I watched Noel Coward's Brief Encounter (to give it it's full title) on a DVD where the black and white restoration was superb. My post of 12th September 2024 refers to Episode 1 of Series 2 of Classic Movies on Sky Arts: The Story of Brief Encounter. Here there is much about the background to the film so I will try not to repeat it here. The story is written by Noel Coward and he is also the producer. The director is David Lean and the music is Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No 2 with pianist Eileen Joyce and The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Muir Mathieson.
It starts at Carnforth Station and here, at the station cafe, are Celia Johnson as Laura Jesson and Trevor Howard as Alec Harvey in the background having tea. Surprised by a friend of Laura's, there is little time to say goodbye as Alec dashes out for his train. Laura has her own train to catch and we begin to hear her story in flashback. She's at home with her husband and two children, thinking back to when she and Alec first met. At first their meetings are quite innocent but their feelings for each other change and they are torn between their families and each other. Especially Laura and it's her feelings, thoughts and fantasy's that we hear.
Their relationship becomes more dangerous, especially when Alec borrows the flat of a friend which goes all wrong. They bump into friends and having to tell lies, as always happens. The film is very much of it's time in 1945. There is a side story of two of the station staff played by Stanley Holloway and Joyce Carey. This is typical Noel Coward dialogue, a kind of cautionary tale. And one that has featured in awards and near the top of lists for the best film of all time. I thought it was brilliant.
We were warned at the start: "drug use and highly offensive and discriminatory language". Let's start with the good things in Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice. A terrific cast: Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliot Gould and Diane Cannon. Music by Quincy Jones. A very theatrical production, I thought this must have been a stage play (which would have suited it far better) but could not find any reference to that. Written by the director Paul Mazursky and Larry Tucker, as a movie it was all just so intense and fairly boring. Maybe of it's time as it won a number of Oscar nominations. But only for Elliott Gould and Diane Cannon when I preferred the other couple.
In my post of 16th May 2021, I could not decide what was the first film I went to see at the cinema, as both Genevieve and King of the Kyber Rifles were both released in the same year, 1955. I was able to record the former so it became our Saturday night movie. Not very successful I'm afraid. Despite the wonderful reviews on the internet, it really has shown it's age. The script and the acting is all pretty dire. This is despite the main characters who were played by the top acting talent of the day. Kenneth More in particular was trying to be funny and failed. I don't think John Gregson was right for light comedy. The women were a little better, although they too were acting with a kind of hysterical edge.
I had thought that the rally of vintage cars from London to Brighton was the major part of the movie, but no. The race back is totally against the law and the police officers who turn up incredibly let them off. The one good thing was to see such quiet roads in the nineteen fifties, all the vehicles of that time, and the tram tracks in the city. It was kind of fun, but it did show it's age.
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