Brideshead Revisited is a 1981 British television serial created by Derek Granger based on Evelyn Waugh's novel of the same name. Starring Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews, it was produced by Granada Television for broadcast by the ITV network. The serial is considered one of the 100 best TV shows of all time by Time magazine.

The serial is an adaptation of the 1945 novel Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of Charles Ryder, with special focus on his friendship with Lord Sebastian Flyte and his family of wealthy and titled English Catholics, who live in Brideshead Castle, a palatial Baroque mansion in Wiltshire in the South West of England and shot at Castle Howard, in Henderskelfe. The screenplay was written by the series' producer Derek Granger and others, as the credited, original one written by John Mortimer was not used.Jones, Alice. "Life after Brideshead". The Independent. 1 October 2008. Charles Sturridge said that 95% of the dialogue was from Waugh's novel.DVD notes The 11-episode serial premiered on ITV in the UK on 12 October 1981; on CBC Television in Canada on 19 October 1981; and as part of the Great Performances series on PBS in the US on 18 January 1982.Erickson, Hal. "Brideshead Revisited – Synopsis". AllMovie. Retrieved on 21 May 2016.

In 2000, the serial was tenth on the list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes compiled by the British Film Institute, based on a poll of industry professionals. Significant elements of it were directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who handled the initial phases of the production, before Charles Sturridge carried on with the series. The first episode is credited to both men equally. In 2010, it was second in The Guardian newspaper's list of the top 50 TV dramas of all time. In 2015, The Daily Telegraph listed it at number 1 in its list of the greatest television adaptations, writing, "Brideshead Revisited is television's greatest literary adaptation, bar none. It's utterly faithful to Evelyn Waugh's novel yet it's somehow more than that, too."1. Brideshead Revisited (1981, ITV). In: "The 22 greatest TV adaptations". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 May 2016. (Originally published in January 2015 as "The 20 greatest TV adaptations".)

Plot The events of the series are depicted as the memories of a disillusioned officer of the British Army during his military service in World War II. Starting in 1922, the university student Charles Ryder finds himself financially struggling during the summer holidays and is not welcomed home by his indifferent father. When his much wealthier friend Lord Sebastian Flyte invites him to spend time at his family home at Brideshead, Ryder jumps at the opportunity. He serves as a companion to Sebastian during his extended visits to Venice and London.

Sebastian soon descends into alcoholism, and alienates Charles with his paranoid accusations that Charles is spying for Sebastian's mother. After Sebastian is dismissed from their university, Charles decides to study abroad. When the two men meet again in 1925, Charles finances Sebastian's latest drinking binge. Sebastian's mother points out that Charles is enabling Sebastian's vices, and he no longer feels welcomed at Brideshead.

After Charles starts working as a professional painter, he continues to interact with Sebastian's relatives on several occasions while Sebastian is estranged from his family. Lord Marchmain has lost much of his wealth in the meantime. Charles is married, but has an extramarital affair with Lady Julia, Sebastian's sister. In 1939, Lord Marchmain is dying and plans to leave Brideshead to Julia and Charles. After Lord Marchmain's deathbed conversion to Catholicism, the couple call off their scheduled wedding due to an argument about their religious views. In 1943, Charles returns to Brideshead because the house is serving as the new brigade headquarters and he is stationed there.

Episodes

Cast Main cast members

with

Special guest stars

Additionally, actor Peter Bull's teddy bear Delicatessen appears as Sebastian's companion Aloysius.

Production The television adaptation of Waugh's novel was originally conceived as a six-hour serial. In the summer of 1978, producer Derek Granger asked Michael Lindsay-Hogg to direct the serial. Eight months were spent casting, costuming, and scripting, with the critical decision to have voiceover provided by Charles Ryder. In April 1979, Lindsay-Hogg began principal photography on the islands of Gozo and Malta, where the sequences set in Morocco, Mexico, and Central America were filmed. Four months of shooting then followed at locations in England, including Oxford and Castle Howard, which Granger and Lindsay-Hogg had selected as Brideshead. In August, a technicians' strike brought all ITV production to a halt. By the time it was settled in October, Lindsay-Hogg was no longer available due to a commitment to another project.Sturridge, Charles. The Making of Brideshead: A Note from the Director. Included in A Companion Guide to Brideshead Revisited in the Acorn Media UK DVD released 25 June 2002.

Lindsay-Hogg was replaced by relative novice Charles Sturridge, whose previous experience had been limited to directing episodes of Strangers, Crown Court and Coronation Street. "The actors thought I was part of an insurance scam", Sturridge later said, "and that my inexperience would cause the production to fall through." Cast contracts had to be renegotiated to take into account the extended filming period. Jeremy Irons, who was planning to audition for the film The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), stipulated he would remain with Brideshead under condition he would be allowed time off to film French Lieutenant if he were cast. Rather than scrap the considerable completed footage in which the actor appeared, Granger agreed.

The break in filming was fortunate in that Laurence Olivier, previously unavailable, could now be cast in the serial. Sturridge and Granger agreed the six-hour script eliminated so much detail of Waugh's story, with its "telling nuances and provocative ideas", that its potency was compromised, and they set about expanding it to seven two-hour episodes. The decision was also made to have Ryder narrate the serial, as he does in the novel. Olivier's tight schedule required he start immediately, but his scenes had not yet been written, and Sturridge and Granger hurried to complete them so the actor would have at least a week to learn his dialogue. Mona Washbourne was less fortunate and received her script the day she arrived on set.

Shooting resumed on 5 November 1979. The week was divided into five days of filming and two days of writing. Sturridge and Granger were anxious to complete the teleplay as soon as possible, and by the time the ten-day break for Christmas ended, the script was finished. Granada Television had approved a larger budget for the extended format, and Sturridge scheduled the shooting of sequences in Venice, London and aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2. Everything was going according to plan, and then Irons was cast in French Lieutenant. Since his character is in nearly every scene of the serial, Sturridge was forced to place Brideshead on a lengthy hiatus. During this period, he edited completed scenes and continued to hone the script, although ultimately John Mortimer received sole screen credit for it. Filming resumed in September 1980. Because French Lieutenant had fallen behind schedule, Irons worked on both projects simultaneously.

The Oxford scenes were filmed largely at Waugh's alma mater, Hertford College, and the rooms Charles occupies in the film were those in which Waugh lived after his second term. Portions of Wadham College and Christ Church were also used. Most of the grounds, all the major public rooms, and several rooms in the private wings of Castle Howard represented Brideshead. Bridgewater House in Westminster was used for the exterior of Marchmain House, and its interiors were filmed in Tatton Hall. Rex and Julia's wedding was filmed in the chapel at Lyme Park. Venice locations included the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, the Scuola di San Rocco, and the Palazzi Barbaro. The ocean-liner deck scenes were filmed on the QE2 during an actual storm, but the ship's interiors were either sets or public rooms in the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool and the Park Lane Hotel in London.Filming Locations. Included in A Companion Guide to Brideshead Revisited in the Acorn Media UK DVD released 25 June 2002.

The riot in the General Strike sequence was the last scene to be filmed, and principal photography was completed in January 1981, after 42 weeks of filming. Post-production was scheduled for the next seven months. Early into the period, ITV decided two-hour episodes were too long, and Sturridge was forced to restructure the entire serial, beginning and ending it with expanded episodes that bookended nine episodes running slightly less than an hour each.

Lindsay-Hogg called Sturridge's work on the serial "fabulous and beautiful [...], both with the actors and the camera."

Home media On the 40th anniversary of the release of the TV serial (12 October 2021), Britbox released a 4K "remastered" version. It was not released in the UK.

Music The music for the series is by Geoffrey Burgon. A soundtrack album was released on Chrysalis Records in 1981.

Charts Chart (1982)PeakpositionAustralia (Kent Music Report)43

Awards and nominations Award Category Nominee(s) Result BPG TV & Radio Awards Best Drama Serial Brideshead Revisited British Academy Television Awards Best Drama Series or Serial Derek Granger, Charles Sturridge, and Michael Lindsay-Hogg Best Actor Anthony Andrews John Gielgud Jeremy Irons Best Actress Claire Bloom Diana Quick Best Design Peter Phillips Best Original Television Music Geoffrey Burgon Best Costume Design Jane Robinson Best Film Cameraman Ray Goode Best Film Editor Anthony Ham Best Film Sound Phil Smith, John Whitworth, and Peter Elliott Best Make-up Deborah Tinsey and Ruth Quinn Golden Globe Awards Best Miniseries or Television Film Brideshead Revisited Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Anthony Andrews Jeremy Irons Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Limited Series Jac Venza and Robert Kotlowitz, executive producers; Samuel Paul, series producer; Derek Granger, producer Outstanding Directing in a Limited Series or Special Charles Sturridge and Michael Lindsay-Hogg Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Special Anthony Andrews Jeremy Irons Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Special John Gielgud Laurence Olivier Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Special Claire Bloom Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series or Special John Mortimer Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie Peter Phillips Outstanding Costume Design for a Limited Series or a Special Jane Robinson Outstanding Individual Achievement - Graphic Design and Title Sequences Valerie Pye, graphic designer

See also Brideshead Revisited (2008), film adaptation

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