The Remains of the Day (1993)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

James Ivory

Writers (WGA):

Kazuo Ishiguro (novel)
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 November 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A butler who sacrificed body and soul to service in the years post World War II realizes too late how misguided his loyalty has been.

Plot Keywords:

Butler | Nazi | Loyalty | Britain | Housekeeper

Awards:

Nominated for 8 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

John Haycraft	...	Auctioneer
Christopher Reeve	...	Jack Lewis
Anthony Hopkins	...	James Stevens
Emma Thompson	...	Miss Kenton
Caroline Hunt	...	Landlady
James Fox	...	Lord Darlington
Peter Vaughan	...	William Stevens
Paula Jacobs	...	Mrs. Mortimer, the cook
Ben Chaplin	...	Charlie, Head Footman
Steve Dibben	...	George, Second Footman
Abigail Hopkins	...	Housemaid (as Abigail Harrison)
Patrick Godfrey	...	Spencer
Peter Cellier	...	Sir Leonard Bax
Peter Halliday	...	Canon Tufnell
Hugh Grant	...	Reginald Cardinal

Runtime:

134 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | French | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints) | SDDS (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG | South Korea:15 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:6 | Ireland:G | Netherlands:AL | Norway:A | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Badminton House, Gloucestershire, England, UK

Company:

Merchant Ivory Productions

Trivia:

Anthony Hopkins, as a guest on the TV show "Inside the Actors Studio" (1994), said that he got tips on how to play a butler from a real-life butler, Cyril Dickman who served for 50 years at Buckingham Palace. The butler said there was nothing to being a butler, really - when you're in the room it should be even more empty.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In one kitchen scene, in preparing for the banquet, we see a meat cleaver beheading a pheasant. However, when the head is thrown away, it is obvious that the head was previously severed, as the cleaver rests on a non-severed part of the pheasant's neck.

Quotes:

Stevens: In my philosophy, Mr. Benn, a man cannot call himself well-contented until he has done all he can to be of service to his employer. Of course, this assumes that one's employer is a superior person, not only in rank, or wealth, but in moral stature.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Good Eats: The Remains of the Bird (#3.5)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Roll Along Prairie Moon

Excellent Period Piece

This movie is James Ivory's best, and one of Anthony Hopkins' and Emma Thompson's better films.

Did you ever care to know what British upper class life was like in past centuries for both nobility and gentry (their servants?) This show humanizes life for them all, revealing their common foibles and their collective challenges.

One would think that Hopkins would be the quintessential casting choice for a high quality 19th or 20th century British butler. He admits that it is a role that he had to study since he has never had a butler, or known one. Well, he did a superb job.

Emma Thompson performs spectacularly as romantic interest and head housekeeper. Believability is her byline.

Altogether a well-rounded cast, and an excellent production that captivates, entertains and entrances. You'd almost want to trade lives with most any of the characters, for better or worse.