Product: Brideshead Revisited [VHS] (1982)
Rating: 5.0
One of the best literature-to-film adaptations ever
It would be easy to dismiss Brideshead Revisited as an escapist fantasy for those fascinated by an upper-class British life now gone forever, but this would be a mistake; this is a genuine work of art that rises above the elitism of Oxford slang and customs understood only by initiates. Many other people have written about Evelyn Waugh's themes--coming of age and the loss of youth, love, faith, and hope, but few have done it as well, and rarely has it been transferred to film so successfully. The weakest points in the film are probably the drawn-out passing away of Lord Marchmain (much longer in the film than in the book) and Julia's religious remorse and the narrator's statement of faith at the end (the weakest points in the novel, I think). The characterizations are masterful, such as the ambitious but empty politician Rex, a social type we certainly see around us in the world today. A very happy marriage of an outstanding novel and superb acting that is worth owning for repeated viewings if you have any feeling at all for this story.