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
Terence Bayler	...	Trimmer
Jeffrey Wickham	...	Viscount Bigge (as Jeffry Wickham)
Hugh Sweetman	...	Scullery boy
Michael Lonsdale	...	Dupont D'Ivry
Brigitte Kahn	...	Baroness
John Savident	...	Doctor Meredith
Tony Aitken	...	Postmaster
Emma Lewis	...	Elsa
Joanna Joseph	...	Irma
Rupert Vansittart	...	Sir Geoffrey Wren
Tim Pigott-Smith	...	Thomas Benn
Christopher Brown	...	Wren's friend
Lena Headey	...	Lizzie
Paul Copley	...	Harry Smith
Ian Redford	...	Publican
Jo Kendall	...	Publican's wife
Steven Beard	...	Andrews
Pip Torrens	...	Doctor Richard Carlisle
Frank Shelley	...	Prime Minister
Peter Eyre	...	Lord Halifax
Jestyn Phillips	...	Foreign Office official
Wolf Kahler	...	German ambassador
Frank Höltje	...	German Embassy official
Andreas Töns	...	German Embassy official
Roger McKern	...	Police constable
Angela Newmarch	...	Waitress

Directed by
James Ivory

Writing credits (WGA)
Kazuo Ishiguro		(novel)
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala		(screenplay)

Produced by
Paul Bradley	....	executive producer
John Calley	....	producer
Ismail Merchant	....	producer
Mike Nichols	....	producer
Donald Rosenfeld	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Richard Robbins

Cinematography by
Tony Pierce-Roberts		(photography)

Film Editing by
Andrew Marcus

Casting by
Celestia Fox

Production Design by
Luciana Arrighi

Art Direction by
John Ralph

Set Decoration by
Ian Whittaker

Costume Design by
Jenny Beavan
John Bright

Makeup Department
Christine Beveridge	....	chief makeup artist
Carol Hemming	....	chief hair stylist
Paolo Mantini	....	hair stylist
Norma Webb	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Joyce Herlihy	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bernard Bellew	....	third assistant director
Simon Moseley	....	second assistant director
Christopher Newman	....	first assistant director (as Chris Newman)

Art Department
Simone Assanand	....	art department assistant
Chris Browning	....	stand-by props
Sveva Costa Sanservino	....	art department assistant
Mark Fruin	....	stand-by props
John Hedges	....	construction manager
Sophia Müller	....	art department assistant (as Sophia Müeller)
Jill Quertier	....	production buyer
Dennis Simmonds	....	dressing props
Arthur Wicks	....	property master
Chris Seddon	....	drapes master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Aaron Anawalt	....	on-set sound assistant
Brian Blamey	....	foley editor
Geoff R. Brown	....	assistant sound editor
Derek Holding	....	dialogue editor
Dominic Lester	....	assistant sound re-recordist
Colin Miller	....	sound editor
Robin O'Donoghue	....	sound re-recordist
David Stephenson	....	sound recordist
Colin Wood	....	boom operator
Russ Woolnough	....	assistant sound editor

Special Effects by
Karin Hanson	....	special effects hair (uncredited)
Garth Inns	....	special effects supervisor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Martin Body	....	rostrum cameraman (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter Batten	....	clapper loader
Damienne Caron	....	camera apprentice
Tommy Finch	....	gaffer
Rawdon Hayne	....	focus puller
Malcolm Huse	....	camera grip
Rod Marley	....	camera trainee (as Roderick Marley)
Roger Pearce	....	camera operator: second unit
Derrick Santini	....	still photographer
Les Weighell	....	best boy

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jill Avery	....	wardrobe assistant
Victoria Harwood	....	wardrobe assistant
Sue Honeybourne	....	wardrobe mistress
Adrian Simmons	....	wardrobe assistant (as Adrian Simmonds)

Editorial Department
Simon Cozens	....	second assistant editor
Michelle Gorchow	....	associate editor
Kerry Kohler	....	assistant editor
Craig Mooney	....	apprentice editor

Music Department
Geoff Alexander	....	music coordinator
Harry Rabinowitz	....	conductor
Bill Sommerville-Large	....	music recording engineer
Robert Stewart	....	music arranger: orchestral arrangements

Transportation Department
Cengiz Asiliskender	....	unit driver
Brian Baverstock	....	unit driver (as Bryan Baverstock)
David Bennett	....	unit driver
John Bower	....	unit driver

Other crew
Elizabeth Aldrich	....	choreographer
Bobby Blues	....	production accountant (as Bob Blues)
Cyril Dickman	....	technical advisor
Diana Dill	....	script supervisor
Lorraine Fennell	....	production coordinator
David Field	....	stand-in
Joe Friedman	....	location scout
Peter Giblin	....	runner: director
Robert Hamilton	....	assistant technical advisor
Jacky Holding	....	production accountant
William James	....	crowd marshall
Sunil Kirparam	....	production accountant
Fay Efrosini Lellios	....	project creative assistant
Annie Livings	....	stand-in
Kathryn Martin	....	assistant to producer
Christian McWilliams	....	location manager
Colin Plenty	....	location assistant

Thanks
The Duke of Beaufort	....	thanks
The Earl of Devon	....	thanks
The Lord Methuen	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Merchant Ivory Productions (as A Mike Nichols John Calley Merchant Ivory Production)
• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents) (as Columbia Pictures)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1993) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (????) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de España (????) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (DVD)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (????) (Argentina) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Effects Associates

Other Companies

• Anglia Catering  catering
• Arthur Sanderson and Sons  thanks
• Cosprop  costumes
• Garrard, The Crown Jewellers  thanks
• Lee Lighting  grip and lighting equipment
• Peerless Camera Company  titles and opticals
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services
• Twickenham Film Studios  sound re-recording
• Windmill Lane Recording Studios  music recorded at

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:

At one point, Anjelica Huston was being courted for the part of the housekeeper. Jeremy Irons had also been considered for a part in the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: (or possibly just character error) At the very beginning Miss Kenton mentions a conference "back in 1936". At the very end of the film, Lewis asks, "Isn't this the same room where we all attended that banquet back in 1935?"

Quotes:

Father: There was this English butler out in India. One day, he goes in the dining room and what does he see under the table ? A tiger. Not turning a hair, he goes straight to the drawing room. "Hum, hum. Excuse me, my lord," and whispering, so as not to upset the ladies : "I'm very sorry my lord...

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Sopranos: College (#1.5)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Roll Along Prairie Moon

Yes, They Can Still Make 'Em Like They Used To

Wow, what a wonderful movie this turned out to be!

I didn't check this movie out until the fall of 2004 after reading a number of positive reviews, enough to pique my curiosity. I was glad I did. In fact, I was so impressed with this film that a week later I went out and bought the book, which is even better.

First of all, the film is a tremendous visual treat. There are some great interior scenes of the Darlington mansion, and great colors inside and in the surrounding outside scenery. This is simply a beautiful film.

Second, the acting of Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson was spectacular. They were riveting. The way they deliver dialog and the expressions of their faces.....magnificent acting. Thompson's sad look in the back of the bus near the end of the movie is the saddest, most haunting look on a person's face I have ever seen in 50 years of movie watching.

Hopkins, one of the best actors of this generation, provides a tremendous character study of a man who has been taught that to be the best in his profession, he must suppress all emotion. In doing so, he never learns to think for himself and he misses out on what could have been the love of his life. In that regards, this is a very frustrating story.

However, this isn't just a tragic romantic story. Hopkins' character is wonderful example, too, of unselfish devotion and dignified servitude in the face of any kind of circumstance.

This is an extremely beautiful, intelligent and sensitive film. If when people tell you, "They don't make 'em like they used to," show them this film.