Educating Rita (DVD)

I first saw Educating Rita about 3 years ago when it came as a free disc within the Daily Mirror. As it was a free disc I didn't hold out much hope for it but when I placed it into the DVD player my mum exclaimed that she'd seen it before and that it wasn't half bad. She wasn't wrong; I really enjoyed watching it and have since watched it numerous more times. Educating Rita was released in 1983 and stars Michael Caine and Julie Walters. At nearly 25 years old therefore you might be led to believe that it will be a bit drab and not at all appropriate to life today. You would be wrong however to believe this as in my opinion Educating Rita is as appropriate ...  Read the complete review

Willy Russell is well known as a playwright. He has written many a script for the stage, one of these being Educating Rita. In 1983, director Lewis Gilbert took Russell's play and adapted it for the big screen, making it into a feature film and drawing in top actor Michael Caine. It was also Julie Walters' first major feature film. The script was originally intended for the stage, and was thus just a dialogue, taking place entirely in an office. For the screen, it was amended and several locations were used to make it more appealing. This included the addition of a number of extra characters who are merely spoken about in the original play. The ...  Read the complete review

Unfortunately, there are very few British films that stick in my mind, but one that does is Educating Rita. I can’t remember the first time I saw it, but seeing it again reminded me of what a moving film this is and how aiming for and achieving a goal can change your life. It is very dated, but that doesn’t seem to matter, particularly with the acting skills of Julie Walters and Michael Caine thrown in to the mix along with an excellent screenplay. The story Rita is a 27 year old hairdresser married to Denny and expected by her father and husband to have children as quickly as possible. Rita, however, has other plans and wants to educate herself before ...  Read the complete review

Educating Rita is basically the story of how two people meet each other and change each others lives. It's very simple and not a lot actually goes on during the film but it's an incredibly touching, entertaining film that I can watch over and over again without getting bored! The film revolves around Rita, played by Julie Walters, a Scouse hairdresser who is bored with her life. She is in a dead marriage to Denny, who is nice enough but just cannot understand her desire to find out who she really is. Before she starts a family with Denny, Rita decides to enrol on an Open University course ...  Read the complete review

Hollywood is known for its brilliant filmmaking. It is true; most of the time Hollywood make a top-notch movie that's fun and exciting. But, sometimes there's a British film that's touching and funny. One that is much better than those in Hollywood. Willy Russell, also writer of Shirley Valentine, is absolute talent. It's confirmed here that he is, as he was the writer of Educating Rita - a popular comedy-drama British film, with two of Britain's best actors. Those actors being Julie Walters, putting on a Liverpudlian accent, and Michael Cain. The chemistry between the two is electric, and that brilliance adds to the genius of the ...  Read the complete review