Shadowlands (1993)

C.S. Lewis, a world-renowned Christian theologian, writer and professor, leads a passionless life until he meets spirited poet Joy Gresham from the U.S.

Director:

Richard Attenborough

Writers:

William Nicholson (screenplay), William Nicholson (play)

Stars:

Anthony Hopkins, Debra Winger, Julian Fellowes

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julian Fellowes	...	Desmond Arding
Roddy Maude-Roxby	...	Arnold Dopliss
Michael Denison	...	Harry Harrington
Andrew Seear	...	Bob Chafer
Tim McMullan	...	Nick Farrell
John Wood	...	Christopher Riley
Andrew Hawkins	...	Rupert Parrish
Peter Howell	...	College President
Anthony Hopkins	...	Jack Lewis
Edward Hardwicke	...	Warnie Lewis
Robert Flemyng	...	Claude Bird
James Frain	...	Peter Whistler
Toby Whithouse	...	Frith
Daniel Goode	...	Lieven
Scott Handy	...	Standish

Storyline

C.S. Lewis (Sir Anthony Hopkins) is the author of the "Chronicles of Narnia" books. Known as Jack, he teaches at Oxford during the 1950s. An American fan, Joy Gresham (Debra Winger), arrives to meet him for tea in Oxford. It is the beginning of a love affair. Tragically, Joy becomes terminally ill and their lives become complicated.

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Plot Keywords:

writer | marriage | 1950s | honesty | train | 

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Taglines:

He distanced himself from love as he distanced himself from pain, until one woman got close enough to open his heart to the world.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements

Did You Know?

Trivia

After Gandhi won Best Picture and Best Director, beating out E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Steven Spielberg began using the cast of Ganfhi in his own films, ultimately working with Amrish Puri, Roshan Seth, Nigel Hawthorne, Martin Sheen, and Daniel Day-Lewis. This year, Attenborough and Spielberg were both borrowing each other's cast members: Ben Kingsley appeared in Schindler's List, and Attenborough himself appeared in Jurassic Park. This films features Jurassic Park cast member Joseph Mazzello, and Debra Winger, who contributed to E.T.'s voice, and appeared in the film's Halloween sequence.

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Goofs

Jack and Joy actually spent their honeymoon in Greece, not that search for the "Golden Valley". Outside of his Army stint in WW1, Jack had never left England before and was unsure about traveling to Greece. He was afraid it wouldn't live up to what he had imagined. After reading Homer and Aristotle (in Greek) he had built up quite a mental image. The trip did not disappoint him.

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Quotes

Jack: Why love, if losing hurts so much? I have no answers anymore: only the life I have lived. Twice in that life I've been given the choice: as a boy and as a man. The boy chose safety, the man chooses suffering. The pain now is part of the happiness then. That's the deal.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Heaven and Earth/Grumpy Old Men/Shadowlands/In the Name of the Father/The Summer House (1993)

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Soundtracks

Daisy Bell (A Bicycle Built for Two)
(uncredited)
Written by Harry Dacre
A snatch is sung by Jack while they look for the Golden Valley

User Reviews

Good adaptation

Shadowlands

DIRECTION 48% Sweet and natural looking period drama.

ACTING 86% You can't go wrong with Hopkins and the other supports don't distract from this man.

EDITING/SPECIAL EFFECTS 15% Not needed here that much.

PLOT 87% A true story about C. S. Lewis.

STRONG WORDS AND VIOLENCE ETC N/A.

MUSIC 92% Classical variations to bring the BIG church traditional music to life and glorious wonder.

SOUND 10% Natural sounds for natural people.

HOOKABILITY 79% Love the music, love the start!

LASTABILITY 85% If you don't already know the story you will want to see the end.

OVERALL 82% Good adaptation of a true story, not disappointing but could have been better if more of his personal christian experiences were related to the viewer.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 January 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Shadowlands

Filming Locations:

Randolph Hotel, Beaumont Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$81,082, 2 January 1994

Gross USA:

$25,842,377

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$25,842,377

Company Credits

Production Co:

Price Entertainment, Spelling Films International, Shadowlands Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min 115 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1