| The Remains of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical-release poster | |
| Directed by | James Ivory |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Based on | The Remains of the Day byKazuo Ishiguro |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Tony Pierce-Roberts |
| Edited by | Andrew Marcus |
| Music by | Richard Robbins |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 134 minutes[1] |
| Countries | |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15 million[3] |
| Box office | $63.9 million[3] |
The Remains of the Day is a 1993drama film adapted from theBooker Prize–winning1989 novel byKazuo Ishiguro. The film was directed byJames Ivory, produced byIsmail Merchant,Mike Nichols, andJohn Calley and adapted byRuth Prawer Jhabvala. It starsAnthony Hopkins as James Stevens andEmma Thompson as Miss Kenton, withJames Fox,Christopher Reeve,Hugh Grant,Ben Chaplin, andLena Headey in supporting roles.
The film was a critical and box office success and it was nominated for eightAcademy Awards, includingBest Picture,Best Actor (Hopkins),Best Actress (Thompson) andBest Adapted Screenplay (Jhabvala). In 1999, theBritish Film Institute rankedThe Remains of the Day the64th-greatest British film of the 20th century.[4]
In 1958postwar Britain, Stevens, thebutler of Darlington Hall, receives a letter from the former housekeeper, Miss Kenton, now Mrs. Benn. Their past employer, theEarl of Darlington, has died a broken man, his reputation destroyed by his pre–Second World War support of Nazi Germany, and his stately country house has been sold to retiredUS Congressman Jack Lewis. Allowed to borrow theDaimler, Stevens sets off for theWest Country to see Miss Kenton for the first time in decades.
In the 1930s, Kenton arrives at Darlington Hall, where the ever-efficient but deeply repressed Stevens derives his entire identity from his profession. He butts heads with the warmer, strong-willed Kenton, particularly when he refuses to acknowledge that his father, now an under-butler, is no longer able to perform his duties.
Displaying total professionalism, Stevens carries on as his father lies dying during Darlington's conference of like-mindedfascist-sympathising British and European aristocrats. Also in attendance is U.S. Congressman Lewis, who admonishes the "gentleman politicians" as meddling amateurs, advising that "Europe has become the arena ofRealpolitik" and warning of impending disaster.
Exposed toNazi racial laws, Darlington gets Stevens to dismiss two newly hired refugeeGerman-Jewish maids. Kenton threatens to resign but has nowhere to go, and a regretful Darlington is later unable to rehire the maids. At another conference, Stevens is unable to answer an aristocratic guest's questions on global trade and politics, which the aristocrat claims demonstrates the lower classes' ignorance and inability to govern themselves.
Relations thaw between Stevens and Kenton, and she clearly shows her feelings for him. But the outwardly detached Stevens remains dedicated solely to his role as butler. She catches him reading a romance novel, which he explains is to improve his vocabulary, asking her not to invade his privacy again.
Lord Darlington's godson, journalist Reginald Cardinal, arrives on the day of a secret meeting at Darlington Hall between the British Prime Minister,Neville Chamberlain, and the German ambassador,Joachim von Ribbentrop. Appalled by his godfather's role in seekingappeasement forNazi Germany, Cardinal tells Stevens that Darlington is beingused by the Nazis, but Stevens feels it is not his place to judge his employer.
Kenton forms a relationship with former co-worker Tom Benn and accepts his proposal of marriage. She informs Stevens as an ultimatum, but he will not admit his feelings and only offers his congratulations. Finding her crying, his only response is to call her attention to a neglected domestic task, and she leaves Darlington Hall before the start of theSecond World War.
En route to meeting Kenton in 1958, Stevens is mistaken for a gentleman at a pub. Doctor Carlisle, a local GP, helps him refuel the Daimler, deduces that he is actually a manservant, and asks his thoughts about Lord Darlington's actions. Initially denying having even met him, Stevens later admits to having served and respected him, noting that Darlington later confessed that his Nazi sympathies had been misguided and naive. Stevens tells Carlisle that, although Lord Darlington was unable to correct his error, he is attempting to correct his own.
Stevens meets Kenton, who has separated from her husband and is staying at a boarding house on the coast. She and Stevens discuss how Lord Darlington died from a broken heart after suing a newspaper for libel, losing the suit and his reputation. Stevens mentions that Cardinal was killed in the war. Kenton declines to resume her position at Darlington Hall, wishing to remain near her pregnant daughter and, despite years of unhappiness, thinking about going back to her husband. Stevens supposes they may never meet again, and they part fondly but are both quietly upset, with Kenton visibly tearful as her bus pulls away.
Stevens returns to Darlington Hall, where Lewis asks if he remembers what he had said at the conference in the 30s. Stevens replies that he was too busy serving to listen to the speeches. A pigeon flies into the fireplace from the chimney, and Lewis catches and sets it free. Stevens watches the bird as it flies away, leaving Darlington Hall far behind.
A film adaptation of the novel was originally planned at Columbia to be directed byMike Nichols from a script byHarold Pinter with a projected budget of $26 million.[5]Meryl Streep’s then-agent,Sam Cohn, and the director sold her on the plum role of Miss Kenton. Both Streep andJeremy Irons read for Nichols, but the filmmaker opted not to cast them in roles later filled by Emma Thompson (ten years Meryl's junior) and Anthony Hopkins (twenty years Emma's senior). Cohn, who was also Nichols's agent, didn’t make it clear to Meryl that she was no longer a candidate for Miss Kenton; she learned only later, after reading about Thompson's casting. Shortly thereafter Streep made headlines after she fired her long time, east coast agent, signing with rival agentBryan Lourd at the powerfulCreative Artists Agency.[6] James Ivory had taken an interest in the book and with his producing partner Ismail Merchant, they planned to make the film for $11.5 million.[5]Some of Pinter's script was used in the film, but, while Pinter was paid for his work, he asked to have his name removed from the credits, in keeping with his contract.[a] Christopher C. Hudgins observes: "During our 1994 interview, Pinter told [Steven H.] Gale and me that he had learned his lesson after the revisions imposed on his script forThe Handmaid's Tale, which he has decided not to publish. When his script forThe Remains of the Day was radically revised by theJames Ivory–Ismail Merchant partnership, he refused to allow his name to be listed in the credits" (125).[b][c][d] Though no longer the director, Nichols remained associated with the project as one of its producers.
The music was recorded atWindmill Lane Studios inDublin.
A number ofEnglish country estates were used as locations for the film, partly owing to the persuasive power of Ismail Merchant, who was able to cajole permission for the production to borrow houses not normally open to the public. Among them wereDyrham Park for the exterior of the house and the driveway,Powderham Castle (staircase, hall, music room, bedroom; used for the aqua-turquoise stairway scenes),Corsham Court (library and dining room) andBadminton House (servants' quarters, conservatory, entrance hall).Luciana Arrighi, the production designer, scouted most of these locations. Scenes were also shot inWeston-super-Mare, which stood in forClevedon. The pub where Mr Stevens stays is the Hop Pole inLimpley Stoke; the shop featured is also in Limpley Stoke. The pub where Miss Kenton and Mr Benn meet isThe George Inn inNorton St Philip.
The character of Sir Geoffrey Wren is based loosely on that ofSir Oswald Mosley, a British fascist active in the 1930s.[7] Wren is depicted as a strict vegetarian, like Hitler.[8]The 3rd Viscount Halifax (later created the 1stEarl of Halifax) also appears in the film. Lord Darlington tells Stevens that Halifax approved of the polish on the silver, and Lord Halifax himself later appears when Darlington meets secretly with the German Ambassador and his aides at night. Halifax was the chief architect of the British policy of appeasement from 1937 to 1939.[9] Coincidentally, Halifax was born at Powderham Castle (above). The character of Congressman Jack Lewis in the film is a composite of two separate American characters in Kazuo Ishiguro's novel: Senator Lewis (who attends the pre-WW2 conference in Darlington Hall), and Mr Farraday, who succeeds Lord Darlington as master of Darlington Hall.
The film had its premiere on 25 October 1993 at theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles.[1]
It was the opening night film at theLondon Film Festival on 4 November 1993 and opened in 94 theatres in the United States on 5 November.[10][11]
The film grossed $23 million in the United States and Canada.[3] In the United Kingdom, it grossed £4.5 million.[12] Worldwide, it grossed a total of $63.9 million.[3]
OnRotten Tomatoes the film has a 96% rating based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 8.6/10. The consensus states: "Smart, elegant, and blessed with impeccable performances from Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson,The Remains of the Day is a Merchant–Ivory classic."[13] OnMetacritic, it has aweighted average score of 86 based on 12 reviews.[14] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[15]
Roger Ebert particularly praised the film, calling it "a subtle, thoughtful movie."[16] In his favorable review forThe Washington Post,Desson Howe wrote, "Put Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson and James Fox together and you can expect sterling performances."[17]Vincent Canby ofThe New York Times said, in another favorable review, "Here's a film for adults. It's also about time to recognize that Mr. Ivory is one of our finest directors, something that critics tend to overlook because most of his films have been literary adaptations."[18]
The film was named one of the best films of 1993 by over 50 critics, making it the fifth-most-acclaimed film of 1993.[19]
| The Remains of the Day | |
|---|---|
| Film score by | |
| Released | 1993 |
| Length | 49:26 |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Entertainment Weekly | A[37] |
The originalscore was composed byRichard Robbins. It was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Original Score, but lost toSchindler's List.
vegetarian.
