Educating Rita (1983)

Director:

Lewis Gilbert

Writer:

Willy Russell (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

21 September 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

A comedy about a teacher and a very memorable student [Video Australia]

Plot:

A young wife decides to complete her education and take her exams. She meets a professor who teaches...

Plot Keywords:

Hairdresser | Professor | Teaching | Doctor | Reference To William Shakespeare

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Michael Caine	...	Dr. Frank Bryant
Julie Walters	...	Rita Susan White
Michael Williams	...	Brian
Maureen Lipman	...	Trish
Jeananne Crowley	...	Julia
Malcolm Douglas	...	Denny
Godfrey Quigley	...	Rita's Father
Dearbhla Molloy	...	Elaine
Patrick Daly	...	Bursar (as Pat Daly)
Kim Fortune	...	Collins
Philip Hurd-Wood	...	Tiger (as Philip Hurdwood)
Hilary Reynolds	...	Lesley
Jack Walsh	...	Price
Christopher Casson	...	Professor
Rosamund Burton	...	Denise
Marcus O'Higgins	...	Marcus
Mark Drew	...	Disco Manager
Gabrielle Reidy	...	Barbara
Des Nealon	...	Invigilator
Marie Conmee	...	Customer in Hairdressers
Oliver Maguire	...	Tutor
Derry Power	...	Photographer
Alan Stanford	...	Bistro Manager
Gerry Sullivan	...	Security Officer
Patricia Jeffares	...	Rita's Mother
Maeve Germaine	...	Sandra
Liam Stack	...	Sandra's Fiancé

Directed by
Lewis Gilbert

Writing credits
Willy Russell		(screenplay)
Willy Russell		play (uncredited)

Produced by
William P. Cartlidge	....	co-producer
Lewis Gilbert	....	producer
Herbert L. Oakes	....	executive producer

Original Music by
David Hentschel

Cinematography by
Frank Watts		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Garth Craven

Casting by
Weston Drury Jr.
Nuala Moiselle

Art Direction by
Maurice Fowler

Set Decoration by
Josie MacAvin

Costume Design by
Candy Paterson

Makeup Department
Patricia McDermott	....	key hair stylist
Freddie Williamson	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jack Phelan	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michel Cheyko	....	assistant director
Martin O'Malley	....	second assistant director
John G. Phelan	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Joe Lee	....	construction manager
Sunny Mulligan	....	production buyer

Sound Department
Ken Barker	....	dubbing mixer
Daniel Brisseau	....	sound mixer
Ron Davis	....	dubbing editor
John Hayward	....	sound re-recording mixer
Philip Rogers	....	sound recordist
Liam Saurin	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Gerry Johnston	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Alan Church	....	optical camera (uncredited)
Tony Willis	....	effects cameraman (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Tom Collins	....	still photographer
Louie Conroy	....	gaffer
Patrick Conroy	....	electrical gaffer
Phillip Grosvenor	....	assistant camera
Luke Quigley	....	camera grip
Tony White	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jack Gallagher	....	wardrobe master
Rita Wakely	....	wardrobe mistress

Editorial Department
Michael Kelliher	....	assistant editor

Transportation Department
Arthur Dunne	....	transportation manager

Other crew
Jean Bourne	....	continuity coordinator
Con Cremins	....	accounting assistant
Brian Doyle	....	unit publicist
Vernon Harris	....	script editor
Marie McFerran	....	production assistant
Rex Mitchell	....	production accountant
Grania O'Shannon	....	location manager
Candy Paterson	....	hair and fashion consultant

Production Companies

• Acorn Pictures

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1983) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1988) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (1983) (UK) (theatrical)
• ITV DVD (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (Brazil) (video)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (video)
• Rank Video Library (1985) (UK) (video)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• G.S.E.  titles and opticals
• Joe Dunton & Company  camera equipment provided by
• Lee Lighting  grip and lighting equipment
• Pamys & DeLane Lea  post-production facilities
• Pinewood Studios  sound re-recorded at

Also Known As:

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | USA:PG | Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

University Philosophical Society, Graduates' Memorial Building, Trinity College, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company:

Acorn Pictures

Trivia:

When Frank is drunk in the lecture hall, he says, "Not many people know that". This was an in-joke for a catchphrase, possibly initiated by Peter Sellers, that was commonly used by impressionists "doing" Michael Caine. It also the title of a best-selling collection of trivia anecdotes, which Caine compiled in book form for the National Playing Fields Association charity in 1984.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the VW van with students in it approaches Rita, the side door is wide open but the back door is not. As the van pulls away, the back door is now flipped up.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Frank walks on campus and addresses some students]
Dr. Frank Bryant:Good afternoon.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Robson Arms: Educating Alicia (#1.10)" (2005)

Shaw would be proud.

What delights me most about this movie is that in early 2006 it finally came out on DVD. There is a minor glitch in the establishing scene at the beginning, but to see Rita once again in widescreen is almost like seeing it for the very first time.

Educating Rita is one of many re-tellings of Shaw's Pygmalion, itself based on a Greek myth, so the story is nothing new. Rita, as so many great British films, is based on a play, in this case by Willie Russell, who also collaborated with director Lewis Gilbert, who, in addition to directing several Bond features, also directed Michael Caine in his Oscar nominated title role in Alfie, on the delightful Shirley Valentine, cast in a similar vein. It would be easy to think of Rita as My Fair Lady without the Marne Nixon voice overs, but that would be, as a classmate of Rita's puts it, facile.

The combination of Michale Caine and Julie Walters is pure magic. Unlike Dudley Moore's lovable drunk, Caine's Frank Bryant is a drunk that is difficult to love, which makes him far more interesting. He wallows, not in self pity, which would be disgusting, but in the infinitely sadder depths of self acceptance and resignation to shortcomings. He is a failed drunken poet who has lost the capacity to feel his own life.

Enter Rita, a hairdresser who wants to learn literary criticism, but more importantly, learn a way out of a life that she feels all too well. From his jaundiced perspective, Frank fears that educating Rita would transform her into just another one of the lifeless women that litter his life, but Rita will not be denied. Gradually, through voracious consumption of the Canon of Western Literature, Rita learns what she believes to be a better song to sing.

But it's not that simple. Rita finds that people, even educated people, in the end, have only themselves to cling to, and Shaw, Blake, Ibsen and Chekov may help fill up the empty moments, but they can't take away the emptiness itself. What does Rita want? Frank? A baby? Her ex-husband? No. What Rita wants is choices, and the freedom to choose among them for herself, and getting there is warm and moving drama that elevates Educating Rita among the absolute best of its era and genre.

David Hentschel's synthesized soundtrack is absolutely wonderful. It is by now so obviously from another era that it allows you to be drawn even more into the film, giving it a more timeless than dated feel. The supporting cast is wonderful, including Michael Williams, who, aside from being Mr. Judi Densch for the last thirty years of his life, also received a Papal knighthood, and classically renowned actress Maureen Lipman who was later awarded a C.B.E. for her work in British theatre.

Ultimately, however, it is the sheer magic of Caine and Walters, no less so than with Harrison and Hepburn in My Fair Lady, that gives Rita the boundless charm, wit, and passion that have made it one of my favorite films of all time.