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Brief Encounter (1945)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
24 August 1946 (USA)
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Tagline:
A story of the most precious moments in woman's life!
Plot:
Meeting a stranger in a railway station, a woman is tempted to cheat on her husband. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 3 Oscars.
Another 2 wins
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NewsDesk:
(9 articles)
A Single Man Gets Degayified Posters
(From Alternative Film Guide. 24 November 2009, 1:43 AM, PST)
A.C.T. Extends Its Brand-New 10Up Sale Program To All 2009/10 Subscription Season Productions
(From BroadwayWorld.com. 1 September 2009, 3:55 PM, PDT)
(From Alternative Film Guide. 24 November 2009, 1:43 AM, PST)
A.C.T. Extends Its Brand-New 10Up Sale Program To All 2009/10 Subscription Season Productions
(From BroadwayWorld.com. 1 September 2009, 3:55 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Briefly, a great film
more (149 total)
Cast
(Complete credited cast)| Celia Johnson | ... | Laura Jesson | |
| Trevor Howard | ... | Dr. Alec Harvey | |
| Stanley Holloway | ... | Albert Godby | |
| Joyce Carey | ... | Myrtle Bagot | |
| Cyril Raymond | ... | Fred Jesson | |
| Everley Gregg | ... | Dolly Messiter | |
| Marjorie Mars | ... | Mary Norton | |
| Margaret Barton | ... | Beryl Walters, Tea Room Assistant |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Noel Coward's Brief Encounter (UK) (complete title)
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Parents Guide:
Runtime:
86 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
Argentina:Atp |
Spain:13 (DVD rating) |
Australia:G |
South Korea:15 |
Netherlands:AL |
Finland:K-16 |
Hong Kong:I |
Sweden:15 |
UK:PG |
USA:Approved (PCA #11819, Adult Audience) |
Ireland:(Banned)
Filming Locations:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The film trailer they see is for 'Flames of Passion', a fictional film, supposedly based on a novel, 'Gentle Summer' by Alice Porter Stoughey, both fictional.
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Goofs:
Continuity: When Laura is running away from Dr. Lynn's apartment in the rain, her book is next to her body, under her purse. Halfway down the street, the angle changes on the still-running Laura, but now the book is outside her purse. And it never gets wet!
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Quotes:
Laura Jesson:
It's awfully easy to lie when you know that you're trusted implicitly. So very easy, and so very degrading.
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Movie Connections:
Featured in "The Culture Show: British Film Special (#6.8)" (2007)
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Soundtrack:
Spanish Dances No. 5
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FAQ
A Note Regarding SpoilersIs "Brief Encounter" based on a novel?
Why was "Brief Encounter" initially banned in Ireland?
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more (149 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Brief Encounter (1945)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| voice overs | brucedgo |
| Where it was filmed.... | Montmartre1 |
| The ending | skylab23 |
| What happened next....? | cabbagesahoy |
| Why was Alec's friend mad? | ilpr |
| Anyone seen the stage show? | Beetle532002 |
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There's not a lot to say. Like many classics this film is simply constructed with all the elements in balance so that none stands out. Everything in it contributes something essential; the lighting, the unromantic railway station sets, the minor characters and of course the music, the ultra-romantic Rachmaninov Piano Concerto no 2. The emotional rollercoaster of the illicit affair has seldom been better portrayed. Perhaps it is a little understated for transatlantic tastes but no-one viewing this movie would not appreciate that the English can be as passionate as the rest of us.
Celia Johnson as Laura and Trevor Howard as Alec are perfect together. It being 1945, they do not get to bed that would have ruined the audience's sympathy for them in those rather more censorious times. It's all in their minds but their faces give the game away to each other and to the bystanders. Nothing happens to drag anyone near the awful divorce courts, but you are left wondering whether Celia will ever feel quite the same about her dull, comfortable, patronising and boring husband. As for Alec, he professes he will love her forever but then, he's a man.
Noel Coward produced this film from a short play of his from 1935 (the war and post-war shortages are absent), and his dulcet tones may be recognised in the railway station announcements. David Lean directed, and it is a remarkable collaboration. The action is opened out a little a row on the lake, a drive in the country - but the scenes from the play set entirely in the railway refreshment rooms still remain the centre of the story. The parallel relationship between Albert the station guard (Stanley Holloway), and Myrtle the refreshment room attendant (Joyce Carey), is an interesting counterpoint to the angst-ridden middle class would-be adulterers. Surely Noel old boy you weren't suggesting that the working class handles this sort of thing better? We see things largely from Laura's point of view and perhaps Alec didn't feel quite so guilty, but their consciences are going to make them pay. A gem of a movie.