Brideshead Revisited (2008)

Director:

Julian Jarrold

Writers:

Andrew Davies (written by) and
Jeremy Brock (written by) ...

Release Date:

25 July 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Love is not ours to control

Plot:

Based on Evelyn Waugh's 1945 classic British novel, Brideshead Revisited is a poignant story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence set in England prior to the Second World War.

Plot Keywords:

1920s | 1930s | Alcoholism | Aristocrat | Catholic

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Matthew Goode	...	Charles Ryder
Thomas Morrison	...	Hooper
Anna Madeley	...	Celia Ryder
David Barrass	...	Ship's Barber
Sarah Crowden	...	Lady Guest
Stephen Carlile	...	English Lord
Peter Barnes	...	American Professor
Hayley Atwell	...	Julia Flyte
Patrick Malahide	...	Edward Ryder
Richard Teverson	...	Cousin Jasper
Joseph Beattie	...	Anthony Blanche
Ben Whishaw	...	Sebastian Flyte
Roger Walker	...	Lunt
Rita Davies	...	Nanny Hawkins
Ed Stoppard	...	Bridley Flyte

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content.

Runtime:

USA:133 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Australia:PG | UK:12A | Ireland:12A

Filming Locations:

Camden, London, England, UK

Company:

2 Entertain

Trivia:

David Yates was set to direct this film, but had to step aside from the director's chair to direct Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) instead. While Yates was attached, Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly and Jude Law were cast in the roles of Charles, Julia and Sebastian respectively. It was also announced that Chatsworth House in Derbyshire would be used as Brideshead.

Movie Connections:

Version of "Brideshead Revisited" (1981)

Brideshead . . . Revised? Brideshead . . . Reviled? Definitely NOT Brideshead Revisited

Here is the ultimate definition of cowardice. Mr. Jarrold apparently wanted to make a period piece but didn't have the courage to actually write his own stuff from scratch, so he stole character names and isolated scenes from Evelyn Waugh's classic, then superimposed his own much less interesting, much more banal story. The crime is that the Waugh estate allowed this piece of tripe to be released under the name "Brideshead Revisited."

How far does this thing go from the original? Well, let's see. Waugh wrote a profound meditation on the power of memory, the inevitable tragedies of life and love, and the mystery of faith. Jarrold gives us a not-very-titillating bisexual love triangle with a pasted on last reel reveal of the main character's shallow motivation. Waugh's characters were rich, multi-layered creations. Jarrold's are plasticine clichés with no depth, no recognizable motivation, and no growth . . . hell, they don't even age. In the 15 or so years in which Jarrold sets his story his characters look EXACTLY the same at the end as they did at the beginning.

One has to wonder what Jarrold was thinking If he didn't want to make something even remotely resembling Waugh's work, why use its title and steal a handful of its scenes? Was it just that he didn't think he could sell "Last Love Triangle in 1920s Venice?"