Fill a bowl with alpine strawberries, break out the Château Lafite (1899, of course) and bask in Brideshead Revisited, the 1981 miniseries based on Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, adapted for the screen by John Mortimer (Rumpole of the Bailey). In his breakthrough role, Jeremy Irons stars as Charles Ryder, a disillusioned Army captain who is moved to reflect on his "languid days" in the "enchanted castle" that was Brideshead, home of the aristocratic Marchmain family, whose acquaintance Charles made in the company of an Oxford classmate, the charming wild-child Sebastian. Anthony Andrews costars as the doomed Sebastian, whose beauty is "arresting" and "whose eccentricities and behaviour seemed to know no bounds". The "entitled and enchanted" Sebastian takes Charles under his wing ("Charles, what a lot you have to learn"), but vows early on that he is "not going to let [Charles] get mixed up with [his] family." But mixed up Charles gets. He becomes a friend and confidante, not to mention a lover, to Sebastian's sister Julia (Diana Quick). Meanwhile, the self-destructive Sebastian's life spirals out of control.
Brideshead Revisited boasts a distinguished ensemble cast, including Laurence Olivier in his Emmy Award-winning role as the exiled Lord Marchmain, Claire Bloom as Lady Marchmain, and the magnificent John Gielgud as Charles's estranged father. Grand locations and a haunting musical score make this a memorable revisit of an irretrievable bygone era. --Donald Liebenson
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Et in Arcadia Ego--Waugh, Chapter One. I especially enjoyed the first two hauntingly beautiful episodes that are set among the "dreaming spires" of Oxford and the dreamy palazzi along the Canal Grande of Venice. Although initially I found the dynamic between Charles and Sebastian (the young Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews respectively) to be the most interesting, by the time I had arrived at the later episodes (and there are thirteen of them), I was wholly captivated by all the characters. I did not want the series to end. The magic can be... more info
A drama that literally transports the soul. I have recently acquired the DVD edition of the series, and having just watched the first episode, "ET IN ARCADIA EGO", I cannot understand why some of the reviews express disappointment about it's quality. I bought the beautifully packaged six video box set, released by Vestron Video International, in the mid 1980's (which I still have) - and the quality of the DVD edition is, in my opinion, equally as good. Additionally it, too, is beautifully and ornately packaged. As for those who equate it to portable... more info
Monumental work in a poor DVD release This series was displayed twenty years ago in Portugal and it was one of my parent's favorite; being myself a child I couldn't understand why. Now with the DVD release I was able to watch it and finally got the(ir) point! It's a great pleasure to see (very) high quality productions from abroad, and this one has a plus, that of giving a particular insight on history matters, even though there's a discussion whether if this "England has ever existed" (in the Granada productions website); I find that for such... more info
Great TV This is a beautiful television production. Nothing I have seen capturesso well the manners, dress, language and attitudes of upper andupper-middle class Britain in the twenties and thirties. The acting is superb, the script even better. Based on the novel byEvelyn Waugh, John Mortimer’s dialogue wastes not a word and uses pausesand silences almost as much as words, to extraordinary effect. As a portrayal of a family and its entourage this 11-part series bearscomparison with the very best, even... more info
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