Remains of the Day

Pros: Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson; intelligent, moving script; great period detail, cinematography, and soundtrack

Cons: None. May feel slowly paced for modern viewers attuned to action films and music videos.

The Bottom Line: A moving and lovely period piece from Merchant-Ivory with arguably Anthony Hopkins's greatest performance.

Review: Remains of the Day is a story about a love relationship that might have been, but which was allowed to evaporate by the reticence of one party. Set in the context of the rise of Nazi tensions just prior to World War II, it is also a lavish ...

Pros: Anthony Hopkin's performance. The musical score. The direction... Everything.

Cons: Um... it's pretty fucking sad.

The Bottom Line: Who would have thought Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson would be the ones starring in a quintessential story of love?

Review: I first saw James Ivory‘s Remains of the Day when I was a little younger and I thought it was absolutely brilliant. It re-united Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins from the Oscar runner-up, Howard’s End and had the latter give a ...

Pros: excellent writing and masterful acting

Cons: the subtlety and lack of action may not appeal to many

The Bottom Line: Excellent character and period study without the sex, violence, and action that people seem to think are so necessary for successful films today

Review: This is the story of a properly-run English household and its butler, Mr. Stevens (Anthony Hopkins), who keeps everything in perfect order and running without a hitch. Unfortunately, the human element in running any house makes it impossible to not have ...

Pros: One of the greatest performances ever committed to film, with eminently capable supporting roles.

Cons: None. That simple.

The Bottom Line: A masterclass in refined acting and direction, for once bringing to life a sensitive, intelligent story.

Review: Anthony Hopkins is an extremely accomplished actor. There, one sentence in and I'm already stating the obvious. But every now and again, an actor already known as accomplished will turn in a performance so outstanding, so perfect that it casts a light ...

Pros: Great actors, strong theme

Cons: None

Review: ... With All The Violence Minus The Gunfire

This is the greatest World War II movie I have seen. The violence perpetrated is fundamental. It is a great work of art and Anthony Hopkins (who I remember from The Silence of the Lambs) and...

Pros: Excellent performances all around, great direction from James Ivory

Cons: no action, for those that care

The Bottom Line: One of the best films you'll ever see. Watch and listen carefully.

Review: First of all, let me get this out of the way. As one Epinions member so directly pointed out in a comment on my Top 10 British Films opinion, "We have found an Anthony Hopkins fan." You have indeed, and although it may seem that I have been paid off by...

Pros: fine actors and a solid, poignant story

Cons: not wildly upbeat (but not a requirement)

Review: A poignant movie about a man trapped by circumstances of his upbringing and subsequent personality makeup. Set against the background of WWII, two fine performances by Hopkins and Thompson. One climactic scene between the two hints at possibilities and...

Pros: Everything

Cons: None

The Bottom Line: When it comes to romantic movies, "The Remains of the Day" is the real thing. It is more exciting than "Pearl Harbor."

Review: Believe it or not, a heart-wrenching romance CAN exist on film without the two main characters having sex.

"The Remains of the Day" is a film of manners and longing based upon the book by Kazuo Ishiguro, and assembled with care by the...

Pros: Great acting by all. Hopkins' crowning moment.

Cons: May be too subtle for some tastes. Also has a sad futile tone to it. Not a cheerer-upper.

Review: Ismail Merchant and James Ivory’s Remains of the Day is one of the most charming movies I’ve seen....and also one of the most tragic.

This makes it sound like the film is a laugh-fest black comedy in the “Dr. Strangelove” vein. It’s not.
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Pros: Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Reeve, and a subtle, emotionally complex story

Cons: Unsatisfying at times and somewhat hard to read between the lines

Review: "The Remains of the Day" is not a film that will just blow you away. It doesn't shock you and get your emotions riled up. What it does is slowly engulf you in its characters, story, and morals.

Stevens (Anthony Hopkins) is the butler...