Passionate, elegant and brisk interpretation of Waugh's saga

By Carrie Rickey Inquirer Film Critic Rating: In 1981, American television had Dynasty. British television had Brideshead Revisited, an 11-part (660-minute!) mini-series boasting an even bigger ancestral home, even bitterer family rivalries and a religious undercurrent harsher than a riptide. (Harsher than Joan Collins, too.) For many, the Charles Sturridge TV epic that launched the career of Jeremy Irons will be forever the canonical version of Evelyn Waugh's 1945 novel that lightly satirizes the social savagery of the civilized, and gravely witnesses these aristocrats' faith. Julian Jarrold's adaptation (Brideshead Revisited revisited?) arrives on screen at a brisk 135 minutes, telescoping events that Sturridge microscoped. The film is plush and passionate and graced with elegant performances. Best is that of Emma Thompson... [read full story]