best remembered for sweeping epics such as DOCTOR ZHIVAGO and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, renowned British director David Lean began his film career with small-scale character studies based on the plays of Noel Coward. Lean's fourth film, BRIEF ENCOUNTER--which was also his fourth and final collaboration with Coward--adapts the playwright's heartbreaking tale of two ordinary people caught up in the extraordinary power of love. Laura (Celia Johnson) is a seemingly happy, middle-class housewife who meets the equally married physician Alec (a young Trevor Howard in only his third screen role) when he removes a speck of dust from her eye at a London railway station. The pair soon find themselves drawn together through weekly meetings at the station cafe, their casual encounters blooming into a chaste love affair marked by intimate conversation, longing glances--and the tragic realization that neither of them will be able to break the bonds of social propriety that keep them wedded to other people. Seen by some as quintessentially English, Lean's achingly lovely exploration of the conflicting demands of personal happiness and social responsibility remains nonetheless universal and timeless. Johnson and Howard's nuanced performances, Robert Krasker's shadowy cinematography, and a soundtrack of hauntingly romantic Rachmaninov piano concertos only add to the film's aura of quiet desperation. [More]

Starring: Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, Joyce Carey

Starring: Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, Joyce Carey, Cyril Raymond, Everley Gregg

Director: David Lean

Director: David Lean
Producer: Noel Coward, Anthony Havelock-Allan, Ronald Neame

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Sep 7, 2004

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Brief Encounter

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Retrata seu par romântico com sensibilidade e complexidade (especialmente para a época), pecando apenas pela insistência em introduzir diversas cenas de alívio cômico conduzidas por Holloway e Carey.

comment Comment
04/15/09
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

Lovely, small-scale romance by David Lean.

comment Comment
03/17/09
Beth Accomando
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

Solid romantic classic directed by David Lean. Johnson and Howard are terrific.

comment Comment
10/16/08
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com

David Lean finds poetry and lyricism in Noel Coward's exquistely crafted initimate dram about the romance between two ordinary people married to others, acted with admirable restraint by Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
02/15/08
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Back in cinemas and welcomed by me.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
11/06/07
Philip French
Philip French
Observer [UK]

Cyril Raymond manages to invest the stodgy character with a lovable quality.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
11/06/07
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Rarely rises above the level of the old women's magazines.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 2 Comments
11/06/07
Don Druker
Don Druker
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Stodgy and dated.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment 2 Comments
08/26/07
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Go and see it again - and try not to giggle at the clipped accents.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
08/03/07
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm
This is London

David Lean paints heartbreak with perfect decorum.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
08/03/07
Tim Robey
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph

The loveliest period piece imaginable.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
08/03/07
Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Independent

Twee, but you can’t help but get involved.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
08/03/07
Kevin Maher
Kevin Maher
Times [UK]

Noble and utterly heartbreaking.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
08/03/07
Channel 4 Film

Beautifully monochrome rendering of a love that cannot be.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
08/03/07
Caroline Westbrook
Caroline Westbrook
Empire Magazine

A classic of passionate reserve.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
02/11/06
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]

Some films don’t age well, and no doubt Brief Encounter had more of an emotional effect in the social climate of post-war Britain.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment 1 Comment
02/09/06
Dave Calhoun
Dave Calhoun
Time Out

Perfect.

comment Comment
11/06/05
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

No review available.

comment Comment
10/10/05
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

How extraordinary that such a simple, unassuming little film could work such powerful magic over so many people for so many generations.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
04/04/05
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

the pair are so bloody high minded that the noble purity of their romance is almost laughable

comment 3 Comments
12/03/04
Douglas Pratt
Douglas Pratt
DVDLaser
 
 
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