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The Remains Of The Day
1993
James Ivory directed this quietly moving film set just prior to World War II. On the large English estate of Lord Darlington (James Fox), a disciplined butler, Stevens (Anthony Hopkins), devotes himself to his duties with rigorous dedication. Like his father (Peter Vaughan) before him, Stevens lives to serve--to bring order and .. Read more
| Starring | Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, James Fox, Christopher Reeve |
|---|---|
| Director | James Ivory |
| Genres | Drama |
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The Remains Of The Day
James Ivory directed this quietly moving film set just prior to World War II. On the large English estate of Lord Darlington (James Fox), a disciplined butler, Stevens (Anthony Hopkins), devotes himself to his duties with rigorous dedication. Like his father (Peter Vaughan) before him, Stevens lives to serve--to bring order and certainty to the estate's minutiae. Though Stevens has the opportunity to break free of this mold in the form of a romance with the spirited housekeeper, Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson), he chooses to remain within the safe structure of the household, even one that has misguided loyalties to Nazi Germany. Christopher Reeve and Hugh Grant costar as men hoping to show Lord Darlington the danger of his allegiances. THE REMAINS OF THE DAY is Merchant-Ivory's follow-up to HOWARDS END, which also starred Hopkins and Thompson; both actors were nominated for Academy Awards for their roles as dutiful servants in the later film.
| Starring | Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, James Fox, Christopher Reeve, Peter Vaughan, Hugh Grant, Michael Lonsdale, Tim Pigott-Smith, Lena Headey |
|---|---|
| Director | James Ivory |
| Studio | SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 8 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Subtitles | DVD: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish |
| Released | DVD: 22 Oct 2001 Production year: 1993 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (5)
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This impeccable adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's Booker Prize-winning novel stars Anthony Hopkins as the emotionally repressed butler and Emma Thompson as the housekeeper he possibly loves. Framed in flashbacks, the story is an English twist on Jean Renoir's classic La Règle du Jeu, a broad view of a narrow class of aristocrats on the verge of self-destruction. Co-starring James Fox as a fascistic English lord and Christopher Reeve as an American diplomat (the past and present owners of Darlington Hall), it is as much a study in power and politics as it is Hopkins's blinkered view of the world from behind the gleaming silver salvers. The 1930s and 40s settings are immaculately staged, and, unlike James Ivory's earlier dramatisations of EM Forster, this picture has real backbone: Ivory's direction is alive to every nuance and chink of the sherry glasses.
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"...All the meticulousness, intelligence, taste and superior acting that one expects from Merchant Ivory productions have been brought to bear on THE REMAINS OF THE DAY....Continuously absorbing..."
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Most helpful member's review
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24 out of 25 people found this review helpful
A winner from the reliable Merchant and Ivory team
Beautiful to watch, this story of a repressed love is played perfectly by Anthony Hopkins; and Emma Thompson, whom I normally find a grossly overated lighweight, holds her end up surprisingly well. The background of the household of a pre-war aristocrat, with its social distinctions and above and below stairs schism is well depicted by a convincing supporting cast. The period really does come alive. Fox is excellent as the well meaning but naive Lord Darlington, and Hugh Grant shows in his later scenes how good an actor he could of been, had he not based his career on rehashing the light-comic foppish turn of his early ones.
Every film worth its salt should have at least one defining scene that will linger long in the memory even if all else fades. Here it's the 'book scene', where Thompson catches Hopkins reading a book in his spare time, but he's reluctant to say what it is... The scene's a masterclass in composition and acting, and the emotional charge will leave you drained. -
Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
A sobering experience
Many layers of meaning and significance all wrapped up in one movie: social, sexual, political, personal. A strong message for everyone about looking at your life and asking yourself why you do what you do.
Hopkins is just brilliant - breathtaking acting ability with every sinew and eyelash. Well supported (maybe even provoked to excellence) by Emma Thompson (less weepy than usual), Edward Fox (born for the part of the deluded English gentleman) and even Hugh Grant before he finally settled on his English fop persona
Merchant-Ivory values and visuals but with enough hard edges to raise it above most of their output. Great music.
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James Ivory directed this quietly moving film set just prior to World War II. On the large English estate of Lord Darlington (James Fox), a disciplined butler, Stevens (Anthony Hopkins), devotes ... -