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The Remains of the Day

  • 19931993
  • PGPG
  • 2h 14m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
73K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,617
431
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson in The Remains of the Day (1993)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:40
2 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Drama
  • Romance

A butler who sacrificed body and soul to service in the years leading up to World War II realizes too late how misguided his loyalty was to his lordly employer.A butler who sacrificed body and soul to service in the years leading up to World War II realizes too late how misguided his loyalty was to his lordly employer.A butler who sacrificed body and soul to service in the years leading up to World War II realizes too late how misguided his loyalty was to his lordly employer.

IMDb RATING
7.8/10
73K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,617
431
  • Director
    • James Ivory
  • Writers
    • Kazuo Ishiguro(novel)
    • Ruth Prawer Jhabvala(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Anthony Hopkins
    • Emma Thompson
    • John Haycraft
Top credits
  • Director
    • James Ivory
  • Writers
    • Kazuo Ishiguro(novel)
    • Ruth Prawer Jhabvala(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Anthony Hopkins
    • Emma Thompson
    • John Haycraft
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 229User reviews
    • 61Critic reviews
    • 86Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 8 Oscars
      • 17 wins & 41 nominations total

    Videos2

    The Remains of the Day
    Trailer 2:40
    The Remains of the Day
    The Remains of the Day
    Trailer 0:31
    The Remains of the Day

    Photos201

    The Remains of the Day (1993)
    Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson in The Remains of the Day (1993)
    Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson in The Remains of the Day (1993)
    Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson in The Remains of the Day (1993)
    Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson in The Remains of the Day (1993)
    Ralph Fiennes, Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, and Natasha Richardson in The Remains of the Day (1993)
    Ralph Fiennes and Natasha Richardson in Howards End (1992)
    Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson in The Remains of the Day (1993)
    Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson in The Remains of the Day (1993)
    Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson in The Remains of the Day (1993)
    Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson in The Remains of the Day (1993)
    Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson in The Remains of the Day (1993)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Anthony Hopkins
    Anthony Hopkins
    • Stevensas Stevens
    Emma Thompson
    Emma Thompson
    • Miss Kentonas Miss Kenton
    John Haycraft
    • Auctioneeras Auctioneer
    Christopher Reeve
    Christopher Reeve
    • Lewisas Lewis
    Caroline Hunt
    • Landladyas Landlady
    James Fox
    James Fox
    • Lord Darlingtonas Lord Darlington
    Peter Vaughan
    Peter Vaughan
    • Fatheras Father
    Paula Jacobs
    • Mrs. Mortimer, the Cookas Mrs. Mortimer, the Cook
    Ben Chaplin
    Ben Chaplin
    • Charlie, Head Footmanas Charlie, Head Footman
    Steve Dibben
    Steve Dibben
    • George, Second Footmanas George, Second Footman
    Abigail Hopkins
    Abigail Hopkins
    • Housemaidas Housemaid
    • (as Abigail Harrison)
    Patrick Godfrey
    Patrick Godfrey
    • Spenceras Spencer
    Peter Cellier
    Peter Cellier
    • Sir Leonard Baxas Sir Leonard Bax
    Peter Halliday
    Peter Halliday
    • Canon Tufnellas Canon Tufnell
    Hugh Grant
    Hugh Grant
    • Cardinalas Cardinal
    Terence Bayler
    Terence Bayler
    • Trimmeras Trimmer
    Jeffry Wickham
    Jeffry Wickham
    • Viscount Biggeas Viscount Bigge
    Hugh Sweetman
    • Scullery Boyas Scullery Boy
    • Director
      • James Ivory
    • Writers
      • Kazuo Ishiguro(novel)
      • Ruth Prawer Jhabvala(screenplay)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Rule bound head butler Stevens' (Sir Anthony Hopkins') world of manners and decorum in the household he maintains is tested by the arrival of housekeeper Miss Kenton (Dame Emma Thompson), who falls in love with him in pre-World War II Britain. The possibility of romance and his master's cultivation of ties with the Nazi cause challenge his carefully maintained veneer of servitude. —Keith Loh <loh@sfu.ca>
    • class differences
    • butler
    • housekeeper
    • manor
    • nazi
    • 115 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Romance
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated PG for themes
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Sir Anthony Hopkins, as a guest on Inside the Actors Studio (1994), said that he got tips on how to play a butler from real-life butler Cyril Dickman, who served for fifty years at Buckingham Palace. Dickman said "There's nothing to being a butler, really; when you're in the room, it should be even more empty."
    • Goofs
      As the camera recedes in the final aerial shot departing from the estate, it briefly reveals a modern, silver-colored hatchback automobile backed up to the left end of the building.
    • Quotes

      Stevens: In my philosophy, Mr. Benn, a man cannot call himself well-contented until he has done all he can to be of service to his employer. Of course, this assumes that one's employer is a superior person, not only in rank, or wealth, but in moral stature.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Fatal Instinct/Demolition Man/The Remains of the Day/Twenty Bucks (1993)
    • Soundtracks
      Blue Moon
      Composed by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart

    User reviews229

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    The best story of unrequited love in cinema history.
    This is, in my opinion, the finest film in the Merchant Ivory canon. And to hail it as such is to grossly undersell it. It is not only that but also the best story of unrequited love in cinema history, and a masterpiece of understated emotion. It also boasts some of the finest performances ever put on film, most notably from the peerless Anthony Hopkins.

    Then again, understatement is the key to this film. Writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and Director James Ivory adapt Kazuo Ishiguro's poignant novel with such delicacy that it gets under ones skin in a deeply profound way difficult to express in a few words.

    The plot opens in the 1950's as meticulous and emotionally repressed butler Stevens (Anthony Hopkins) reviews a lifetime of service in Darlington Hall. The story flashes back to the 1930's where Stevens formed a close friendship with housekeeper Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson). This relationship grew slowly over several years and ultimately the pair developed romantic feelings for one another, although neither admitted it. Whilst all this was happening, Steven's employer Lord Darlington (Edward Fox) gradually became a misguided Nazi sympathiser in pre-war Europe. Unfortunately, loyalty to his master caused Stevens to reject the delicate advances of Miss Kenton. History took its inevitable course, and Darlington's involvement in appeasement contributed to the outbreak of World War II. Now Stevens realises he made a mistake and wants to make amends.

    To describe Anthony Hopkins as brilliant is completely redundant. His turn here goes way beyond mere acting, and it was criminal he was denied the Oscar at the 1994 Academy awards. Stevens absurdly repressed personality gently takes the audience from laughter to tears in the most emotionally devastating finale I have ever seen. Hopkin's mesmerising performance is matched by a career-best turn from Emma Thompson. The supporting cast is uniformly superb, including a pre-Four Weddings Hugh Grant and Christopher Reeve in one of his last roles before the accident that paralysed him.

    Needless to say, the cinematography, music, editing and art direction are immaculate. The understated beauty of the English countryside that was so important to the book translates brilliantly to film here.

    This is a lovely, melancholic film, which effortlessly embraces complex themes such as misguided loyalty, dignity, pride, wasted lives, and unrequited love. It would be all too much to bear if it weren't for the film's genuine good-humoured understanding of English culture (all the more remarkable for having been initially penned by a Japanese author). In fact, humour is an important element in the film. There are many laugh-out-loud moments, which make the tragic part of the story all the more real and poignant. All in all, The Remains of the Day is a milestone film – an unforgettable tragedy of a man who pays the terrible price of denying his own feelings.
    helpful•231
    24
    • sdillon-1
    • Jul 30, 2003

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 19, 1993 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • United Kingdom
    • Official site
      • Merchant Ivory Productions (United States)
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Наприкінці дня
    • Filming locations
      • Dyrham Park, Dyrham, Gloucestershire, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Columbia Pictures
      • Merchant Ivory Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $15,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $23,237,911
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $1,528,982
      • Nov 7, 1993
    • Gross worldwide
      • $23,237,911
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 14 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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    Apr 8Slash Film

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