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IMDbPro

Vanity Fair

  • 20042004
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h 21m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
23K
YOUR RATING
Vanity Fair (2004)
Trailer
Play trailer0:16
1 Video
99+ Photos
  • Drama
Growing up poor in London, Becky Sharp defies her poverty-stricken background and ascends the social ladder alongside her best friend, Amelia Sedley.Growing up poor in London, Becky Sharp defies her poverty-stricken background and ascends the social ladder alongside her best friend, Amelia Sedley.Growing up poor in London, Becky Sharp defies her poverty-stricken background and ascends the social ladder alongside her best friend, Amelia Sedley.
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
23K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Mira Nair
  • Writers
    • Matthew Faulk(screenplay)
    • Mark Skeet(screenplay)
    • Julian Fellowes(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Reese Witherspoon
    • Romola Garai
    • James Purefoy
Top credits
  • Director
    • Mira Nair
  • Writers
    • Matthew Faulk(screenplay)
    • Mark Skeet(screenplay)
    • Julian Fellowes(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Reese Witherspoon
    • Romola Garai
    • James Purefoy
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 165User reviews
    • 115Critic reviews
    • 53Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 5 nominations

    Videos1

    Vanity Fair
    Trailer 0:16
    Vanity Fair

    Photos209

    Reese Witherspoon and Mira Nair in Vanity Fair (2004)
    Julian Fellowes and Mira Nair in Vanity Fair (2004)
    Jonathan Rhys Meyers in Vanity Fair (2004)
    Rhys Ifans in Vanity Fair (2004)
    Reese Witherspoon and William Melling in Vanity Fair (2004)
    Reese Witherspoon and James Purefoy in Vanity Fair (2004)
    Romola Garai and Rhys Ifans in Vanity Fair (2004)
    Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Romola Garai in Vanity Fair (2004)
    Reese Witherspoon in Vanity Fair (2004)
    Mira Nair in Vanity Fair (2004)
    Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Rhys Ifans, and James Purefoy in Vanity Fair (2004)
    Reese Witherspoon in Vanity Fair (2004)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Reese Witherspoon
    Reese Witherspoon
    • Becky Sharp
    Romola Garai
    Romola Garai
    • Amelia Sedley
    James Purefoy
    James Purefoy
    • Rawdon Crawley
    Jonathan Rhys Meyers
    Jonathan Rhys Meyers
    • George Osborne
    Gabriel Byrne
    Gabriel Byrne
    • The Marquess of Steyne
    Angelica Mandy
    • Young Becky
    Roger Lloyd Pack
    Roger Lloyd Pack
    • Francis Sharp
    Ruth Sheen
    Ruth Sheen
    • Miss Pinkerton
    Kate Fleetwood
    Kate Fleetwood
    • Miss Pinkerton's Crone
    Lillete Dubey
    Lillete Dubey
    • Ms. Green
    • (as Lillette Dubey)
    Tony Maudsley
    Tony Maudsley
    • Joseph Sedley
    Deborah Findlay
    Deborah Findlay
    • Mrs. Sedley
    John Franklyn-Robbins
    John Franklyn-Robbins
    • Mr. Sedley
    Paul Bazely
    Paul Bazely
    • Biju
    Rhys Ifans
    Rhys Ifans
    • William Dobbin
    Charlie Beall
    Charlie Beall
    • Gambler
    David Sterne
    David Sterne
    • Queen's Crawley Mail Coach Driver
    Bob Hoskins
    Bob Hoskins
    • Sir Pitt Crawley
    • Director
      • Mira Nair
    • Writers
      • Matthew Faulk(screenplay)
      • Mark Skeet(screenplay)
      • Julian Fellowes(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      After asking Reese Witherspoon to get pregnant for the role (as a joke, because she thought Reese was too thin), director Mira Nair was delighted when Witherspoon announced she was pregnant after all.
    • Goofs
      Becky sings "Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal," a poem Lord Alfred Tennyson wrote in 1847 and appears in the Thackeray novel (1848) on which the film is based. Because the novel concludes over a decade later (we assume on or before the present day for the author), and young Georgie, born in 1815 or 1816, is still only an adolescent, she would have sung it no later than 1840, which is well before it was published. However, the anachronism is Thackeray's and not the film makers'.
    • Quotes

      Mrs. Sedley: I thought her a mere social climber, but now I see she's a mountineer

    • Crazy credits
      Before the credits start rolling the word "Alvida" (goodbye) appears in Urdu script. Beneath it is the following dedication: for our beloved Ammy Kulsum Alibhai 1927-2003
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Vanity Fair/Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid/Hero/Suspect Zero/The Brown Bunny (2004)
    • Soundtracks
      She Walks in Beauty
      Lyrics by Lord Byron (as Lord George Gordon Byron)

      Music by Mychael Danna

      Produced by Mychael Danna

      Performed by Sissel (as Sissel)

      Sissel appears courtesy of Universal Music, AS Norway and Stageway Talent, AS

    User reviews165

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Social climbing
    William Thackerey's "Vanity Fair" has been adapted for the screen and television in numerous occasions. It is almost an impossible task to get a coherent take on a narrative that spans a lot of years and in which a lot happens.

    This adaptation of the book by Mira Nair with the adaptation by Julian Fellowes, is sumptuously photographed by Declan Quinn, who captures the Regency period in the England at the beginning of the XIX century. Ms. Nair's touch is evident in the way the costumes have an Indian flair as they were brilliantly executed by designer Beatrix Aruna Pasztor. Maria Djurkovic's wonderful production design is also an asset.

    If anything, this reincarnation of the Thackerey's novel is a joy for the eyes. The rich period in which the action takes place comes alive in the screen as a feast of colors, which in a way, compensate for the failings on the story and in the way Ms. Nair conceived the way she wanted to tell this tale about an ambitious young woman who is the epitome of social climbing. As a character puts in the film, Becky Sharp would be a perfect mountaineer.

    Part of what is wrong with the film is Reese Witherspoon in the central role. Not that her interpretation is wrong, it's that she doesn't project the character of Becky Sharp with an intensity that another actress might have brought to the role. In part, this might not have been Ms. Witherspoon's fault, but the director's, in the way she guided the key performance.

    The other failure of the film lies in the last scenes in which one finds Becky in Baden-Baden. Becky, Amelia, and Dobbins, haven't aged one iota. For the sake of realism, a bit of old age makeup should have been applied to these actors, or else, one might believe in the curative waters of that German spa. If it was true, we should be taking the next flight to Germany. After all, if that were the case, it would be the end of plastic surgery as we know it!

    Some of the best actors of the English stage and screen are seen in various roles. Bob Hoskins, Eileen Atkins, Jim Broadbent, Gabriel Byrne, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Rhys Ifan, Romola Garai, Jonathan Rhys-Meyer, James Purefoy, just to name a few, do an excellent job in the portrayal of their characters.

    This "Vanity Fair", although flawed, is not a total failure. Mira Nair shows an amazing talent for being in command of such a large project.
    helpful•45
    7
    • jotix100
    • Jan 12, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 1, 2004 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • United Kingdom
      • India
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Hội Chợ Phù Hoa
    • Filming locations
      • Holburne Museum of Art, Bath, Somerset, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Focus Features
      • Tempesta Films
      • Granada Film Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $23,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $16,136,476
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $4,800,000
      • Sep 5, 2004
    • Gross worldwide
      • $19,463,185
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 21 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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