All Movie Guide

Filmed with the usual meticulous attention to period and detail of films from Ismail Merchant and James Ivory, The Remains of the Day is based on a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. Anthony Hopkins plays Stevens, the "perfect" butler to a prosperous British household of the 1930s. He is so unswervingly devoted to serving his master, a well-meaning but callow British lord (James Fox), that he shuts himself off from all emotions and familial relationships. New housekeeper Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson) tries to warm him up and awaken his humanity. But when duty calls, Stevens won't even attend his own dying father's last moments on earth. The butler also refuses to acknowledge the fact that his master is showing signs of pro-Nazi sentiments. Disillusioned by Hitler's duplicity, the master dies an embittered man, and only then does Stevens come to realize how his own silence has helped bring about this sad situation. Years later, regretting his lost opportunities in life, he tries once more to make contact with Miss Kenton, the only person who'd ever cared enough to seek out the human being inside the butler's cold veneer. Hal Erickson

All Movie Guide

While somewhat overshadowed by the box-office performance of Howards End (1992), The Remains of the Day received nine Academy Award nominations and finds Merchant and Ivory at the top of their game. On the eve of World War II, almost everyone in The Remains of the Day seems committed to tired traditions that adhere to a rigid formality. Anthony Hopkins masterfully portrays Stevens' proper exterior, communicating the butler's emotional sterility in "real life" situations through small gestures. Emma Thompson beautifully plays Miss Kenton and once again proves the ideal partner for Hopkins. Their failed relationship (failed because it never even gets started) perfectly underlines the regret that saturates The Remains of the Day. The deeper tragedy, however, lies in the fact that Stevens, Miss Kenton, and Lord Darlington (James Fox) all become conscious of the mistakes they have made, but seem incapable of altering their way of life. Social adherence to tradition and class distinctions has led to an inability to adapt to the modern world. The Remains of the Day displays the same close attention to period detail and lovely cinematography that viewers have come to expect from Merchant and Ivory productions, and the screenplay has once again been adapted by the sure hand of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Ronnie D. Lankford Jr.

Product Details

• UPC: 043396710979
• Source: SONY PICTURES
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français, Español, Portugais
• Subtitles: English, Français, Español, Portugais, Korean, Thai
• Time: 2:14:00
• Sales Rank: 613

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Anthony Hopkins

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