Fantastic - then and now.
Added 9/13/2009
I loved this movie the first time I saw it many years ago. It is just as great now. Anthony Hopkins is so attractive and sexy. This movie provides another look at the amazing depth of his acting ability. The list of friends who want to borrow my copy just gets longer as more of them hear about how great it is. (Somehow they all missed it when it came out.)
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Not as good as the other version
Added 8/2/2009
This is a good movie because of its subject and the fact it is relatively well done. However, it is not as good as the BBC version, "Through The Shadowlands." Although I'm a big Anthony Hopkins fan, I think Joss Ackland played a better Lewis than did Hopkins. Strangely, I was reminded of the role Hopkins played in "The Remains of the Day," in which he played an extremely inhibited individual. Lewis, however, while guarded was not so inhibited, and I think Ackland captured the right balance better than Hopkins did. A bigger difference, I thought, was in the role of Joy, where I found Claire Bloom both more believable and appealing than the Winger version. I thought Winger's NYC accent a little overdone. Also, Winger's approach was more in-your-face than Bloom's. Some have described Winger as "challenging" and Bloom as "passive" or more "traditional." I didn't see it that way. Certainly, the initiative that Joy took in starting their relationship was not passive or traditional. She came across to me as a very intelligent, highly literate and refined woman, and I thought she would have appealed to Lewis for that reason. When she has to deal with Lewis's stodgy Oxford friends, she is able to engage in dry repartee as an equal. In the Winger version, Joy substitutes insult for clever repartee. The BBC version reaches an emotional crescendo that this version struggles to attain but does not (IMO). In the BBC version Lewis spontaneously affirms his love of Joy and embrace of her as his wife, whereas Hopkins painfully struggles to do so and finally does because the script dictates it, but I found it not fully credible. The one drawback to the BBC version is that it is technically inferior, being an earlier TV production compared to the HBO movie.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
SHADOWLANDS/ ANTHONY HOPKINS
Added 6/2/2009
Excellent movie/ well-done/ award winning acting. I would recommend it to anyone interested in C.S. Lewis and his body of work. It's a real insight into the man...and the author.
Jeff Phillips
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
A movie about dying and living
Added 4/21/2009
I'm a long time fan of C. S. Lewis. He was an Ivory tower scholar and
philosopher who wrote classic the Narnia series of children books.
Before seeing this movie I knew pretty much nothing about his personal life.
Songs or love and songs of death together have a limited market.
The C. S. Lewis works are a modern bridge of Christian faith
that have made him an important writer like Ray Bradbury.
His sci fi is pretty bad as he just has very little understanding
of real science?
In this we see the life of an Oxford top literary scholar
in a way that makes him seem not so remote.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Great Product
Added 12/30/2008
The product was pretty close to the description given. The VHS itself was in awesome shape. The case was said to be in perfect condition - it was slightly worn however - which was kind of a disappointment. But overall I was pleased and happy with my purchase.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
it does not get better than this
Added 11/21/2009
this justifiably lauded trio of writer RUTH PRAWER JHABVALA , director JAMES IVORY and producer ISMAIL MERCHANT were a remarkable collabrative team . others here have done an extremely good job of explaining this magnificent film and its' many insights , observations and meaning . the gifted ensemble of actors does the equally remarkable feat of breathing life into this outstanding material . nothing left to do but add my vote and direct you to "HOWARD'S END" for more of the same . brilliant and stunning as great literature .
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Really worth buying...
Added 11/4/2009
If you haven't seen "Remains of the Day" for some time then this is one film that's most definitely worth buying on DVD. What comes across is just how superb the acting is - almost too good to believe in its effectiveness and, above all, its absolutely controlled "subtlety" - and, of course, it's a deeply thought provoking and moving story that gets better the more times you view it. Brilliant in every respect and quite rightly ranked as a "classic" it will, unlike many DVDs you may own, just beg to be seen again and again... it's that good.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Outstanding!
Added 9/20/2009
Remains of the Day is a exquisitely enlightening film of love and hate. It abounds in subtle, muted, deep emotions.
Both Anthony Hopkins as Stevens, a repressed English Butler, and Emma Thompson, Miss Kenton, his spirited housekeeper, do outstanding acting performances. The film is set in the 1930's - just before World War II, on a big English Estate, with many servants. Lord Darlington (James Fox) is the Estate Owner, who has attached himself to the Nazi cause. Stevens is his loyal, unwavering Butler who micro-manages, as well as lives to be a slave to his Lord Darlington. Mr Stevens noted, "A man cannot call himself work contented, until he has done all he can, to be of service to his employer." Mr. Stevens anticipates every need and task. The estate runs flawlessly.
When hiring Miss Kenton as head housekeeper, Stevens emphasizes that he wants no "romantic interests" as it detracts from the service to the well-run estate. He will not stand for that in her or her underlings. She agrees. Despite this, a deep unrequited love, respect and bond develop between her and Stevens. He hires his failing and aging father at the same time. Miss Kenton notes the deterioration of his father over a bit of time and makes Stevens face the facts to avoid any future embarrassment. There is a moment his father falls - and starts to fail rapidly. There is an important political meeting at the estate, so Stevens must oversee. His father is dying upstairs. Miss Kenton attends to his father, and gives him the news his father passed away. She asks if he would like her to shut his eyes, until Stevens can leave his duties to see his father for the last time. She does and takes care of details.
Hugh Grant and Christopher Reeve are also in this movie as voices hoping to open the eyes of Lord Darlington. They want him to see his mistake in being loyal to the Nazis and the risks and problems involved. Stevens does not get involved, his allegiance is to the smooth running of the household. He sees nor hears anything - nor does he repeat anything that would convey disloyalty to his employer.
At one point he has a chance to leave the box he is in. Miss Kenton gives him the opportunity to profess his feelings, but he is unwavering in his duty to the service of the estate. Stevens makes his decision to stay and keep his life as it is, even though he loves her. She leaves and marries another man.
Time passes and they reunite for a few hours. The poignant ending shows deep unfulfilled love. So heartbreaking.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
