Brief Encounter [1945]

Product Details

Director : David Lean
Actor : Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, Joyce Carey, Cyril Raymond
Format : Black & White, PAL
Aspect Ratio : 1.33:1
Binding : DVD
EAN : 5037115011336
Number of Discs : 1
Product Group : DVD
Region Code : 2
Release Date : 2001-02-19
Running Time : 107minutes
Studio : ITV DVD

ASIN : B000056MKW

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

Expanded from a one-act stage play by Noel Coward, Brief Encounter is without doubt one of the true masterpieces of British film history. The story seems slight--a respectable suburban housewife has a chance meeting with a handsome married doctor, their friendship becomes romance, but they feel the pressures of convention pulling their relationship apart--but the writing, acting and direction are sublime, turning what might have been just another melodrama into a memorable and heartbreaking story of impossible love. David Lean went on to make much bigger films than this, but few of those epics packed the emotional punch of this picture, set in a mundane world of railway stations, semi-detached houses and inexpensive cafes. Trevor Howard is perfectly cast as Alec, the doctor, but the film belongs above all to Celia Johnson, as the heroine Laura. It's easy to mock her clipped ultra-English accent, but she gives one of the greatest screen performances imaginable, brilliantly evoking how an ordinary life can be turned upside down by unexpected passion. Throw in the superb use of Rachmaninov's swooning Second Piano Concerto, shrewd supporting acting from Cyril Raymond, Joyce Carey and Everley Gregg, and some of the best black-and-white photography of its era, and the result is irresistible. Anyone who isn't besotted with Brief Encounter has either never been in love, or doesn't deserve to be. --Andy Medhurst

Customer Reviews

You get it or you don't . . . (2008-08-28)

. . . and I didn't. Yes, I know, it gets all the plaudits, and continually features in favourite film lists, but my wife and I found it exceedingly tedious, and the acting both over-the-top and wooden (if you can combine the two). By OTT, I mean gushing and melodramatic. By wooden, I mean unconvincing and uninspired. We squirmed. The story is slight, but I know that's not the point. But, when it is so slight, you need everything else in place and for me - who has admired Trevor Howard in any things - it just didn't hang together. Sorry to be so frightfully stuffy, and all that, but it's an absolute stinker of a film.

Honour, duty, love (2008-06-16)

This is certainly an interesting view of the past. Amazing accents, strange attitudes to honour and duty, smouldering passion and eccentric approaches to hygiene (dropped some cakes on the floor? pick them up and sell them!). The filming is great and the acting, though patchy at times, is generally very believable. Only the extensive voice-over and inevitable lengthy shots of a thoughtful Celia got in the way of my enjoyment. A worthy classic!By the way, the reported length is wrong - the main feature is just over 82 minutes, not 107.

One of the greatest movies of all time! (2008-01-02)

Certainly one of the greatest movies ever made! 'Brief Encounter' is the story of two people - a man and a woman who fall in love after a chance meeting. Both happily married with children, and at a time when it would be difficult for anyone from a later generation to even begin to understand the complications this would involve back then, and as a consequence, the story could not work today. 'I wish I could die...if only I could die...' are the famous words uttered by Celia Johnson's character Laura, as she faces the prospect of the rest of her life without her lover... Full of dramatic and golden scenes; one of the most dramatic being very early on in the picture when Laura Jesson (Johnson) is sitting talking to her husband about mundane things, and recalls in her mind the whistle blow of the train as she relives the moment of her having attempted to throw herself beneath it... This moment is very cleverly done to compare the stark realties of every day life with something so horrendous...Some of the most beautiful scenes in cinematic history here, as Celia Johnson gives an award-winning performance with lots of wonderful close ups and much over-dubbed dialogue. Celia Johnson is quite beautiful, and Trevor Howard - though very ordinary looking, is still very attractive, and is so gentle and kind, one can't help but understand how 'Laura' was to fall in love with him so quickly. All this is backed by the very dramatic and romantic score by Rackmaninoff - a well-chosen piece. British cinema at its best!N.B. Includes a marvellous and interesting documentary about the making of the film.

Frightfully, frightfully of its time (2007-11-16)

**Very mild spoiler in last line**Surprisingly, this was quite an affecting film. I say surprisingly, because there was little to connect the average viewer to the context of the film - middle/upper class protagonists, 1940's setting, vocabulary and accents that simply do no exist these days, and social mores that are somewhat out of date ("I know you do not approve of women smoking in public places..."). However, the truthful nature of the 'affair', the prevarications, the questioning, and stunted thrill and overriding guilt...all timeless stuff. And the reaction of the husband at the end is beautifully warming.

The Sigh of Midnight Trains in Empty Stations (2007-03-13)

This is my favorite British film of all time. Brilliant writing, fine acting, ecconomicaly concise production and inspired direction all combine to make a landmark movie and a defining moment in social history.Celia Johnson is terrific! She is talented and beautiful. More than girlishly pretty, she has the deep resonant beauty of a full grown woman. Her eyes are huge and so expressive, as she copes with the guilt and sordidness of an extra-marital love. She narrates to move the story along in places. Her performance draws you in and holds you. A lesser actress could not have pulled it off so well.Trevor Howard plays her illicit love. Their screen chemistry is electric. Stanley Holloway and Joyce Carey provide a light sub-plot, which compliments the main story.The film was released in the Spring of 1945, just as World War 2 was ending in Europe. Whether on purpose or not, the film announced a return to peacetime morality. Speak to an old person who was there, and you will find out that all sorts went on during the war when couples were separated, and there was horrific stress.The characters fall in love, but their love remains unrequited. Love is allowed, but the heart is not allowed to rule the head. The film is set in an unspecified time of peace with no blackout, no bombsites, and with cakes and chocolate freely available. There is a 'forward to the past' kind of message. If you've never seen it, you are in for a rare treat. If you haven't seen it for a while, then it is well worth revisiting. My review title is a line from a Noel Coward type song. I thought it fitted since he wrote the screenplay, and the main setting is a railway station.

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