Rating: 
Summary: LOVE AND HEARTBREAK DONE WITH STYLE AND CLASS.
Review: Master director David Lean's reputation undoubtedly consists mostly of his brilliance with his epic panoramas, such as the classics THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, and A PASSAGE TO INDIA. Of course those who look closely in these films will see that Lean chose only the best actors to flesh out real, true characters caught in the midst of overwhelming events--witness Peter O'Toole's vivid characterization of T. E. Lawrence and Peggy Ashcroft's beautiful, indelible Mrs Moore from A PASSAGE TO INDIA. With BRIEF ENCOUNTER, the actors are everything, too. The story is simple--in a very sad, post-WWII London, two married people meet by chance at a (glorious) train station and begin a friendship which slips quickly into love. The depth of their feelings is never in question, as Trevor Howard and the incandescent Celia Johnson portray these feelings honestly and without pretense, clutter, or the manneredness of modern depicitions of love. Whether the characters will be adulterers or not is important to them; they have principles and do truly care for their existing families. Again, they are two ordinary adults in the midst of something overwhelming; how they handle the situation is what gives them grace and dignity. The use of Rachmaninoff's Concerto no. 2 in C minor, especially the adagio section, was a stroke of genius. One cannot hear the piece ever again without imagining a tear streaming from Miss Johnson's large, soulful blue eyes. Fans of romance, classic cinema, or simply great acting should not miss this experience. The DVD transfer is excellent and Criterion should be applauded again for restoring a vital classic to modern audiences.
Rating: 
Summary: not love at all
Review: My wife and I watched this film with high expectations. This couple did not fall in love -- they fell in love with falling in love. Sadly, many many people don't know the difference, and this couple never figured it out, either. Read chapter 3 of THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary Chapman (taken from M. Scott Peck THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED) which plainly and clearly explains what "falling in love" really is; Chapman's book will do more for your romantic and love life than watching this movie.
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Summary: They Met By Chance...
Review: on the subway platform when he removed a cinder from her eye, and it's that innocent beginning that sparks the intense love of Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson in Noel Coward's tour de force, "Brief Encounter". Celia Johnson is a happily married woman, and Trevor Howard a happily married man, but they both fall in love now with each other, even though they only meet once a week in a town she frequents for shopping and in which he substitutes in hospital for a fellow doctor. Theirs is a brief encounter, but is filled with longing, ecstasy, and heartbreak. The narration is from Celia's point of view, and captures all the heady rapture of a woman's infatuation. Trevor Howard is very appealing as the nice doctor, and displays wonderfully romantic tendencies. An excellent depiction of how two duty-bound people consider risking all for love, "Brief Encounter" is one of the wistfully romantic films around.
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Summary: Perfect
Review: One of the best film romances I've ever seen. I cannot praise this movie enough! The music, the acting, the plotline... all brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: outstanding job by criterion. beautiful transfer. subtle, moving actors and stunningly filmed. recommended.
Rating:
Summary: When you feel like British, no other film will do as well.
Review: The basic story is of a brief encounter between two people at a train station. Both were married people who were committed to different lives. They fall in love; but it is a hopeless situation. How will they resolve this? Will they resolve this? What would you do in the situation? This film reminds me of a line I heard in another movie, he, "We will never have happiness." She, " Then we must be happy without it." David Lean did an exceptional job of directing this film whom later directed Hopscotch ASIN: 6301050886. The use of Rachmaninoff's Concerto no. 2 in C minor, help set the mood and added continuity to the film. Hear it again in the film [The Seven Year Itch (1955) ASIN: B000059GEF].
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Summary: Brief Encounter, directed by David Lean
Review: Thirty years ago, Brief Encounter was one of the popular movies played on late night TV. Whenever it was scheduled, I looked forward to it with great anticipation. It went away, but recently I bought the VHS video, and it is everything I recall: passionate and tender, never failing to bring the tears. It is the story of Alec Harvey (played by Trevor Howard) and Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson) who, over the course of seven Thursdays, fall in love. Everthing about this movie is poignant and powerful: the script (Noel Coward), the music (Rachmaninoff 2nd concerto), the locations, photography, acting: it is all there: it is all one. I play piano, love the Rachmaninoff concerto, and wonder that the music doesn't overpower the movie or that the breaking of the concerto into fragments to fit the scenes doesn't jar my ear, but it doesn't: somehow the music fits. So be warned: if you watch this video, be sure to have your hankies handy.
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Summary: Big in Japan.
Review: This film by the Director David Lean is fairly massive in Japan...so much so that (so I'm told) the dilapidated railway station where it was filmed in Yorkshire has been saved for the tourist industry. During the war years they filmed it up there because there was too much traffic in the skies further south...not to mention explosions and the rest. After the films release and of course the wars end lots of Japanese tourists would turn up and almost cry at the state of this hardly ever used line, so many that the local Parish authorities became embarrassed enough to do something...they still come so I expect the council is quids-in by now.
I dare say I shan't see a more romantic and moving display of repressed emotion in any movie...the world has changed now so much...people just jump each other it seems nowadays and bother the consequences (if indeed any). She's not the most beautiful lady who ever graced the silver screen is she Celia Johnson but the utter charm of her performance (not that she's alone) steals any steely heart.
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Summary: A timeless romantic gem!
Review: This film is captiving and envolving since its first shots . The briefness of this love affair is so credible and so real that literally engages the viewer from beggining to end .
This brief happiness shared between these two lovers make that every little encounter expands itself and produces in the viewer a disturbing sensation who will let you thinking about what is right or what is wrong . The rapture sequence in the hall concert is unforgettable.
Since she is a unhappy woman married with a boring and predictable husband , she will have at last these two days of happiness and be loved , respected and considered as a woman.
Mature film and an instaneous classic from its initial release .
One of the countless gems given for the best british director of the XX century : David Lean .
Rating:
Summary: A fim to treasure.
Review: This film seems so universally popular and is so highly regarded that I don't dare utter a word of criticism (I have enough negative votes already!) The story is simple and well known; Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson), a happily married woman, meets Doctor Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard), a happily married man, in a railway station refreshment-room when he extracts a piece of grit from her eye ("Trust me. I'm a doctor."). They arrange to meet the following Thursday and for several Thursdays after that, during which time they fall in love - though without getting as far as the bedroom. However, this being Britain in the early forties when codes of conduct really meant something, both are unwilling to break-up their lives and hurt their partners, and so, he having been offered a job in Africa, they agree to part and never see each other again. Their last few precious moments together in the tea-room are made more heart-rending by the intrusion of a silly, garrulous friend of her's who makes it impossible for him to speak another private word to her. When, therefore, the dreaded moment comes and his train arrives his only way of saying a final good-bye is by a clasp of his hand on her shoulder. This will bring tears to your eyes. For her it feels like the end of the world, and, almost suicidally depressed, she goes home to her kind but unexciting husband and her two children to suffer the pain of his loss for the rest of her life - or so she thinks. In fact the pain will lessen and his memory will become dream-like as all our painful memories do. The tale is cleverly told in that we are shown the end of the film at the beginning and then have the rest of it filled in in flash-back with a superbly scripted voice-over by Laura telling her story and expressing her feelings and sense of guilt. There is also a comical sub-plot involving the pretentious tea-room barmaid with a "posh" voice (Joyce Carey), and her aspiring lover, the Station-Master (Stanley Holloway). The haunting third movement of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 adds immensely to the emotional content of the film and is at least partially responsible for its enduring popularity (indeed where would the film be without it?); you cannot at any time listen to the concerto without thinking of the film. With its fine script and good acting and its nostalgic black and white photography of a time gone by, it delivers a unique experience and is a film to be treasured. And, along with so many other old films, it also brings with it another thought; the fact that these two vibrant lovers in the prime of life are both now dead makes you ponder on the sadness and transience of life and encourages you to make the most of life whilst you still have it - for "the flower that once has bloomed forever dies".
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