Meeting a stranger in a railway station, a woman is tempted to cheat on her husband.Meeting a stranger in a railway station, a woman is tempted to cheat on her husband.Meeting a stranger in a railway station, a woman is tempted to cheat on her husband.
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 4 wins & 3 nominations total
Wilfred Babbage
- Policeman at War Memorial
- (uncredited)
Alfie Bass
- Waiter at the Royal
- (uncredited)
Wallace Bosco
- Doctor at Bobbie's Accident
- (uncredited)
Sydney Bromley
- Johnnie - Second Soldier
- (uncredited)
Noël Coward
- Train Station Announcer
- (uncredited)
Nuna Davey
- Herminie Rolandson - Mary's Cousin
- (uncredited)
Valentine Dyall
- Stephen Lynn - Alec's 'Friend'
- (uncredited)
Irene Handl
- Cellist and Organist
- (uncredited)
Dennis Harkin
- Stanley - Beryl's Man
- (uncredited)
Edward Hodge
- Bill - First Soldier
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Noël Coward(uncredited)
- Anthony Havelock-Allan(uncredited)
- David Lean(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis movie was shot during the final days of World War II, going into production in January 1945. Filming was completed in May, with an interruption on May 8 to celebrate Germany's surrender.
- GoofsCarnforth Station has had its name board covered and replaced with a big sign reading Milford Junction, but the smaller platform notices (behind Laura when Alec tells her about the job in South Africa) still show the next train's destinations as Hellifield, Skipton, Bradford and Leeds.
- Quotes
Laura Jesson: It's awfully easy to lie when you know that you're trusted implicitly. So very easy, and so very degrading.
- ConnectionsFeatured in A Touch of Class (1973)
- SoundtracksRachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.2.
Written by Sergei Rachmaninoff (uncredited)
Played by Eileen Joyce with The National Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Muir Mathieson
Featured review
Ignore That First Review. This Is A Classic
The person who wrote the first review of this movie must be either a complete moron or has an acute lack of appreciation for what constitutes great moviemaking.
"Brief Encounter" is the perfect encapsulation of a very specific time in both women's and British history. The immediate post-WW 2 era in the UK was a period that saw Brits struggling with the disppearance of traditional social mores that had endured for over a century and the new world order that came about at the conclusion of the war. (For another, beautifully crafted cinematic example, see Neil Jordan's exquisite movie "The End of the Affair.")
Food rationing was still in place in postwar Britain. Women were having to deal with getting to know their menfolk again, after their years of absence at war. Like their American "Rosie the Riveter" counterparts, British women had enjoyed newfound and unfamiliar independence during wartime, working for the war effort. And, like their US "sisters", they were expected to relinquish those jobs to returning men.
"Brief Encounter" is, in many ways, a metaphor for the struggle that men and women were going through, stuck with having to conform to social expectations while bursting to escape to the greater independence glimpsed fleetingly and pleasurably during the war, when everything and everyone were turned upside down.
Being the work of Noel Coward, that master observer of and commentator on English manners, "Brief Encounter" frames this struggle as a torrid love story bubbling under the surface of British reserve, which demands maintaining appearances at all costs, regardless of the personal pain involved.
This passionate pair, who never even exchange a kiss, are constrained and ultimately kept apart by expectations--of their families, of their social positions, of Great Britain.
When Alec puts his hand on Laura's shoulder at their final, unexpectedly truncated meeting in the station snack bar/waiting room, it's as erotic and far more touching than just about every sex scene you'll see in movies.
The first reviewer completely missed the point and the relevance of this movie in film history and, especially, in British cinema history.
"Brief Encounter" is the perfect encapsulation of a very specific time in both women's and British history. The immediate post-WW 2 era in the UK was a period that saw Brits struggling with the disppearance of traditional social mores that had endured for over a century and the new world order that came about at the conclusion of the war. (For another, beautifully crafted cinematic example, see Neil Jordan's exquisite movie "The End of the Affair.")
Food rationing was still in place in postwar Britain. Women were having to deal with getting to know their menfolk again, after their years of absence at war. Like their American "Rosie the Riveter" counterparts, British women had enjoyed newfound and unfamiliar independence during wartime, working for the war effort. And, like their US "sisters", they were expected to relinquish those jobs to returning men.
"Brief Encounter" is, in many ways, a metaphor for the struggle that men and women were going through, stuck with having to conform to social expectations while bursting to escape to the greater independence glimpsed fleetingly and pleasurably during the war, when everything and everyone were turned upside down.
Being the work of Noel Coward, that master observer of and commentator on English manners, "Brief Encounter" frames this struggle as a torrid love story bubbling under the surface of British reserve, which demands maintaining appearances at all costs, regardless of the personal pain involved.
This passionate pair, who never even exchange a kiss, are constrained and ultimately kept apart by expectations--of their families, of their social positions, of Great Britain.
When Alec puts his hand on Laura's shoulder at their final, unexpectedly truncated meeting in the station snack bar/waiting room, it's as erotic and far more touching than just about every sex scene you'll see in movies.
The first reviewer completely missed the point and the relevance of this movie in film history and, especially, in British cinema history.
helpful•20044
- gbtbag
- Dec 30, 2003
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Noel Coward's Brief Encounter
- Filming locations
- Carnforth Station, Carnforth, Lancashire, England, UK(exterior of Milford Junction Station)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £170,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $88,307
- Runtime1 hour 26 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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