Welcome to the Movie Club! Today’s movie is David Lean’s classic romantic drama, Brief Encounter!
Brief Encounter tells the story of Laura Jessen, played by Celia Johnson, who has a chance encounter with a doctor named Alec Harvey, played by Trevor Howard, during her weekly trip into town to shop and watch a movie. Despite both of them being married with children, they initiate a short but passionate affair that conflicts with their other priorities and morals.
Brief Encounter is an adaptation of the play Still Life by Noël Coward, who also contributed to the film’s screenplay. It premiered in London on November 26, 1945, earning either $1 million or $1.4 million depending on the source.12 Critics praised it on release and it is still widely considered a classic, earning it a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.3
- Noël Coward also recorded the train station announcements for the film.
- Much of the film was shot at the Carnworth station in Lancashire towards the end of World War 2, as it was far enough from the city to avoid the black out restrictions.
- Some additional locations only mentioned in the play are seen in the novel, such as Dr. Lynn’s apartment, and the side characters in the play are also more aware of Laura and Alec’s affair.
What did you think? Share your thoughts below!
Up Next: Our next movie will be Claire Denis’ sci-fi drama, High Life! Check out the trailer and where it’s playing below:
USA
- Stream: Cinemax (via Apple TV or Prime Video)
- Rent or Buy: Amazon, Apple TV, Flix Fling, Fandango At Home, Google Play
Canada
- Stream: Prime Video, Crave, Pluto TV, Plex, Starz (via Prime Video)
- Rent or Buy: Apple TV, Amazon, Cineplex Store
UK
- Stream: BFI Player (also via Prime Video and Apple TV)
- Rent or Buy: Amazon, Apple TV, Sky Store, Curzon (Rental only)
- https://archive.org/details/variety164-1946-12/page/n192/mode/1up?view=theater ↩︎
- https://archive.org/details/variety160-1945-11/page/n138/mode/1up?q=%22pic+cost%22 ↩︎
- https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1003094-brief_encounter ↩︎
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037558/ ↩︎
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brief_Encounter ↩︎