The Remains of the Day (1993)

Director:

James Ivory

Writers (WGA):

Kazuo Ishiguro (novel)
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 November 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A butler who sacrificed body and soul to service in the years post World War II realizes too late how misguided his loyalty has been.

Plot Keywords:

Butler | Nazi | Loyalty | Service | Britain

Awards:

Nominated for 8 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 18 nominations

Cast

John Haycraft	...	Auctioneer
Christopher Reeve	...	Jack Lewis
Anthony Hopkins	...	James Stevens
Emma Thompson	...	Miss Kenton
Caroline Hunt	...	Landlady
James Fox	...	Lord Darlington
Peter Vaughan	...	William Stevens
Paula Jacobs	...	Mrs. Mortimer, the cook
Ben Chaplin	...	Charlie, Head Footman
Steve Dibben	...	George, Second Footman
Abigail Hopkins	...	Housemaid (as Abigail Harrison)
Patrick Godfrey	...	Spencer
Peter Cellier	...	Sir Leonard Bax
Peter Halliday	...	Canon Tufnell
Hugh Grant	...	Reginald Cardinal
Terence Bayler	...	Trimmer
Jeffrey Wickham	...	Viscount Bigge (as Jeffry Wickham)
Hugh Sweetman	...	Scullery boy
Michael Lonsdale	...	Dupont D'Ivry
Brigitte Kahn	...	Baroness
John Savident	...	Doctor Meredith
Tony Aitken	...	Postmaster
Emma Lewis	...	Elsa
Joanna Joseph	...	Irma
Rupert Vansittart	...	Sir Geoffrey Wren
Tim Pigott-Smith	...	Thomas Benn
Christopher Brown	...	Wren's friend
Lena Headey	...	Lizzie
Paul Copley	...	Harry Smith
Ian Redford	...	Publican
Jo Kendall	...	Publican's wife
Steven Beard	...	Andrews
Pip Torrens	...	Doctor Richard Carlisle
Frank Shelley	...	Prime Minister
Peter Eyre	...	Lord Halifax
Jestyn Phillips	...	Foreign Office official
Wolf Kahler	...	German ambassador
Frank Höltje	...	German Embassy official
Andreas Töns	...	German Embassy official
Roger McKern	...	Police constable
Angela Newmarch	...	Waitress
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Miles Richardson	...	Craddock (uncredited)

Directed by
James Ivory

Writing credits (WGA)
Kazuo Ishiguro		(novel)
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala		(screenplay)

Produced by
Paul Bradley	....	executive producer
John Calley	....	producer
Ismail Merchant	....	producer
Mike Nichols	....	producer
Donald Rosenfeld	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Richard Robbins

Cinematography by
Tony Pierce-Roberts		(photography)

Film Editing by
Andrew Marcus

Casting by
Celestia Fox

Production Design by
Luciana Arrighi

Art Direction by
John Ralph

Set Decoration by
Ian Whittaker

Costume Design by
Jenny Beavan
John Bright

Makeup Department
Christine Beveridge	....	chief makeup artist
Carol Hemming	....	chief hair stylist
Paolo Mantini	....	hair stylist
Norma Webb	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Joyce Herlihy	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bernard Bellew	....	third assistant director
Simon Moseley	....	second assistant director
Christopher Newman	....	first assistant director (as Chris Newman)

Art Department
Simone Assanand	....	art department assistant
Chris Browning	....	stand-by props
Sveva Costa Sanservino	....	art department assistant
Mark Fruin	....	stand-by props
John Hedges	....	construction manager
Sophia Müller	....	art department assistant (as Sophia Müeller)
Jill Quertier	....	production buyer
Dennis Simmonds	....	dressing props
Arthur Wicks	....	property master
Richard Roberts	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Chris Seddon	....	drapes master (uncredited)
Mark White	....	construction (uncredited)

Sound Department
Aaron Anawalt	....	on-set sound assistant
Brian Blamey	....	foley editor
Geoff R. Brown	....	assistant sound editor
Derek Holding	....	dialogue editor
Dominic Lester	....	assistant sound re-recordist
Colin Miller	....	sound editor
Robin O'Donoghue	....	sound re-recordist
David Stephenson	....	sound recordist
Colin Wood	....	boom operator
Russ Woolnough	....	assistant sound editor

Special Effects by
Karin Hanson	....	special effects hair (uncredited)
Garth Inns	....	special effects supervisor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Martin Body	....	rostrum cameraman (uncredited)
David Smith	....	optical cameraman (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter Batten	....	clapper loader
Damienne Caron	....	camera apprentice
Tommy Finch	....	gaffer
Rawdon Hayne	....	focus puller
Malcolm Huse	....	camera grip
Rod Marley	....	camera trainee (as Roderick Marley)
Roger Pearce	....	camera operator: second unit
Derrick Santini	....	still photographer
Les Weighell	....	best boy

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jill Avery	....	wardrobe assistant
Victoria Harwood	....	wardrobe assistant
Sue Honeybourne	....	wardrobe mistress
Adrian Simmons	....	wardrobe assistant (as Adrian Simmonds)

Editorial Department
Simon Cozens	....	second assistant editor
Michelle Gorchow	....	associate editor
Kerry Kohler	....	assistant editor
Craig Mooney	....	apprentice editor
John Dowdell	....	telecine colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
Geoff Alexander	....	music coordinator
Harry Rabinowitz	....	conductor
Bill Sommerville-Large	....	music recording engineer
Robert Stewart	....	music arranger: orchestral arrangements

Transportation Department
Cengiz Asiliskender	....	unit driver
Brian Baverstock	....	unit driver (as Bryan Baverstock)
David Bennett	....	unit driver
John Bower	....	unit driver

Other crew
Elizabeth Aldrich	....	choreographer
Bobby Blues	....	production accountant (as Bob Blues)
Cyril Dickman	....	technical advisor
Diana Dill	....	script supervisor
Lorraine Fennell	....	production coordinator
David Field	....	stand-in
Joe Friedman	....	location scout
Peter Giblin	....	runner: director
Robert Hamilton	....	assistant technical advisor
Jacky Holding	....	production accountant
William James	....	crowd marshall
Sunil Kirparam	....	production accountant
Fay Efrosini Lellios	....	project creative assistant
Annie Livings	....	stand-in
Kathryn Martin	....	assistant to producer
Christian McWilliams	....	location manager
Colin Plenty	....	location assistant

Thanks
The Duke of Beaufort	....	thanks
The Earl of Devon	....	thanks
The Lord Methuen	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Merchant Ivory Productions (as A Mike Nichols John Calley Merchant Ivory Production)
• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents) (as Columbia Pictures)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1993) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Columbia TriStar Films (1994) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (1994) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de España (????) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Finnkino (1994) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (1994) (Japan) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (DVD)
• Egmont Entertainment (1999) (Finland) (DVD)
• Finnkino Video (1994) (Finland) (VHS)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (1994) (Argentina) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (2001) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2001) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-edited)
• Nelonen (1999) (2001) (Finland) (TV)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Nordic (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1997) (Finland) (TV)

Special Effects

• Effects Associates

Other Companies

• Anglia Catering  catering
• Arthur Sanderson and Sons  thanks
• Cosprop  costumes
• Garrard, The Crown Jewellers  thanks
• Lee Lighting  grip and lighting equipment
• Peerless Camera Company  titles and opticals
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services
• Twickenham Studios  sound re-recording (as Twickenham Film Studios)
• Windmill Lane Recording Studios  music recorded at

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG for themes

Runtime:

134 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | French | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints) | SDDS (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:6 | Ireland:G | Netherlands:AL | Norway:A | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | Canada:PG | Iceland:L | USA:PG | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Netherlands:12 (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Seafront, Clevedon, Somerset, England, UK

Company:

Merchant Ivory Productions

Trivia:

This film stars a Superman (Christopher Reeve), a Bond villain (Michael Lonsdale), and a Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The road markings at the junction outside the George Inn in Norton St Philip are modern; dashed double white lines were not around in the 1950s.

Quotes:

Father:There was this English butler out in India. One day, he goes in the dining room and what does he see under the table ? A tiger. Not turning a hair, he goes straight to the drawing room. "Hum, hum. Excuse me, my lord," and whispering, so as not to upset the ladies : "I'm very sorry my lord...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Knight and Day/I Am Love/The Killer Inside Me (#2.22)" (2010)

Soundtrack:

Sei mir gegrüsst

Touching, tragic tale of one man's duty

Ishiguro's story of duty finds career butler Mr Stevens preparing to meet Miss Kenton, once the head maid in his household. They have not seen each other for 15 years and once had an unspoken love. As he journeys down to meet her he remembers a lifetime spent in quiet, honourable service.

I don't like period pieces. Merchant-Ivory stuff usually feels very false and stifled to me. Here I didn't know what to expect but I was blown away from start to finish. To say the story is about a romance isn't the whole picture, to say it's about British-German politics pre-WW2 is not the full story. In fact the film is about it all - but the focus is Mr Stevens. He serves dinner while his father dies in an upstairs room, he puts his own opinions so far back that he doesn't have any, he is so focused on the proper way to serve that he never finds his own life. To describe in like this makes it sound very dull, and to some people it may be, but trust me - the story is beautifully observed and has so much going on in the background that it'll keep you interested. The main reason it works is a faultless central performance by Hopkins.

Hopkins drives the whole film. His face and his speech reveal more about his inner feelings than anything else. It can be frustrating to see him always put on a brave face and bury his emotions, but once you get his character (a man of quiet honour, dignity and respect - any wonder he seems otherworldly by modern standards) it's fine. He is fantastic - I cannot say it enough. His lot in life is moving, but what is incredibly moving is that he seems content to let his life slide by. The scene where Thompson's Miss Kenton confronts him about the book he is quietly reading is beautiful, truly beautiful - revealing their closeness and the depth of Stevens' heart. Thompson is also excellent in her role but doesn't have as much screen time as Hopkins. Fox, Reeves and Chaplin are all excellent in their roles.

If the film has a weakness it is that it doesn't judge the rich - even the Nazi sympathisers. It almost seems to revere the elite - I know they are not the focus but Merchant-Ivory always seems to be obsessed with how the other half live (or maybe they are part of the other half!). The ending is also a little disappointing because it's quite low-key, but it's very, very touching.

Overall this is excellent - I didn't think it would be that good, but it totally blew me away. Sit down and let this story unfold before you, let the characters develop and ensnare you. I guarantee you will be deeply moved by Hopkins. The rather crude message of `seize the day' is beautifully told in a rich tapestry of one man's life.