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Movies / On DVD / Brideshead Revisited
Brideshead Revisited

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Brideshead Revisited (2008)

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Reviews Counted:127

Fresh:81

Rotten:46

Average Rating:6.1/10

Consensus: Suspenseful and beautifully mounted, Brideshead Revisited does an able job condensing Evelyn Waugh’s novel.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for some sexual content.

Runtime: 2 hrs 14 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Jul 25, 2008 Limited

Box Office: $6,359,742

Synopsis: Though director Julian Jarrold's adaptation of the Evelyn Waugh novel BRIDESHEAD REVISITED spans decades and continents, it's a taut film that never drags and can excite contemporary audiences.... Though director Julian Jarrold's adaptation of the Evelyn Waugh novel BRIDESHEAD REVISITED spans decades and continents, it's a taut film that never drags and can excite contemporary audiences. Matthew Goode (MATCH POINT) stars as lower-class Londoner Charles Ryder, an aspiring artist who is beginning his studies in history at Oxford in the 1920s. A chance encounter with dandyish aristocrat Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw, PERFUME) changes the course of his life. The two embark on a close, intense friendship that is further complicated by the introduction of Sebastian's beautiful sister Julia (Hayley Atwell, CASSANDRA'S DREAM) and his overbearing, extremely religious mother, Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson). BRIDESHEAD REVISITED follows Charles from the carefree '20s through the beginning of World War II, focusing on his complicated relationship with the upper-class family and their estate, Brideshead. Along with ATONEMENT's Joe Wright, Jarrold (BECOMING JANE) represents a new era of British period filmmaking. Both men bring a modern sensibility to their work that makes their films feel fresh and sexy, though they never lose authenticity. Jarrold employs some handheld camera work and quick-cut editing in BRIDESHEAD REVISITED, two techniques that separate his film from others in the genre. Fans of the book--and the 11-hour 1981 miniseries--may bristle at the film's relatively brief running time, but screenwriters Andrew Davies (the BBC classic PRIDE AND PREJUDICE) and Jeremy Brock (THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND) have distilled the story into the essentials. BRIDESHEAD REVISITED deftly works with the conflicts of class, religion, and desire and, with its artful costumes and gorgeous settings, is essential viewing for fans of the genre. [More]

Starring: Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw, Hayley Atwell, Emma Thompson

Starring: Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw, Hayley Atwell, Emma Thompson, Michael Gambon, Greta Scacchi, Jonathan Cake, Patrick Malahide

Director: Julian Jarrold

Director: Julian Jarrold
Screenwriter: Jeremy Brock, Andrew Davies
Producer: Kevin Loader, Robert Bernstein, Douglas Rae
Composer: Adrian Johnston
Studio: Miramax Films

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Jan 13, 2009

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Reviews for Brideshead Revisited

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101 - 120 (sorted by date)
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Threaded through with ambivalence about class, religion and sexuality, Brideshead Revisited is overnuanced, a world of delicate cruelty, where most of the wounds take place without breaking the skin or even a sweat.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
07/25/08
Liam Lacey
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A good, sound example of the British period drama; mid-range Merchant-Ivory, you could say.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
07/25/08
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In trying to wrestle the story into a workable running time, the film has taken a greatest hits approach to the material that recreates the best-known moments but which lacks all of the nuance and detail of either the book or the miniseries.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/24/08
Peter Sobczynski
Peter Sobczynski
eFilmCritic.com

If you go with a group of friends to see Brideshead Revisited, the one who is still awake at the end wins a free dinner from the rest of the group.

Full Review Source: WaffleMovies.com | comment Comment
07/24/08
Willie Waffle
Willie Waffle
WaffleMovies.com

It's rare to find a work that explores issues of faith without veering into religious fundamentalism or militant atheism, which is reason enough to revisit Brideshead one more time.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
07/24/08
Sam Adams
Sam Adams
AV Club

Still hard-hitting and dense, it's a film whose ideal audience consists of younger viewers who haven't seen the TV series and who therefore have nothing to compare it to.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
07/24/08
Michael O'Sullivan
Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[I]t's rather like its protagonist, Charles Ryder: really quite handsome to look at but so damn tedious and somber that you want to smack some sense into him.

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
07/24/08
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

It offers excellent performances by Whishaw, the always-reliable Gambon and especially Thompson as the strong, brittle, stubbornly Catholic dowager figure.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
07/24/08
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Facing incredible odds against it, this pass at conquering Brideshead is a worthy offering to the period-piece gods, presenting British aristocracy with the perfect edge of contempt.

Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | comment Comment
07/24/08
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
BrianOrndorf.com

Thompson, Goode and Atwell make for fine screen company, despite [Emma]Thompson's arguable miscasting.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
07/24/08
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Actually lives up to its pedigree, rendered lively with gorgeous scenery and a tart, droll script.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
07/24/08
Matt Pais
Matt Pais
Metromix.com

[A] lush, bold, intellectual treatment of the Evelyn Waugh novel about Catholicism and nonconformity, which ventures where the fabled '80s miniseries couldn't.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
07/24/08
John Anderson
John Anderson
Newsday
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

You have to admire the way it refrains from seizing the day for a postmodern lecture on the perils of fundamentalism, and confines itself to the disturbing vision of Evelyn Waugh.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
07/24/08
Ella Taylor
Ella Taylor
L.A. Weekly

Brideshead Revisited is opulent and watchable, yet except for Thompson's acting, it's missing something -- a grander, more ambivalent vision of the England it depicts dying out.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
07/24/08
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A sophisticated and well-acted screen version of Evelyn Waugh's 1945 novel about the toxic fallout from a Catholicism of sin, sacrifice, guilt, and otherworldliness.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
07/24/08
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

If you can let go of your memories of the novel and the outstanding 1981 miniseries, this is enjoyable enough as tasteful melodrama.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
07/24/08
Hank Sartin
Hank Sartin
Time Out New York

The film version of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited transforms one of the quintessential novels of the 20th century into one of the grandest, most enriching films of 2008.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
07/23/08
Rex Reed
Rex Reed
New York Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I recommend the brilliant pessimism of this film to all my readers, who I hope will appreciate the exquisitely rendered truthfulness of the narrative.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
07/23/08
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A very handsome period picture....But it's an almost perversely wrongheaded adaptation of the book.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
07/23/08
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

A handsomely appointed but oddly unaffecting adaptation.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
07/21/08
Michael Rechtshaffen
Michael Rechtshaffen
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
101 - 120 (sorted by date)
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Latest News for Brideshead Revisited

January 27, 2009: Milk Among GLAAD Nominees Opens in new window
"Milk" has been a favorite on the awards circuit this year, and its hot streak has been extended courtesy of the GLAAD Media Awards, where it will compete in the Outstanding... More...

October 03, 2008: UK Critics Consensus: How To Lose Friends & Alienate People Does Just That; Whilst Brideshead Revisited Is Resisted
In the UK cinemas this week we have two literary adaptations with Simon Pegg as an irksome hack in How To Lose Friends & Alienate People, and Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited... More...

July 24, 2008: Critics Consensus: File The X-Files Under "Disappointing"
This week at the movies, we learn that the truth is out there (The X-Files: I Want to Believe, starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson) and that step-sibling rivalry can be... More...

July 23, 2008: Matthew Goode Talks Watchmen Opens in new window
He's out promoting Brideshead Revisited, but with a role in Watchmen, Matthew Goode knows what people really want to talk about -- and he was gracious enough to oblige Collider,... More...

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