Brief Encounter Film Still

Brief Encounter

David Lean

United Kingdom

1945

86 minutes

Black and White

1.33:1

English

76

Synopsis

From Noël Coward’s play Still Life, legendary filmmaker David Lean deftly explores the thrill, pain, and tenderness of an illicit romance in the dour, gray Britain of 1945. From a chance meeting on a train platform, a middle-aged married doctor (Trevor Howard) and a suburban housewife (Celia Johnson) enter into a quietly passionate, ultimately doomed love affair, set to a swirling Rachmaninoff score.

Cast

Laura JessonCelia Johnson
Dr. Alec HarveyTrevor Howard
Albert GodbyStanley Holloway
Myrtle BagotJoyce Carey
Fred JessonCyril Raymond

Credits

DirectorDavid Lean
ProducerNoël Coward
ScreenplayDavid Lean, Noël Coward and Anthony Havelock-Allan
Based on a play by Noël Coward
EditingJack Harris
CinematographyRobert Krasker
Art directorL.P. Williams
Music directorMuir Mathieson
Piano soloistEileen Joyce

Disc Features

  • Luminous digital transfer, with restored image and sound
  • Audio commentary by film historian Bruce Eder
  • Restoration demonstration
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired

From the Current

From Stage to Screen to Stage

Dec 4, 2009

Brief Encounter, that eternal model of restraint, is coming out of its shell in a play opening this week in New York. A touring production of the Cornwall-based company Kneehigh Theatre, this new-millennial Brief Encounter . . .

Brief Encounter

by Adrian Turner Jun 26, 2000

Brief Encounter was the fourth and final film that David Lean made in association with Noël Coward. Derived from Still Life, a one-act play which Coward included in the portmanteau Tonight 8:30, the story tells of a suburban housewife, Laura Jesson . . .

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Available Editions

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Brief Encounter Essential Art House DVD Add to Cart

13 Apr 2010

Essential Art House DVD

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ESSENTIAL ART HOUSE:50 YEARS OF JANUS FILMS(50-DVD box set)  Essential Art House DVD Add to Cart

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Essential Art House: Volume Five Essential Art House DVD Add to Cart

13 Apr 2010

Essential Art House DVD

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