Brief Encounter (DVD)

Description: Genre: Drama / Theatrical Release: 1946 / Director: David Lean / Actors: Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard ... / DVD ... more

Brief Encounter (DVD) ... released 19 February, 2001 at ITV DVD / Features of the DVD: Black & White, PAL / 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

Newest Review: ... Dr. Alec Harvey comes to an end, at their meeting place in the refreshment tearoom at the railway station, Laura Jesson ... more

... reluctantly heads home to her kind and loving, but somewhat dull, husband Fred and their two children. When the children are safely in bed and Fred is engrossed in his crossword puzzle, Laura narrates in her mind her recent passionate love affair. The flashback is introduced as the Jesson's living room slowly fades to the railway station as Laura watches from her couch. It began by chance. Laura got a little soot in her eye as she was waiting for her train at the fictional Milford Junction Station. In the refreshment t...more

Read Reviews for Brief Encounter (DVD)

Brief Encounter (DVD): "The train now arriving at platform four is the 5:40 for Chu ... (1243 words)
by - written on 19/08/09 (Very useful, 47 readings)
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BRIEF ENCOUNTER (1945) DIRECTED BY DAVID LEAN REVIEW OF THE 2008 ITV DVD INTRODUCTION Continuing my 'Lean Season' reviews this latest review is about one of David Lean's earlier films - 'Brief Encounter' released in 1945 The film received Oscar nominations for Best Actress, Best Director and Best Screenplay. It won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. It is at second place in the British Film Institute Top 100 films, behind only 'The Third Man' (1949). This was the fourth film that David Lean had directed.. As with his first three films, the story was based on a play by Noel Coward. Coward himself ... Read the complete review

Close Encounters of the 40s Kind (1002 words)
by - written on 09/08/05 (Very useful, 141 readings)
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There are films that a lot of people think they know, but have never really seen. David Lean’s ‘Brief Encounter’ is certainly a good example. Most people can tell you the plot, a doomed romance conducted at a railway station. Others will tell you there’s a bit when the train’s moving off and someone’s running to keep up (there, er, isn’t). Some people can even tell you that Noel Coward wrote it. It’s one of those films like Citizen Kane, where you can feel that the critics have watched it just so that you don’t have to. I was surprised, then, at how much of a gem it really was. The film opens at the station, where the bulk of the action takes place. A guard ... Read the complete review

Brief Encounter (DVD): The Golden Oldie? (818 words)
by - written on 02/07/03 (Very useful, 197 readings)
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Why should a black and white movie produced in 1946 on a Lancashire railway station be perceived still as Britain's favourite film? But then why should our memory of Ingrid Bergman be from Casablanca, despite the more glamourous parts she played? The answer has to be that rare indefinable magic which creates a classic film which will be rediscovered again and again, then left in the memories of successive generations. Even Noel Coward ( In Which we Serve, Blythe Spirit) could not have imagined how his screenplay would endure. Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson) a middle class housewife returning from her weekly shopping trip, waits for the train home in ... Read the complete review

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