Brief Encounter (1974 film)
| Brief Encounter | |
|---|---|
 Original Movie Poster | |
| Written by |
John Bowen (adaptation) Noël Coward (play) |
| Directed by | Alan Bridges |
| Starring |
Richard Burton Sophia Loren Jack Hedley Rosemary Leach |
| Composer(s) | Cyril Ornadel |
| Country of origin |
United Kingdom Italy |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
Cecil Clarke Denis Holt |
| Cinematography | Arthur Ibbetson |
| Editor(s) | Peter Weatherley |
| Running time | 100 minutes (UK) |
| Distributor | ITC Films |
| Release | |
| First shown in |
(USA) |
Brief Encounter is a 1974 British-Italian television film starring Richard Burton and Sophia Loren, adapted from the play Still Life by Noël Coward. The plot of the film is about two strangers, both married to others, who meet in a railway station and find themselves in a brief but intense affair. The material was previously the basis for the David Lean film Brief Encounter (1945). Burton was cast at the last moment, after Robert Shaw dropped out.[1]
The film had its premiere on U.S. television on 12 November 1974 as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame series on NBC.[2]
The two leads were cast with "wild disregard for suitability" according to Brian McFarlane, who has described the film as "a total disaster."[3] Originally intended to have a television screening in the United States, followed by a cinema release in the rest of the world, its poor reception in New York led to the international plans being abandoned. Rank, who owned the theatrical rights in the UK, sold them to television.[4] According to David Shipman, reviewing Burton's career in The Great Movie Stars, this remake was "widely viewed as a ludicrous undertaking."[5]
Cast
- Richard Burton as Alec Harvey
- Sophia Loren as Anna Jesson
- Jack Hedley as Graham Jesson
- Rosemary Leach as Mrs Gaines
- Ann Firbank as Melanie Harvey
- John Le Mesurier as Stephen
References
- ↑ Brief Encounter at the Internet Movie Database
- ↑ "TV: 'Brief Encounter'; Burton and Miss Loren Portray Lovers on Hallmark Film at 8:30 on NBC," New York Times, 12 November 1974 (subscription required)
- ↑ Brian McFarlane, The Encyclopedia of British Film, London: Methuen/BFI, 2003, p,82
- ↑ David Shipman The Great Movie Stars, Volume 2, The International Years, London: Macdonald, 1989, p.335
- ↑ Shipman, p.85