Rating: 
Summary: Wake me up when it's over.
Review: Put in metaphorical terms, this movie is the equivilant to "ny-quil". It's like, why see this when you can see "Howard's End". They're both the same movie, it's just that Howard's End is a whole lot better. Take about your snooze fest! Whoa is this film slow, boreing and bothersome! The 3 stars are for Emma, Anthony, and the money this movie saved me on sleeping pills.
Rating: 
Summary: Superb subtlety
Review: A truly amazing work of art. Everyone has heard that Hopkins is great, but it is the little things that are fascinating. An eye movement here, a twitch there--all so important and so well done. An engrossing, complex and intelligent movie without being boring or hard to follow. A real joy.
Rating:
Summary: Just perfect
Review: This is a seamless, beautifully shaped movie that grabs you from the moment it begins and holds you captivated to the end. Anthony Hopkins is wonderful as the repressed butler and Emma Thompson never better as the housekeeper. The tension between them is almost unbearable and no matter how many times you see it, you still believe it's possible they might... well, you'll have to see it. And if you can't, go one better and read the book.
Rating:
Summary: one of the best movies I've ever seen
Review: This is surely one of the best movies I have ever seen. Truly exceptional performance by Anthony Hopkins is a must-see.
Rating:
Summary: Film as literature- a treat for eyes, ears & imagination.
Review: A subtle, sophisticated work of art that captures a fleeting historical moment through the lives of people caught in its midst. There is irony, tragedy, drama, symbolism, nostalgia, time-distortion, and a sense of impending Fate for the characters portrayed. The acting is brilliant, the direction masterly. An all time great film, to be valued as a favorite book in one's library, for intimate repeated viewing with choice friends, especially those who appreciate quiet moments more than social chatter.
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Summary: It's a Butler's life
Review: This book is a winner. It is a book you would want to revisit, it is so comfortable, like visiting a good friend. The protaganist is charming. His loyalty and faithfulness to his profession is so touching. His sentimentalities towards his housekeeper is so poignant. This book is about love, devotion, commitment and belief in one's principles. Set against the backdrop of a long lost British era, as a flashback, Remains of the day manages to capture the essence of the butler's noble profession, often taken for granted certainly, sad but true. It has a sad but realistic ending, true to it's form, the book is a classic. END
Rating:
Summary: The Price of Being Perfect
Review: THE REMAINS OF THE DAY is one of my all time favorite books, but when I heard about the film, way back in 1993, I was sure the book wouldn't translate well. It was far too interior and quiet. When I saw the film for the first time, I was really surprised. Merchant/Ivory, along with the extraordinary talented screenwriter, Ruth Prawer Jhabuala, seemed to have done the impossible and I knew I'd buy the DVD the day it was released.THE REMAINS OF THE DAY takes place in 1958 as James Stevens (Anthony Hopkins), a man of late middle age and the head butler at the sumptuous Darlington Hall, begins a motor journey across southern England to the West Country. The purpose of his trip, we learn, is to persuade Ms. Sally Kenton (Emma Thompson), once head housekeeper at Darlington Hall, to resume her old position and, perhaps, a bit more. Most of the story is told in a series of flashbacks and we gradually come to know Stevens, Ms. Kenton and Lord Darlington (James Fox). Although THE REMAINS OF THE DAY centers on the relationship between Stevens and Ms. Kenton, there are subtle, but definite, political undertones in this film, for Lord Darlington is, of all things, a Nazi sympathizer who wants to prevent war. I've heard criticisms of the film because this subplot wasn't explored in greater detail, but I think Ishiguro (and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala) wrote just enough. To have expanded this subplot might have been interesting, but it would have definitely detracted from the more interesting main plot line, the relationship between Stevens and Ms. Kenton. Almost from the beginning of the film, it's clear that Stevens and Ms. Kenton love each other. While Ms. Kenton does her best, however, she simply can't crack the wall Stevens has built around himself, the one he's been taught to build around himself, for, as long as Stevens can remember, his family has been "in service." Stevens is the perfect butler, but at what cost? One of the film's most telling moments comes when Stevens' father, who is himself a retired head butler, dies in the servants' quarters of Darlington Hall. Although summoned by Ms. Kenton, Stevens, because of his strict adherence to perfection in work, and his dedication to "doing one's duty," does not abandon his post at a gala dinner party to be with his dying father. Political disaster for Lord Darlington and personal disaster for Stevens dovetail in the film, but Stevens might just be given the second chance that most of us never get. The end of THE REMAINS OF THE DAY is heartbreaking, but inevitable. This is a quiet, sad and extremely introspective film, yet it contains extraordinary emotion. Anthony Hopkins as Stevens is perfection. Although Hopkins must show us a palette of emotions, he must show them with small gestures, mannerisms and facial expressions. Stevens is a highly complex man but he is, above all else, a man who represses his emotions. Emma Thompson is Ms. Kenton is also perfect, but don't expect to see a lot of her in this film. This is Stevens' story and, as such, it's Hopkins who takes center stage. Christopher Reeve is very good as Congressman Lewis, both as a guest of Lord Darlington and as the "new" owner of Darlington Hall. His part is small, though essential, and seeing him active and healthy only adds to this film's profound sense of sadness and loss. The extras in this DVD include interviews with Merchant and Ivory as well as with Emma Thompson and they are so good, they make it worth owning the DVD rather than just renting it. THE REMAINS OF THE DAY is, at any rate, a DVD I think any film lover would want to own. It's absolute perfection and one I know I'll never tire of no matter how many times I watch it.
Rating:
Summary: James Ivory's masterpiece!
Review: This is a slow paced movie, but so well acted and directed that you miss the rhytm. You feel caught from the first images with the voice in off . The photography is splendid. The art is direction is spectacular .
The script is a long tale from the memories of Anthony Hopkins and a failed relationship with Emma Thompson as the mistress in service of James Fox a hard enemy of the German forces in WW2.
The film travels from the passionate speechs about the destiny of the mankind , the human condition and also the intimate portrayal of this loyal servant , keeping the formalities with absolute gentleness.
Never before Ivory had been so inspired and convincing like this one .
The last sequence of the film is an extraordinary metaphor.
Thompson brilliant and Hopkins superb in this work.
This is a heavyweight champion movie , great and marvelous . Don't miss this one!
Rating:
Summary: Screen acting at its finest
Review: Merchant-Ivory films bore me to tears, but this is quite the exception. Hopkins delivers perfection as a repressed butler and is amazing on so many levels. I marveled at the brilliance of the cast and the story, and its place in a historical context. Filmed in a gorgeous, widescreen format, I was really impressed with the locations selected - they all work magnificently. And the music! Very memorable. Notable for this dvd release is the commentary track, which Emma Thompson shines on.
Rating:
Summary: Adapted from Ishiguro, brilliantly played-
Review: The film would have fallen flat on its face were it not for a command performance from Hopkins. This is not to say that Thompson, James Fox, Hugh Grant, et al aren't fantastic as well; they light up the screen. Michael Lonsdale also has a smart little part as the French delegate Dupont D'Ivry.
The film is more or less about the "repressed" Stevens (Hopkins), the proper-ist of proper English butlers, reminiscing about the prime of his career serving Nazi-sympathizing Lord Darlington (James Fox) during the years surrounding World War II. This being said, there are slightly political moments that color some of his memories, but they are not the focus, nor do they detract.
One day in the manor, a young housekeeper shows up called Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson). She has excellent references, plenty of experience, try not to fall in love with one of the staff-men, when can you start? The problem becomes Stevens; he begins to fall in love with her.
Here is where the film begins to take liberties with the book, but the sublimity with which it's accomplished is truly remarkable. Here is a film adaptation achieving the same kind of moods and complexity as the book. With Stevens falling in love with Kenton, and vice-versa, the two are bound by their facade of service to remain absolutely mum about the whole thing, even in the quiet moments they have outside the world of their duties. The audience begins to realize that they've become so caught up with their jobs that it's begun to master their identity, to the point where their desire for one another takes a back seat to the wish to not break any of the house rules.
If the book is about the nature of reminiscing and the consciousness of a narrator; the film is about the desire for self-satisfaction versus the need for self-transcendence. By giving in to the love Stevens and Kenton feel for one another, they would be rising above their lonely identities so closely wrapped up with Darlington Hall. By fighting the desire for one another, they satisfy the professional and personal sense of achievement, and the hollow sort of transcendence it provides.
Too many reviewers boiled it down to, "It's a movie about doing what you really want to do," or "it's a "follow-your-heart" tale." Few see it in terms of Stevens not ever being able to give in to his love for Miss Kenton. Such is the nature of his personality and experience, that the choice of giving in has been, no pun intended, given up. Basically: could Stevens choose between the house and housekeeper? No, the house wins everytime.
Hopkins needed to win an Oscar for this, instead Tom Hanks won in 93 for his work in Philadelphia. Far be it from me to sunder the work of Mr. Hanks, but Sir Hopkins put on one of the finest acting performances I think anyone has put to celluloid, and the Academy passed it up. File this under more evidence for the fact that the Academy loves to make political statements with its decision on who to give Oscars, and its preference for American actors.
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