Brief Encounter
Directed by David Lean • 1945 • United Kingdom
Starring Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard
After a chance meeting on a train platform, a married doctor (Trevor Howard) and a suburban housewife (Celia Johnson) begin a muted but passionate, and ultimately doomed, love affair. With its evocatively fog-enshrouded setting, swooning Rachmaninoff score, and pair of remarkable performances (Johnson was nominated for an Oscar), this film, directed by David Lean and based on Noël Coward’s play “Still Life” deftly explores the thrill, pain, and tenderness of an illicit romance, and has influenced many a cinematic brief encounter since its release.
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Brief Encounter
Directed by David Lean • 1945 • United Kingdom
Starring Celia Johnson, Trevor HowardAfter a chance meeting on a train platform, a married doctor (Trevor Howard) and a suburban housewife (Celia Johnson) begin a muted but passionate, and ultimately doomed, love affair. With its evocatively fog-en...
Extras
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BRIEF ENCOUNTER Commentary
Recorded in 1995, this audio commentary features film historian Bruce Eder.
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Greta Gerwig on BRIEF ENCOUNTER
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Barry Day on BRIEF ENCOUNTER
In the following interview, recorded in October 2011, Noël Coward expert Barry Day, author of “Coward on Film: The Cinema of Noël Coward,” discusses BRIEF ENCOUNTER.
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David Lean: A Self Portrait
An intimate look at the career of David Lean, this 1971 documentary by Thomas Craven features an extensive interview with the director, who discusses his work and his approach to filmmaking.
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Alan Cumming on BRIEF ENCOUNTER
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Queersighted: Stage to Screen
This new conversation between critic and programmer Michael Koresky and scholar Shonni Enelow, discussing the films in Queersighted: Stage to Screen, was recorded in 2022.
