Rating: 
Summary: Powerful, engaging drama
Review: Cloistered nuns! Why, my agnostic economist friend wondered, would anyone would make a film about them? No car chases, no special effects, no sex. Only the embers of a childhood crush on Diana Rigg persuaded him lift his eyes occasionally from his laptop and glance at the TV. The glances got longer, and my friend turned the laptop off after ten minutes. He was hooked. "Brede" does that.The story charts relationships among four women in a Benedictine abbey. Philippa is a widow who has known worldly success and searing pain. Joanna, an angel made flesh, longs for a surrogate mother. Agnes is a shrewd, stern elder. And the newly elected Abbess Catherine must transcend her fears and limitations in order to hold the convent together. The characters are inexplicably compelling, and their lives are three-dimensional. Like all of us, they struggle through joys, pains, and daily life. Watching them is fascinating, precisely because there are no special effects or car chases to distract us-or them-from the hard, beautiful work of being human. Honesty requires admitting that the film has flaws. Some of the scenes between Philippa and Joanna edge into melodrama, and no one seems to have the sense to sit Joanna down for a good talk. But these are thorns on a rose. Don't just take it from me. Take it from my agnostic James Bond fan: "Brede" is worth watching. In fact, he asked to borrow the book!
Rating: 
Summary: Missing Something
Review: Diana Rigg and the other actors do a pretty good job bringing this interesting story to TV. It is EXTREMELY subtle, however. The characters are not developed, very little is revealed about them. Huge jumps in time (like years) go by with nothing happening or explained. It also has a kind of depressing atmosphere about it. For a TV production its pretty good, but there are times when I had to fight to keep interest. "A Nun's Story" and "Body and Soul" are much better.
Rating: 
Summary: Movie vs reality
Review: Having lived several years of my life as a religious and a Benedictine, I can state that, for under two hours long, this movie gives quite a good picture of religious life. Nuns, like everyone else, are human beings with all the weaknesses that come with that. Attachments and dependancies on one another do happen, although discouraged, and they aren't necessarily negative. The strong can work through them. And postulants and professed are allowed to speak to each other, at appropriate times of course. Still, human beings are human beings!! Overall a pretty good movie.
Rating:
Summary: A Forgotten Classic
Review: Having read Rumer Godden's book, I eagerly looked forward to this movie (first shown on the Hallmark Hall of Fame television series). Although it differs in some respects from the novel, it is a relatively faithful version of Phippa, Joanna, and the other nuns' lives in the cloister. Diana Rigg gives the best performance in films as Philippa, a wordly-wise nun who finds you can't escape your past in the religious life--it must be confronted and dealt with, just as in the world. An excellent film.
Rating:
Summary: A sweet and human story...
Review: I have not read the book that this movie was based upon, but from the perspective of watching the movie by itself, I have to say that it was enjoyable! The location they chose for the filming was a perfect stage to tell this gentle story on, and the acting was pleasing. The characters are fleshed out fairly well, and the long time-span that they use to demonstrate the evolution of the main character's vocational life is a nice element.
It's difficult to speak in greater detail without giving too much away, but I can say that this movie is worth a rental for anyone who enjoys stories that focus on interaction, reflection and the dynamics of working and platonic relationships. The characters were authentic and flexible. A good nun movie!
Rating:
Summary: In this house of Brede
Review: I have not watched it on Video, but on television and I have always wanted to see it again even own my own copy, but I have not been able to purchase it in England.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful depiction of cloistered life!
Review: I have not yet read the book, so cannot compare the film to it. But, on its own, I found it so compelling and beautiful. This is what true devotion to Christ is about--love. And about trying and trying again until one does finally get it right. The nuns were all very real, in their demeanor, in their foibles, in their interactions and in their strivings to live a holy life. I watched "The Nun's Story" shortly after seeing "In This House of Brede" and was disgusted with its unrealistic portrayl of devotion to Christ, allowing selfishness and pride to triumph over self-giving love. "In This House of Brede" shows us a good deal of the beauty of the Catholic Church through the devotion of the religious life.
Rating: 
Summary: If You Loved the Book...
Review: If you love the book as much as I do, you'll probably see the video/movie as a pale imitation. Granted, the media differ--no film could ever include all the episodes in the book. But, we never learn why Phillipa decided to enter the monestary, there's no Abbess Hester, no Keith, no Sister Polycarp, no Duranski, no motive for the entry of the Japanese postulants and so forth. The theme of the film is that Phillipa must learn to love everyone equally. Mercifully, the screen writer did leave us Dame Agnes, if only so Phillipa could have a difficult person to learn to love. The theme is therefore "monastic." Therefore this film is a cut above far too many movies about nuns.
Rating:
Summary: The book is so much better.
Review: In This House of Brede is a literary gem, and I couldn't wait to see this film, especially since I am a fan of Diana Rigg's...but the film disappoints, and mightily. I understand that not all of Godden's ideas could translate easily into what was a 'movie for television', but the scriptwriter took two of the more fascinating elements of the book - Philippa's memories of her son and the young novice, Cecily, too starry-eyed to understand all she is undertaking, and twists them together into a jarring, uncomforable third character that simply feels too contrived to work. Also, one of the major themes of the book, having to do with Dame Veronica and the abbey debt (and another to do with Dame Agnes' prejudice) are all ignored. What you are left with is a sort of skeletal hinging of atmosphere with very little story. I had hoped for so much more. I really wanted to see these beloved characters come to life. That said, I believe the film was partly on location at Stanbrook Abbey, (Brede is based on Stanbrook and on St. Cecilia's Abbey in Ryde, Isle of Wight) and the interiors are terrific.
Rating:
Summary: The book is so much better.
Review: In This House of Brede is a literary gem, and I couldn't wait to see this film, especially since I am a fan of Diana Rigg's...but the film disappoints, and mightily. I understand that not all of Godden's ideas could translate easily into what was a 'movie for television', but the scriptwriter took two of the more fascinating elements of the book - Philippa's memories of her son and the young novice, Cecily, too starry-eyed to understand all she is undertaking, and twists them together into a jarring, uncomforable third character that simply feels too contrived to work. Also, one of the major themes of the book, having to do with Dame Veronica and the abbey debt (and another to do with Dame Agnes' prejudice) are all ignored. What you are left with is a sort of skeletal hinging of atmosphere with very little story. I had hoped for so much more. I really wanted to see these beloved characters come to life. That said, I believe the film was partly on location at Stanbrook Abbey, (Brede is based on Stanbrook and on St. Cecilia's Abbey in Ryde, Isle of Wight) and the interiors are terrific.
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